--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...the representation of human character…" description: "\"“...the representation of human character and personality remains always the supreme literary value, whether in drama, lyric or narrative. I am naive e..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/183/harold-bloom-3350_literary_the-representation-of-human-character-an_2331587.png" --- # ...the representation of human character and personality… ![“...the representation of human character and personality remains always the supreme literary value, whether in drama, lyric or narrative. I am naive enough to read incessantly because I cannot, on my own, get to know enough people profoundly enough.” quote by Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/183/harold-bloom-3350_literary_the-representation-of-human-character-an_2331587.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/183/harold-bloom-3350_literary_the-representation-of-human-character-an_2331587.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/183/harold-bloom-3350_literary_the-representation-of-human-character-an_2331587.png) > ““...the representation of human character and personality remains always the supreme literary value, whether in drama, lyric or narrative. I am naive enough to read incessantly because I cannot, on my own, get to know enough people profoundly enough.”” [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Literature’s highest purpose is to reveal deep human character across all genres, prompting readers to seek profound understanding of others. **In simple terms:** Literature shows deep human character. Key Takeaway Read widely to understand people. Themes literature human nature reading Mood reflective introspective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - book clubs - creative writing classes - personal reflection - teaching literature Key Concepts character analysis psychology empathy Questions to Reflect On - How does literature deepen empathy? - What other media reveal character? A Different Perspective May overlook non‑literary ways of knowing people. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character Personality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character-personality-961425/) [Human Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-character/) [Literary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literary/) [Literary Value](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literary-value-539276/) [Personality Remains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personality-remains-3035833/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [Cruelty is not a literary value.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/cruelty-is-not-a-literary-value/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [The idea of some kind of objectively constant, universal literary value is seductive. It feels real. It feels like a stone cold fact that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/the-idea-of-some-kind-of-objectively-constant-universal-literary/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [“This closed-system idea of literary value, defined and defended by the kind of men who have always taken their power for granted and used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-zimmerman/this-closed-system-idea-of-literary-value-defined-and-defended-by-the/) [Jess Zimmerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-zimmerman/) > [The creative personality never remains fixed on the first world it discovers. It never resigns itself to anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/the-creative-personality-never-remains-fixed-on-the-first-world-it/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [“we can predict his future only within the large framework of a statistical survey referring to a whole group; the individual personality, however, remains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/we-can-predict-his-future-only-within-the-large-framework-of-a/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [ “But observe that \[Peter\] never ceases to be a bold man; he does not become nervous and diffident. No, he does not change in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-martyn-lloyd-jones/but-observe-that-peter-never-ceases-to-be-a-bold-man-he-does-not/) [David Martyn Lloyd-Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-martyn-lloyd-jones/) > [Jesus as a concrete historical personality remains a stranger to our time, but His spirit, which lies hidden in His words, is known in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-schweitzer/jesus-as-a-concrete-historical-personality-remains-a-stranger-to-our/) [Albert Schweitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-schweitzer/) > [I believe my publisher has shown a great deal of faith in me over a lot of years but I'm not prepared to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-vachss/i-believe-my-publisher-has-shown-a-great-deal-of-faith-in-me-over-a/) [Andrew Vachss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-vachss/) > [My favorite method of encryption is chunking revolutionary documents inside a mess of JPEG or MP3 code and emailing it off as an "image"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-goldsmith/my-favorite-method-of-encryption-is-chunking-revolutionary-documents/) [Kenneth Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-goldsmith/) > [I hope I'm not just looked as a writer that is popular but as a writer of literary value.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/i-hope-i-m-not-just-looked-as-a-writer-that-is-popular-but-as-a/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [“Literary criticism, as I attempt to practice it, is in the first place 'literary', which is to say personal and passionate. It is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/literary-criticism-as-i-attempt-to-practice-it-is-in-the-first-place/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [I would say that there is no future for literary studies as such in the United States.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/i-would-say-that-there-is-no-future-for-literary-studies-as-such-in/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [“Your looks will introduce you, but your character and personality will make them to like you,love you and they would want to keep you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/de-philosopher-dj-kyos/your-looks-will-introduce-you-but-your-character-and-personality-will/) [De philosopher DJ kyos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/de-philosopher-dj-kyos/) > [You have a good side and bad side, real side. Then I put that on in the ring. My character, my personality in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shinsuke-nakamura/you-have-a-good-side-and-bad-side-real-side-then-i-put-that-on-in-the/) [Shinsuke Nakamura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shinsuke-nakamura/) > [All characters have a voice but not all voices have character. And it's all about character and personality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-bergen/all-characters-have-a-voice-but-not-all-voices-have-character-and-it/) [Bob Bergen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-bergen/) ## More by Harold Bloom > [I realized early on that the academy and the literary world alike - and I don't think there really is a distinction between the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/i-realized-early-on-that-the-academy-and-the-literary-world-alike-and/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [I would say that there is no future for literary studies as such in the United States.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/i-would-say-that-there-is-no-future-for-literary-studies-as-such-in/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [“Brecht was a cynical bohemian bogey of the middle classes, but also much more than a mere provocateur. He developed and dramatized his political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/brecht-was-a-cynical-bohemian-bogey-of-the-middle-classes-but-also/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [The morality of scholarship, as currently practiced, is to encourage everyone to replace difficult pleasures by pleasures universally accessible precisely because they are easier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/the-morality-of-scholarship-as-currently-practiced-is-to-encourage/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [Dark influences from the American past congregate among us still. If we are a democracy, what are we to make of the palpable elements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/dark-influences-from-the-american-past-congregate-among-us-still-if/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [“We read frequently if unknowingly, in quest of a mind more original than our own.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/we-read-frequently-if-unknowingly-in-quest-of-a-mind-more-original/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [“You can read merely to pass the time, or you can read with an overt urgency, but eventually you will read against the clock.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/you-can-read-merely-to-pass-the-time-or-you-can-read-with-an-overt/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [In the finest critics one hears the full cry of the human. They tell one why it matters to read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/in-the-finest-critics-one-hears-the-full-cry-of-the-human-they-tell/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [The idea of Herman Melville in a writing class is always distressing to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/the-idea-of-herman-melville-in-a-writing-class-is-always-distressing/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [If I were to sum up the negative reactions to my work, I think there are two primary causes: one is that if there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/if-i-were-to-sum-up-the-negative-reactions-to-my-work-i-think-there/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [Aesthetic value emanates from the struggle between texts: in the reader, in language, in the classroom, in arguments within a society. Aesthetic value rises…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/aesthetic-value-emanates-from-the-struggle-between-texts-in-the/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [Shakespeare will not make us better, and he will not make us worse, but he may teach us how to overhear ourselves when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/shakespeare-will-not-make-us-better-and-he-will-not-make-us-worse-but/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [Criticism starts - it has to start - with a real passion for reading. It can come in adolescence, even in your twenties, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/criticism-starts-it-has-to-start-with-a-real-passion-for-reading-it/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [“No one has yet managed to be post-Shakespearean.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/no-one-has-yet-managed-to-be-post-shakespearean/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [What is supposed to be the very essence of Judaism - which is the notion that it is by study that you make yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/what-is-supposed-to-be-the-very-essence-of-judaism-which-is-the/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) [Explore all 127 Harold Bloom quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) ## More Literary quotes > [Literature transforms and intensifies ordinary language, deviates systematically from everyday speech. If you approach me at a bus stop and murmur Thou still unravished…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/literature-transforms-and-intensifies-ordinary-language-deviates/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [“And when I’d settled down, I considered the possibility that I wasn’t yet ready to ask for the love of anyone because I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-decker/and-when-i-d-settled-down-i-considered-the-possibility-that-i-wasn-t/) [Steven Decker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-decker/) > [They never opened the door which leads to the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/they-never-opened-the-door-which-leads-to-the-soul/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [I have said it somewhere - our literary lived lives are as important as our literally lived lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-messud/i-have-said-it-somewhere-our-literary-lived-lives-are-as-important-as/) [Claire Messud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-messud/) > [There's definitely been a focus on the literary aspects of my music, and I always get a little cringey because I don't feel like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-holter/there-s-definitely-been-a-focus-on-the-literary-aspects-of-my-music/) [Julia Holter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-holter/) > [Criticism even should not be without its charms. When quite devoid of all amenities, it is no longer literary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/criticism-even-should-not-be-without-its-charms-when-quite-devoid-of/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [I'm more interested than Philip Roth in understanding women, even if I do it imperfectly. But that book, Portnoy's Complaint, is literary punk in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karan-mahajan/i-m-more-interested-than-philip-roth-in-understanding-women-even-if-i/) [Karan Mahajan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karan-mahajan/) > [I would say that there is no future for literary studies as such in the United States.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/i-would-say-that-there-is-no-future-for-literary-studies-as-such-in/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [I say quotations are literary. They are good only when dealing with ideas, not with experience. Experience should be pure, unique.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-say-quotations-are-literary-they-are-good-only-when-dealing-with/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [“You're smiling. But you must know yourself, since you are a literary person, that the work of fiction is always a form of recovery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-federman/you-re-smiling-but-you-must-know-yourself-since-you-are-a-literary/) [Raymond Federman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-federman/) > [I'm not against asking the audience to work, but I think what you have now is a sort of gratuitous deconstruction as a result…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-miller/i-m-not-against-asking-the-audience-to-work-but-i-think-what-you-have/) [Jonathan Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-miller/) > [In a fit of pique, I said to my agent, 'I'm going to write something you can sell.' The idea was to write a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/in-a-fit-of-pique-i-said-to-my-agent-i-m-going-to-write-something-you/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [Anuj Bahari has always been a really good literary agent for me. What a good agent does is that he manages many of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amish-tripathi/anuj-bahari-has-always-been-a-really-good-literary-agent-for-me-what/) [Amish Tripathi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amish-tripathi/) > [Karl Ove Knausgaard is one of my literary heroes. This distresses many of my female, queer, and trans friends: Torrey, you have every woman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torrey-peters/karl-ove-knausgaard-is-one-of-my-literary-heroes-this-distresses-many/) [Torrey Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torrey-peters/) > [I don't have a whole bunch of literary connections. I don't write reviews or attend writer's conferences. I'm kind of shy and don't want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanna-kaysen/i-don-t-have-a-whole-bunch-of-literary-connections-i-don-t-write/) [Susanna Kaysen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanna-kaysen/) [Browse all 642 Literary quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literary/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“...the representation of human character and personality remains always the supreme literary value, whether in drama, lyric or narrative. I am naive enough to read incessantly because I cannot, on my own, get to know enough people profoundly enough.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Harold Bloom" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/the-representation-of-human-character-and-personality-remains-always/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Literary" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/the-representation-of-human-character-and-personality-remains-always/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/183/harold-bloom-3350_literary_the-representation-of-human-character-an_2331587.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/183/harold-bloom-3350_literary_the-representation-of-human-character-an_2331587.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/183/harold-bloom-3350_literary_the-representation-of-human-character-an_2331587.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“...the representation of human character and personality remains always the supreme literary value, whether…” — Harold Bloom", "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": "Harold Bloom", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“...the representation of human character and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/the-representation-of-human-character-and-personality-remains-always/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/the-representation-of-human-character-and-personality-remains-always/#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 } } ] } ```