--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I thought to myself, who is this…" description: "\"“I thought to myself, who is this excellent man Van Doren who being employed to teach literature, teaches just that: talks about writing and about book..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a52/thomas-merton-231_books_i-thought-to-myself-who-is-this-excellen_525331.jpg" --- # I thought to myself, who is this excellent man Van Doren… ![“I thought to myself, who is this excellent man Van Doren who being employed to teach literature, teaches just that: talks about writing and about books and poems and plays: does not get off on a tangent about the biographies of the poets or novelists: does not read into their poems a lot of…” quote by Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a52/thomas-merton-231_books_i-thought-to-myself-who-is-this-excellen_525331.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a52/thomas-merton-231_books_i-thought-to-myself-who-is-this-excellen_525331.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a52/thomas-merton-231_books_i-thought-to-myself-who-is-this-excellen_525331.jpg) > ““I thought to myself, who is this excellent man Van Doren who being employed to teach literature, teaches just that: talks about writing and about books and poems and plays: does not get off on a tangent about the biographies of the poets or novelists: does not read into their poems a lot of subjective messages which were never there? Who is this man who does not have to fake and cover up a big gulf of ignorance by teaching a lot of opinions and conjectures and useless facts that belong to some other subject? Who is this who really loves what he has to teach, and does not secretly detest all literature, and abhor poetry, while pretending to be a professor of it?...It was because of this virtual scholasticism of Mark's that he would never permit himself to fall into the naive errors of those who try to read some favorite private doctrine into every poet they like of ever nation or every age. And Mark abhorred the smug assurance with which second-rate left-wing critics find adumbrations of dialectical materialism in everyone who ever wrote from Homer and Shakespeare to whomever they happen to like in recent times. If the poet is to their fancy, then he is clearly seen to be preaching the class struggle. If they do not like him, then they are able to show that he was really a forefather of fascism. And all their literary heroes are revolutionary leaders, and all their favorite villains are capitalists and Nazis.”” [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A critique of over‑interpretive literary criticism that forces political readings onto texts, urging teachers to focus on the work itself. **In simple terms:** Avoid imposing personal ideologies on literature. Key Takeaway Teach texts plainly, without hidden agendas. Themes literary criticism politics education interpretation academic integrity Mood thoughtful critical analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - classroom teaching - literary analysis - academic publishing - public discourse Key Concepts hermeneutics ideological bias authorial intent Questions to Reflect On - How does your own bias shape your reading of a text? - Can a work be both artistic and political? A Different Perspective Readers may miss deeper cultural contexts by ignoring subtext. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Class struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class-struggle/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Revolutionary leaders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolutionary-leaders/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I think technical people now should learn literature, because literature teaches you a great deal about how - the depths and variety of human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/i-think-technical-people-now-should-learn-literature-because/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [“Literature differs from life in that life is amorphously full of detail, and rarely directs us toward it, wheras literature teaches us to notice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-wood/literature-differs-from-life-in-that-life-is-amorphously-full-of/) [James Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-wood/) > [I don't teach literature from my perspective as 'Joyce Carol Oates.' 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Who is this man who does not have to fake and cover up a big gulf of ignorance by teaching a lot of opinions and conjectures and useless facts that belong to some other subject? Who is this who really loves what he has to teach, and does not secretly detest all literature, and abhor poetry, while pretending to be a professor of it?...It was because of this virtual scholasticism of Mark's that he would never permit himself to fall into the naive errors of those who try to read some favorite private doctrine into every poet they like of ever nation or every age. And Mark abhorred the smug assurance with which second-rate left-wing critics find adumbrations of dialectical materialism in everyone who ever wrote from Homer and Shakespeare to whomever they happen to like in recent times. If the poet is to their fancy, then he is clearly seen to be preaching the class struggle. If they do not like him, then they are able to show that he was really a forefather of fascism. 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