Literary criticism can be no more than a reasoned account…
“Literary criticism can be no more than a reasoned account of the feeling produced upon the critic by the book he is criticizing. Criticism can never be a science: it is, in the first place, much too personal, and in the second, it is concerned with values that science ignores. The touchstone is emotion, not reason. We judge a work of art by its effect on our sincere and vital emotion, and nothing else. All the critical twiddle-twaddle about style and form, all this pseudoscientific classifying and analyzing of books in an imitation-botanical fashion, is mere impertinence and mostly dull jargon.”
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
Criticism is driven by personal emotion rather than objective science, focusing on feeling over analysis.
In simple terms: Criticism is about feeling, not facts.
Key Takeaway
Acknowledge emotion in evaluating art.
Themes
emotion
subjectivity
art criticism
Mood
thoughtful
analytical
Type
philosophical
inspirational
When to use this quote
- book reviews
- film analysis
- art education
- personal reflection
Key Concepts
aesthetic theory
personal bias
Questions to Reflect On
- Do you trust your feelings over facts?
- How to balance emotion and reason?
A Different Perspective
Emphasizing emotion may ignore technical merit.