Literary Criticism for Students: Selected from English Essays and Edited with an Introduction and Notes (Classic Reprint)Excerpt from Literary Criticism for Students: Selected From English Essays and Edited With an Introduction and Notes It is a delicate problem to adjust the relation between independence and a deference to authority. In belles lettres, especially, what seems best to the taste and appreciation Of those who are called liter ary, Often fails to please ordinary readers. Subtler phases of thought, heightened style, moods lifted above plain emotions, or plain emotions made great by Wordsworthian simplicity, do not appeal to the majority even Of intelligent people. The classics of our poetry and prose are not popular, and where they are read, what to a few appears their best is quite missed by most. These think carelessly, feel bluntly, and are not sensitive to art and beauty. Yet most Of them can think and feel, and are in some measure susceptible to aesthetic pleasure. Their difficulty lies in not applying their faculties successfully to literature, or still more, in not taking the trouble to attempt it. Accordingly, they judge inadequately and incorrectly. Well, how far Should those who believe that such judgments are partial or mistaken try to impress their own views on the majority - to convert them to their own tastes? Especially in the case of students, is good taste to be taught? 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. |
