--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every literary critic believes he will…" description: "\"Every literary critic believes he will outwit history and have the last word.\" — Mason Cooley" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/835/mason-cooley-92_critic_every-literary-critic-believes-he-will-o_717526.png" --- # Every literary critic believes he will outwit history and… ![“Every literary critic believes he will outwit history and have the last word.” quote by Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/835/mason-cooley-92_critic_every-literary-critic-believes-he-will-o_717526.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/835/mason-cooley-92_critic_every-literary-critic-believes-he-will-o_717526.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/835/mason-cooley-92_critic_every-literary-critic-believes-he-will-o_717526.png) > “Every literary critic believes he will outwit history and have the last word.” [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Critics often think they can control narratives, but history may not align with their expectations. **In simple terms:** Critics think they can dominate history, but they may not. Key Takeaway Stay humble about influence. Themes humility history criticism Mood thoughtful skeptical Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - academic debates - media analysis - public discourse Key Concepts authorial intent historical perspective intellectual arrogance Questions to Reflect On - Can critics truly control historical interpretation? - When does criticism become self‑fulfilling? A Different Perspective Critics can sometimes shape discourse despite historical forces. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Last Word](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/last-word/) [Literary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literary/) ## Related quotes > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [I wouldn't call myself a 'literary critic,' just a book reviewer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neel-mukherjee/i-wouldn-t-call-myself-a-literary-critic-just-a-book-reviewer/) [Neel Mukherjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neel-mukherjee/) > [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/) > [“Soon after I left university, I came up with another definition of a literary critic or would be critic: someoone who uses churlish towards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-murnane/soon-after-i-left-university-i-came-up-with-another-definition-of-a/) Gerald Murnane > [“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/) > [I thought it was a glorious thing to be a critic and to be a literary editor, and one was really doing something that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-tomalin/i-thought-it-was-a-glorious-thing-to-be-a-critic-and-to-be-a-literary/) [Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) > [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/) > [“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/) > [“The beauty of being a bookseller is that you don't have to be a literary critic: all you have to do to books is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-morley/the-beauty-of-being-a-bookseller-is-that-you-don-t-have-to-be-a/) [Christopher Morley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-morley/) > [“Here the phenomenologist has nothing in common with the literary critic who, as has frequently been noted, judges a work that he could not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/here-the-phenomenologist-has-nothing-in-common-with-the-literary/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [“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/) > [“But now it seems clear that literary criticism was inherently doomed. Explicitly or otherwise it had based itself on a structure of echelons and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/but-now-it-seems-clear-that-literary-criticism-was-inherently-doomed/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) ## More by Mason Cooley > [Nostalgia keeps dissolving the ironic narratives in which I have contained my past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/nostalgia-keeps-dissolving-the-ironic-narratives-in-which-i-have/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [The modernist writers found despair inspirational.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-modernist-writers-found-despair-inspirational/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Even the most abject have a sense of superiority based on powerful though undefined merits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/even-the-most-abject-have-a-sense-of-superiority-based-on-powerful/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Money comes to life as it is spent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/money-comes-to-life-as-it-is-spent/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Even the most fickle are faithful to a few bad habits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/even-the-most-fickle-are-faithful-to-a-few-bad-habits/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Rage is exciting, but leaves me confused and exhausted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/rage-is-exciting-but-leaves-me-confused-and-exhausted/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Literary tradition is full of lies about poverty-the jolly beggar, the poor but happy milkmaid, the wholesome diet of porridge, etc.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/literary-tradition-is-full-of-lies-about-poverty-the-jolly-beggar-the/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Experience teaches us, but we scarcely know what.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/experience-teaches-us-but-we-scarcely-know-what/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [The body has a mind of its own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-body-has-a-mind-of-its-own/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [In retirement, I look for days off from my days off. Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/in-retirement-i-look-for-days-off-from-my-days-off-mason-cooley/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [My intentions go one way, my desires another. Thus I feel both self-indulgent and deprived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/my-intentions-go-one-way-my-desires-another-thus-i-feel-both-self/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [The Puritan sours his pleasures by disguising them as duties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-puritan-sours-his-pleasures-by-disguising-them-as-duties/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Unlike the actual, the fictional explains itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/unlike-the-actual-the-fictional-explains-itself/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Vacations prove that a life of pleasure is overrated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/vacations-prove-that-a-life-of-pleasure-is-overrated/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Outside literature, high-flown sentiments are merely exasperating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/outside-literature-high-flown-sentiments-are-merely-exasperating/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) [Explore all 1,401 Mason Cooley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) ## 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 > [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 ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Every literary critic believes he will outwit history and have the last word.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mason Cooley" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/every-literary-critic-believes-he-will-outwit-history-and-have-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Critic" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/every-literary-critic-believes-he-will-outwit-history-and-have-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/835/mason-cooley-92_critic_every-literary-critic-believes-he-will-o_717526.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/835/mason-cooley-92_critic_every-literary-critic-believes-he-will-o_717526.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/835/mason-cooley-92_critic_every-literary-critic-believes-he-will-o_717526.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Every literary critic believes he will outwit history and have the last word.” — Mason Cooley", "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": "Mason Cooley", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Every literary critic believes he will...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/every-literary-critic-believes-he-will-outwit-history-and-have-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/every-literary-critic-believes-he-will-outwit-history-and-have-the/#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 } } ] } ```