Accepted Quote by Harold Bloom
“What is literary tradition? What is a classic? What is a canonical view of tradition? How are canons of accepted classics formed,and how are they unformed? I think that all these quite traditional questions can take one simplistic but still dialectical question as their summing up: do we choose tradition or does it choose us, and why is it necessary that a choosing take place, or a being chosen? What happens if one tries to write, or to teach, or to think, or even to read without the sense of a tradition? Why, nothing at all happens, just nothing.”
About This Quote
Source Book: The Western Canon, 1994
The quote questions how tradition shapes literature and whether we choose it or it chooses us, emphasizing the necessity of a tradition for meaning.
In simple terms: Tradition gives meaning; without it, nothing happens.
Key Takeaway
Recognize and engage with literary tradition.
Themes
literature
tradition
canon
identity
choice
Mood
reflective
inquisitive
Type
philosophical
critical
When to use this quote
- teaching literature
- writing
- critical analysis
- reading
- curriculum design
Key Concepts
cultural hegemony
dialectic
authority
construction
Questions to Reflect On
- What role does tradition play in your creative work?
- How can we reshape the canon?
A Different Perspective
Tradition can also exclude marginalized voices.
![“We have reached a situation where a theory has been accepted as fact by some, and possible contrary evidence is shunted aside. [This is] mythology rather than science.” quote by Robert Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/c31/robert-shapiro-26969_accepted_we-have-reached-a-situation-where-a-theo_19120.jpg)
