--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We should be wrong to demand that a…" description: "\"We should be wrong to demand that a critic must stay on the point all the time; it is enough if he remains in orbit around it\" — Kingsley Amis" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05b/kingsley-amis-5258_critic_we-should-be-wrong-to-demand-that-a-crit_2150682.png" --- # We should be wrong to demand that a critic must stay on… ![“We should be wrong to demand that a critic must stay on the point all the time; it is enough if he remains in orbit around it” quote by Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05b/kingsley-amis-5258_critic_we-should-be-wrong-to-demand-that-a-crit_2150682.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05b/kingsley-amis-5258_critic_we-should-be-wrong-to-demand-that-a-crit_2150682.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05b/kingsley-amis-5258_critic_we-should-be-wrong-to-demand-that-a-crit_2150682.png) > “We should be wrong to demand that a critic must stay on the point all the time; it is enough if he remains in orbit around it” [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Critics need not be constantly on topic; staying near the subject is sufficient. **In simple terms:** Critics can orbit the issue. Key Takeaway Allow flexibility in critique. Themes criticism dialogue literary analysis Mood thoughtful reflective Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - book reviews - academic debates - media commentary - political discourse Key Concepts interpretation argumentation focus Questions to Reflect On - When is it okay to stray from the main point? - How does broader perspective aid critique? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on precision can stifle insight. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Critic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/critic/) [Critic Stay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/critic-stay-4519731/) [Critics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/critics/) [Demand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demand/) [Demand Critic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demand-critic-4519732/) [Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Orbit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/orbit/) [Remains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remains/) [Remains Orbit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remains-orbit-4519734/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Stay Point](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stay-point-4519733/) ## Related quotes > [You gotta stay on point in everything in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yg/you-gotta-stay-on-point-in-everything-in-life/) [YG](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yg/) > [I just always try to stay on point, take care of the business, and take care of the people around me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/montel-vontavious-porter/i-just-always-try-to-stay-on-point-take-care-of-the-business-and-take/) [Montel Vontavious Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/montel-vontavious-porter/) > [America was good enough to make a small compact lighter weight nuclear weapon. The Russians still had these big clunky heavy ones, so they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burt-rutan/america-was-good-enough-to-make-a-small-compact-lighter-weight/) [Burt Rutan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burt-rutan/) > [I know without needing to hear the voice of the Creator that the stars trace out in space the orbits which His hand has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-know-without-needing-to-hear-the-voice-of-the-creator-that-the/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Then during the mission itself, I used the space shuttle's robot arm to release a satellite into orbit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-ride/then-during-the-mission-itself-i-used-the-space-shuttle-s-robot-arm/) [Sally Ride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-ride/) > [Phil Taylor's got the consistency of a planet ... and he's in a darts orbit!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sid-waddell/phil-taylor-s-got-the-consistency-of-a-planet-and-he-s-in-a-darts/) [Sid Waddell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sid-waddell/) > [I drank that Wine of which the Soul is its vessel. Its ecstasy has stolen my intellect away. A Light came and kindled a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/i-drank-that-wine-of-which-the-soul-is-its-vessel-its-ecstasy-has/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Today every city, town, or village is affected by it. We have entered the Neon Civilization and become a plastic world.. It goes deeper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-loewy/today-every-city-town-or-village-is-affected-by-it-we-have-entered/) [Raymond Loewy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-loewy/) > [Knowledge was always the power that kept the Universe in its place and the stars turning in their orbits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/knowledge-was-always-the-power-that-kept-the-universe-in-its-place/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Let man then contemplate nature in full and lofty majesty, and turn his eyes away from the mean objects which surround him. Let him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/let-man-then-contemplate-nature-in-full-and-lofty-majesty-and-turn/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [If the moon and earth were not retained in their orbits by their animal force or some other equivalent, the earth would mount to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johannes-kepler/if-the-moon-and-earth-were-not-retained-in-their-orbits-by-their/) [Johannes Kepler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johannes-kepler/) > [I'm always looking to find order within the chaos. And sometimes when my life gets fairly chaotic, I'll take a walk outside. I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-foreman/i-m-always-looking-to-find-order-within-the-chaos-and-sometimes-when/) [Jon Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-foreman/) > [Like a satellite in orbit, Apple is perpetually falling. It just happens to miss Earth every time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-dediu/like-a-satellite-in-orbit-apple-is-perpetually-falling-it-just/) [Horace Dediu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-dediu/) > [I'm not going into infinity. I'm going into low earth orbit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-sharman/i-m-not-going-into-infinity-i-m-going-into-low-earth-orbit/) [Helen Sharman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-sharman/) > [“She couldn't break the orbit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/she-couldn-t-break-the-orbit/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) ## More by Kingsley Amis > [To refer even in passing to unpublished or struggling authors and their problems is to put oneself at some risk, so I will say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/to-refer-even-in-passing-to-unpublished-or-struggling-authors-and/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [Never despise a drink because it is easy to make and/or uses commercial mixes. Unquestioning devotion to authenticity is, in any department of life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/never-despise-a-drink-because-it-is-easy-to-make-and-or-uses/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [“There was no excuse which didn't consist of inexcusable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/there-was-no-excuse-which-didn-t-consist-of-inexcusable/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [The rewards for being sane may not be very many, but knowing what's funny is one of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/the-rewards-for-being-sane-may-not-be-very-many-but-knowing-what-s/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [The human race has not devised any way of dissolving barriers, getting to know the other chap fast, breaking the ice, that is one-tenth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/the-human-race-has-not-devised-any-way-of-dissolving-barriers-getting/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [“{Rogers} sexual aim is “to convert a creature who is cool, dry, calm, articulate, independent, purposeful into a creature who is the opposite of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/rogers-sexual-aim-is-to-convert-a-creature-who-is-cool-dry-calm/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [If there's one word that sums up everything that's gone wrong since the war, it's Workshop. After Youth, that is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/if-there-s-one-word-that-sums-up-everything-that-s-gone-wrong-since/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [Jake was close to tears. In that moment he saw the world in its true light, as a place where nothing had ever been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/jake-was-close-to-tears-in-that-moment-he-saw-the-world-in-its-true/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [It scored right away with me by being the smooth, fine-grained sort, not the coarse flaky, dry-on-the-outside rubbish full of chunds of gut and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/it-scored-right-away-with-me-by-being-the-smooth-fine-grained-sort/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [It's never pleasant to have one's unquestioning beliefs put in their historical context, as I know from experience, I can assure you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/it-s-never-pleasant-to-have-one-s-unquestioning-beliefs-put-in-their/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [“Jake did a quick run-through of women in his mind, not of the ones he had known or dealt with in the past few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/jake-did-a-quick-run-through-of-women-in-his-mind-not-of-the-ones-he/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [“I don't allow people of your sort to stand in my way. That's what you're leaving out of account. I'm having Christine because it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/i-don-t-allow-people-of-your-sort-to-stand-in-my-way-that-s-what-you/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [If you are using an adverb, you have got the verb wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/if-you-are-using-an-adverb-you-have-got-the-verb-wrong/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [Outside every fat man there is an even fatter man trying to close in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/outside-every-fat-man-there-is-an-even-fatter-man-trying-to-close-in/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [“When the bishop farted we were amused to hear about it. Should the ploughboy find treasure we must be told. But when the ploughboy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/when-the-bishop-farted-we-were-amused-to-hear-about-it-should-the/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) [Explore all 102 Kingsley Amis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) ## 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": "We should be wrong to demand that a critic must stay on the point all the time; it is enough if he remains in orbit around it", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kingsley Amis" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/we-should-be-wrong-to-demand-that-a-critic-must-stay-on-the-point-all/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Critic" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/we-should-be-wrong-to-demand-that-a-critic-must-stay-on-the-point-all/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05b/kingsley-amis-5258_critic_we-should-be-wrong-to-demand-that-a-crit_2150682.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05b/kingsley-amis-5258_critic_we-should-be-wrong-to-demand-that-a-crit_2150682.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05b/kingsley-amis-5258_critic_we-should-be-wrong-to-demand-that-a-crit_2150682.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We should be wrong to demand that a critic must stay on the point all the time; it is enough if he remains…” — Kingsley Amis", "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": "Kingsley Amis", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We should be wrong to demand...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/we-should-be-wrong-to-demand-that-a-critic-must-stay-on-the-point-all/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/we-should-be-wrong-to-demand-that-a-critic-must-stay-on-the-point-all/#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 } } ] } ```