Books Quote by Randall Jarrell
““When we think of the masterpieces that nobody praised and nobody read, back there in the past, we feel an impatient superiority to the readers of the past. If we had been there, we can’t help feeling, we’d have known that Moby-Dick was a good book—-why, how could anyone help knowing? But suppose someone says to us, “Well, you’re here now: what’s our own Moby-Dick? What’s the book that, a hundred years from now, everybody will look down on us for not having liked?” What do we say then?””
About This Quote
Source Speech: Lecture on Literary Criticism, 1960s
We often imagine past readers would have recognized great works we now overlook, yet we must confront our own future judgments of contemporary art.
In simple terms: We think past readers would have seen greatness, but we must consider how future readers will judge us.
Key Takeaway
Recognize present bias and stay humble about current tastes.
Themes
humility
literary criticism
temporal perspective
Mood
reflective
thoughtful
Type
philosophical
inspirational
When to use this quote
- teaching literature
- writing reviews
- curating anthologies
- personal reading choices
Key Concepts
canon formation
subjectivity
historical relativism
Questions to Reflect On
- How might our current favorites be viewed a century from now?
- What criteria should we use to assess art beyond its era?
A Different Perspective
Future judgments may differ wildly, making any claim of superiority uncertain.
![“Early in his life Mr. [Ezra] Pound met with strong, continued, and unintelligent opposition. If people keep opposing you when you are right, you think them fools; and after a time, right or wrong, you think them fools simply because they oppose you. Similarly, you write true things or good things…” quote by Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/5a7/randall-jarrell-3811_ends_early-in-his-life-mr-ezra-pound-met-with_359433.jpg)
