---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Soon after I left university, I came up…"
description: "\"“Soon after I left university, I came up with another definition of a literary critic or would be critic: someoone who uses churlish towards the end of..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/618/gerald-murnane-77184_quote_soon-after-i-left-university-i-came-up-w_1574466.jpg"
---

#  Soon after I left university, I came up with another…

![“Soon after I left university, I came up with another definition of a literary critic or would be critic: someoone who uses churlish towards the end of an article or review.” quote by Gerald Murnane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/618/gerald-murnane-77184_quote_soon-after-i-left-university-i-came-up-w_1574466.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/618/gerald-murnane-77184_quote_soon-after-i-left-university-i-came-up-w_1574466.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/618/gerald-murnane-77184_quote_soon-after-i-left-university-i-came-up-w_1574466.jpg)

> ““Soon after I left university, I came up with another definition of a literary critic or would be critic: someoone who uses churlish towards the end of an article or review.””

[Gerald Murnane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-murnane/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

He humorously defines a critic as someone who becomes overly harsh toward the end of a review.

**In simple terms:** Critics may become needy in final paragraphs.

Key Takeaway

Balance honesty with fairness in criticism.

Themes

critique tone literature

Mood

analytical wry

Type

literary reflective

When to use this quote

- book reviews
- academic journals
- editorial meetings

Key Concepts

critical ethics writing style

Questions to Reflect On

- When does critique become destructive?
- How can critics stay constructive?

A Different Perspective

Harshness can alienate authors and readers.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Churlish End](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/churlish-end-5934167/) [Critic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/critic/) [Critic Critic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/critic-critic-2011136/) [Critic Someoone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/critic-someoone-5934166/) [Left University](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left-university-290925/) [Literary Critic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literary-critic-533826/)

## Related quotes

> [The literary critic, or the critic of any other specific form of artistic expression, may detach himself from the world for as long as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/the-literary-critic-or-the-critic-of-any-other-specific-form-of/)

[Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/)

> [Everybody wants to be a critic: a critic without the actual accolades to be a critic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-lashley/everybody-wants-to-be-a-critic-a-critic-without-the-actual-accolades/)

[Bobby Lashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-lashley/)

> [As far as the hate, it makes me laugh. Everybody is a critic. Every critic I've ever had, they weren't wrestlers. Every wrestler I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-reigns/as-far-as-the-hate-it-makes-me-laugh-everybody-is-a-critic-every/)

[Roman Reigns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-reigns/)

> [“Don’t be a critic. The critic is to art what the limp penis is to sex.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-maraboli/don-t-be-a-critic-the-critic-is-to-art-what-the-limp-penis-is-to-sex/)

[Steve Maraboli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-maraboli/)

> [A literary critic is a person who finds meaning in literature that the author didn't know was there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/a-literary-critic-is-a-person-who-finds-meaning-in-literature-that/)

[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/)

> [“A literary critic should have no emotions except those immediately provoked by a work of art.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-3/a-literary-critic-should-have-no-emotions-except-those-immediately/)

[T S Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-3/)

> [No publisher should ever express an opinion of the value of what he publishes. That is a matter entirely for the literary critic to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/no-publisher-should-ever-express-an-opinion-of-the-value-of-what-he/)

[Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/)

> [A literary critic is someone who can't write, but who loves to show he would have been a wonderful writer if only he could!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-lumley/a-literary-critic-is-someone-who-can-t-write-but-who-loves-to-show-he/)

[Brian Lumley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-lumley/)

> [Every literary critic believes he will outwit history and have the last word.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/every-literary-critic-believes-he-will-outwit-history-and-have-the/)

[Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/)

> [I don't even know what a serious literary critic is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-grisham/i-don-t-even-know-what-a-serious-literary-critic-is/)

[John Grisham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-grisham/)

> [Any one who chooses will set up for a literary critic, though he cannot tell us where he went to school, or how much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-basil/any-one-who-chooses-will-set-up-for-a-literary-critic-though-he/)

[Saint Basil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-basil/)

> [All that a critic, as critic, can give poets is the deadly encouragement that never ceases to remind them of how heavy their inheritance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/all-that-a-critic-as-critic-can-give-poets-is-the-deadly/)

[Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/)

> [I've always tried out my material on my dogs first. Years ago, when my red setter chewed up the manuscript of 'Of Mice and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-ve-always-tried-out-my-material-on-my-dogs-first-years-ago-when-my/)

[John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/)

> [“As the literary critic and writer Leon Wieseltier remarks, “every technology is used before it is completely understood.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-p-lynch/as-the-literary-critic-and-writer-leon-wieseltier-remarks-every/)

[Michael P. Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-p-lynch/)

> [“My advice to a budding literary critic would be as follows. Learn to distinguish banality. Remember that mediocrity thrives on "ideas." Beware of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/my-advice-to-a-budding-literary-critic-would-be-as-follows-learn-to/)

[Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/)

## More by Gerald Murnane

> [“They supposed that their tinted papers showed something of what a man saw apart from himself--something they called the visible world. But they had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-murnane/they-supposed-that-their-tinted-papers-showed-something-of-what-a-man/)

[Gerald Murnane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-murnane/)

> [“During my sixteen years as a teacher of writing, I removed many adverbs and adverbial phrases from students' writing. I decided long ago that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-murnane/during-my-sixteen-years-as-a-teacher-of-writing-i-removed-many/)

[Gerald Murnane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-murnane/)

[Explore all 3 Gerald Murnane quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-murnane/)

## More Critic quotes

> [I am absolutely my own biggest critic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lando-norris/i-am-absolutely-my-own-biggest-critic/)

[Lando Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lando-norris/)

> [Critics are biased, and so are readers. (Indeed, a critic is a bundle of biases held loosely together by a sense of taste.) But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-balliett/critics-are-biased-and-so-are-readers-indeed-a-critic-is-a-bundle-of/)

[Whitney Balliett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-balliett/)

> [I am my biggest critic. Even in films where people said they liked me, I have disliked myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-akkineni/i-am-my-biggest-critic-even-in-films-where-people-said-they-liked-me/)

[Samantha Akkineni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-akkineni/)

> [“The composition of Shakespeare is a forest, in which oaks extend in the air, interspersed sometimes with weeds and brambles, and sometimes giving shelting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-composition-of-shakespeare-is-a-forest-in-which-oaks-extend-in/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [The good author is he who contemplates without marked joy or excessive sorrow the adventures of his soul amongst criticisms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/the-good-author-is-he-who-contemplates-without-marked-joy-or/)

[Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/)

> [If I weren't an actor, I'd either be a teacher or a critic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-haysbert/if-i-weren-t-an-actor-i-d-either-be-a-teacher-or-a-critic/)

[Dennis Haysbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-haysbert/)

> [When a critic sets himself up as an arbiter of morality, a judge of the matter and not the manner of a work, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/when-a-critic-sets-himself-up-as-an-arbiter-of-morality-a-judge-of/)

[Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/)

> [I remember the early 1980s, when I first got one of these fabulous film critic jobs. The downside was sitting through 'Splatteria III: The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hunter/i-remember-the-early-1980s-when-i-first-got-one-of-these-fabulous/)

[Stephen Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hunter/)

> [The television critic, whatever his pretensions, does not labour in the same vineyard as those he criticizes; his grapes are all sour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-raphael/the-television-critic-whatever-his-pretensions-does-not-labour-in-the/)

[Frederic Raphael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-raphael/)

> [To be a critic, you have to have maybe three percent education, five percent intelligence, two percent style, and 90 percent gall and egomania…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-crist/to-be-a-critic-you-have-to-have-maybe-three-percent-education-five/)

[Judith Crist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-crist/)

> [The critic is the only independent source of information. The rest is advertising.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-kael/the-critic-is-the-only-independent-source-of-information-the-rest-is/)

[Pauline Kael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-kael/)

> [The critic is a man who prefers the indolence of opinion to the trials of action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mason-brown/the-critic-is-a-man-who-prefers-the-indolence-of-opinion-to-the/)

[John Mason Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mason-brown/)

> [“A good judge is not one who is impartial, but one who has prejudice for good.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raheel-farooq/a-good-judge-is-not-one-who-is-impartial-but-one-who-has-prejudice/)

[Raheel Farooq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raheel-farooq/)

> [A critic who uses new quotations is making important changes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/a-critic-who-uses-new-quotations-is-making-important-changes/)

[Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/)

> [My mother and my grandmother are pioneers of Mexican cuisine in this country, so I grew up in the kitchen. My mom, Zarela Martinez,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-sanchez/my-mother-and-my-grandmother-are-pioneers-of-mexican-cuisine-in-this/)

[Aaron Sanchez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-sanchez/)

[Browse all 758 Critic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/critic/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Soon after I left university, I came up with another definition of a literary critic or would be critic: someoone who uses churlish towards the end of an article or review.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Gerald Murnane"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-murnane/soon-after-i-left-university-i-came-up-with-another-definition-of-a/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Critic"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-murnane/soon-after-i-left-university-i-came-up-with-another-definition-of-a/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/618/gerald-murnane-77184_quote_soon-after-i-left-university-i-came-up-w_1574466.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/618/gerald-murnane-77184_quote_soon-after-i-left-university-i-came-up-w_1574466.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/618/gerald-murnane-77184_quote_soon-after-i-left-university-i-came-up-w_1574466.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Soon after I left university, I came up with another definition of a literary critic or would be critic…” — Gerald Murnane",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Gerald Murnane",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-murnane/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Soon after I left university, I...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-murnane/soon-after-i-left-university-i-came-up-with-another-definition-of-a/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-murnane/soon-after-i-left-university-i-came-up-with-another-definition-of-a/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
