Specimens Of Modern English Literary Criticism

Author : William T. Brewster
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781331059974
Total Pages : 418 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (599 download)

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Download or read book Specimens of Modern English Literary Criticism written by William T. Brewster and published by . This book was released on 2015-07-09 with total page 418 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Excerpt from Specimens of Modern English Literary Criticism: Chosen and Edited, With an Introduction and Notes This book belongs to the realm of rhetoric rather than that of literature or literary history. It aims to use critical writing, more completely than is done in any existing text-book of selections, as an agent in rhetorical study and intellectual discipline. Books of specimens of the so-called forms of discourse, narration, description, exposition, and argumentation, are abundant, as well as useful. The present volume is less a complete illustration of a form of discourse than an analysis of a fair variety of pieces that would commonly be called literary criticism, but it is hoped that it also will be useful at least to those moderately advanced students for whom it is intended. The point of view in the editing of these selections is one from which literary criticism is regarded, rhetorically, largely as a form of exposition and argumentation, and, as a matter of fact, as a body of more or less particular theses and opinions. Selections, therefore, are given without abridgment, and the important points all along brought out relate to the dicta of each critic and his reasons for holding his opinions. The safest way to begin the study of literary criticism and the surest progress toward a sound knowledge of that art is, in my opinion, to be found in the examination of actual critical production. It is certainly wholesome to treat works of criticism like any other body of facts, as well as an illustration of some theory or other of the universe. Supplying material for analysis and some direction for study is, therefore, as far as this book attempts to go. In arrangement, the essays proceed from the simplest, most matter of fact, and most easily demonstrable, to the more general, more abstract, and less easily provable. The arrangement is as follows: the first eight essays deal with particular men; numbers 9 and lo have to do with special topics; and the last five are illustrative of general discussions from highly different points of view of literary art and morality. For any of the essays here an infinite variety of substitution and supplementation may, of course, be made, according to the preference of the teacher. I have chiefly tried to get as large a variety as possible within the limits of literary criticism, to avoid repetition of type, to present well-contrasted views and methods, and to avoid essays of too difficult a character. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.