--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It might be an idea for all literary…" description: "\"It might be an idea for all literary critics to read the books they analyse aloud - it certainly helps to fix them in the mind, while providing a ready..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a45/will-self-2296_audience_it-might-be-an-idea-for-all-literary-cri_680142.jpg" --- # It might be an idea for all literary critics to read the… ![“It might be an idea for all literary critics to read the books they analyse aloud - it certainly helps to fix them in the mind, while providing a readymade seminar with your audience.” quote by Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a45/will-self-2296_audience_it-might-be-an-idea-for-all-literary-cri_680142.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a45/will-self-2296_audience_it-might-be-an-idea-for-all-literary-cri_680142.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a45/will-self-2296_audience_it-might-be-an-idea-for-all-literary-cri_680142.jpg) > “It might be an idea for all literary critics to read the books they analyse aloud - it certainly helps to fix them in the mind, while providing a readymade seminar with your audience.” [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading texts aloud reinforces memory and creates a shared experience for the audience. **In simple terms:** Speaking aloud improves recall and engages listeners. Key Takeaway Read aloud to deepen understanding. Themes memory communication learning Mood reflective engaging Type educational practical When to use this quote - classroom teaching - book clubs - lecture preparation - personal study Key Concepts cognitive reinforcement public speaking Questions to Reflect On - How does hearing your own voice change comprehension? - When is silent reading more effective? A Different Perspective Not all texts benefit equally from oral presentation; some may lose nuance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Audience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Literary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literary/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Seminar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seminar/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“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 > [I read many wonderful novels, though I now find the idea of literary fiction obsolete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-sebag-montefiore/i-read-many-wonderful-novels-though-i-now-find-the-idea-of-literary/) [Simon Sebag Montefiore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-sebag-montefiore/) > [In truth, even if they have an imperfect insight into their own methods, I still slightly mistrust writers of fiction who are assured literary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/in-truth-even-if-they-have-an-imperfect-insight-into-their-own/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [My biggest critics have never read me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-collins/my-biggest-critics-have-never-read-me/) [Jackie Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-collins/) > [If you write for the critics, only the critics will read you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-goldberg/if-you-write-for-the-critics-only-the-critics-will-read-you/) [Jonah Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-goldberg/) > [The Intelligentsia (scientists apart) are losing all touch with, and all influence over, nearly the whole human race. Our most esteemed poets and critics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/the-intelligentsia-scientists-apart-are-losing-all-touch-with-and-all/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Literary critics make natural detectives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/literary-critics-make-natural-detectives/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I sometimes think there is nothing really to be said about a novel but 'read the book.' I have a jaundiced view of literary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kurlansky/i-sometimes-think-there-is-nothing-really-to-be-said-about-a-novel/) [Mark Kurlansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kurlansky/) > [I don't know what to say about literary critics. I think it's probably best to say nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-don-t-know-what-to-say-about-literary-critics-i-think-it-s-probably/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [To literary critics a book is assumed to be guilty until it proves itself innocent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-algren/to-literary-critics-a-book-is-assumed-to-be-guilty-until-it-proves/) [Nelson Algren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-algren/) > [“it has been my experience with literary critics and academics in this country that clarity looks a lot like laziness and ignorance and childishness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/it-has-been-my-experience-with-literary-critics-and-academics-in-this/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Literary critics, like a herd of cows or a school of fish, always face in the same direction, obeying that love for unity that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/literary-critics-like-a-herd-of-cows-or-a-school-of-fish-always-face/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Literary critics, however, frequently suffer from a curious belief that every author longs to extend the boundaries of literary art, wants to explore new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/literary-critics-however-frequently-suffer-from-a-curious-belief-that/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [“This philistinism of interpretation is more rife in literature than in any other art. For decades now, literary critics have understood it to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/this-philistinism-of-interpretation-is-more-rife-in-literature-than/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [I'm a fan of Hugh Kenner, Richard Ellman, Lionel Trilling and Frank Kermode. All these people have taught me how to read - but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kitcher/i-m-a-fan-of-hugh-kenner-richard-ellman-lionel-trilling-and-frank/) [Philip Kitcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kitcher/) ## More by Will Self > [As for critical writing about modernism, its moments of lucidity are but fulgurations illuminating the dark and incomprehensible landscape of its subject's unabashed difficulty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/as-for-critical-writing-about-modernism-its-moments-of-lucidity-are/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [“As my voice died away I became conscious of the voice of another woman two tables away. I couldn't hear what she was saying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/as-my-voice-died-away-i-became-conscious-of-the-voice-of-another/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [That tertiary education is under a sustained assault by a political and - it often seems - social consensus that equates all education with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/that-tertiary-education-is-under-a-sustained-assault-by-a-political/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [I'm an anarchist. I'm implacably opposed to heirarchical systems of power and control. I also mistrust crowds, as they often operate according to their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/i-m-an-anarchist-i-m-implacably-opposed-to-heirarchical-systems-of/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [What fiction offers us is an intimacy shorn of the messy contingencies of human existence - gender, race, class or age. Those moments of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/what-fiction-offers-us-is-an-intimacy-shorn-of-the-messy/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [I'd rather fiddle with my phone for precious seconds than neglect an apostrophe; I'd rather insert a word laboriously keyed out than resort to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/i-d-rather-fiddle-with-my-phone-for-precious-seconds-than-neglect-an/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [I'm very happy for whatever plaudits might come the way of my work, but I never ever sit down to write x with y…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/i-m-very-happy-for-whatever-plaudits-might-come-the-way-of-my-work/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [As a writer, I'm not convinced that we are the best equipped to understand how we go about the business of literary production.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/as-a-writer-i-m-not-convinced-that-we-are-the-best-equipped-to/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [“I explained to him - as I withdrew the cup, ripped open the sachet and dunked the tea bag - that tea was an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/i-explained-to-him-as-i-withdrew-the-cup-ripped-open-the-sachet-and/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [There is something mysteriously powerful that can happen when young, inchoate minds come into contact with older and more worldly ones in a spirit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/there-is-something-mysteriously-powerful-that-can-happen-when-young/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [It would seem that I, who never could make much sense of physics when I was at school, have now gained a strong sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/it-would-seem-that-i-who-never-could-make-much-sense-of-physics-when/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [Drug use and procrastination often go hand in tourniquet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/drug-use-and-procrastination-often-go-hand-in-tourniquet/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [“…with the morbid realisation that his sexual being was a dull thing, a lifeless thing, a mass-produced marionette with chipped paint and fraying strings”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/with-the-morbid-realisation-that-his-sexual-being-was-a-dull-thing-a/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [A creative life cannot be sustained by approval any more than it can be destroyed by criticism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/a-creative-life-cannot-be-sustained-by-approval-any-more-than-it-can/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [I don't think in terms of that bizarre tautology 'value for money' in my literary and journalistic work - and nor will I in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/i-don-t-think-in-terms-of-that-bizarre-tautology-value-for-money-in/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) [Explore all 172 Will Self quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) ## More Audience quotes > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/) [Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/) > [It's those moments, those odd moments that you look for and sometimes by creating this kind of loose atmosphere you find those little moments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-levinson/it-s-those-moments-those-odd-moments-that-you-look-for-and-sometimes/) [Barry Levinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-levinson/) > [I can skate beautifully. While performing on ice I always try to please the audience and to win as well. Being artistic is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeni-plushenko/i-can-skate-beautifully-while-performing-on-ice-i-always-try-to/) [Evgeni Plushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeni-plushenko/) > [One of the best moments of any Liars show is hearing the crowd squawk 'We're doomed! We're doomed!' on cue during 'We Fenced Other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/one-of-the-best-moments-of-any-liars-show-is-hearing-the-crowd-squawk/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [It's the adrenaline rush you only get from being in front of an audience. It's addictive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-saadiq/it-s-the-adrenaline-rush-you-only-get-from-being-in-front-of-an/) [Raphael Saadiq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-saadiq/) > [If I had to speak in front of a Korean audience, I would be hard pressed to sound other than a little girl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/an-na/if-i-had-to-speak-in-front-of-a-korean-audience-i-would-be-hard/) [An Na](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/an-na/) > [The liveness of theater, and the excitement of experiencing it alongside an audience, is something you can't get at home. That makes the theater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-blaemire/the-liveness-of-theater-and-the-excitement-of-experiencing-it/) [Nick Blaemire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-blaemire/) > [One of the things that touches me most when I play for an audience is that although we may be unable to communicate in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hough/one-of-the-things-that-touches-me-most-when-i-play-for-an-audience-is/) [Stephen Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hough/) > [I have to feel the audience. I enjoy that feeling of community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-gahan/i-have-to-feel-the-audience-i-enjoy-that-feeling-of-community/) [Dave Gahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-gahan/) > [When you lived it for years and years and years and seen different characters just get pummeled and squashed because 'I said so,' it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arn-anderson/when-you-lived-it-for-years-and-years-and-years-and-seen-different/) [Arn Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arn-anderson/) > [“During the first few minutes of your presentation, your job is to assure the audience members that you are not going to waste their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-ludwig-and-greg-owen-boger/during-the-first-few-minutes-of-your-presentation-your-job-is-to/) [Dale Ludwig and Greg Owen-Boger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-ludwig-and-greg-owen-boger/) > [Donald Trump is a different ball of wax. I've been trying to say for I don't know how many months now that the traditional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/donald-trump-is-a-different-ball-of-wax-i-ve-been-trying-to-say-for-i/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [I don't think about who the audience is for my books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling-2/i-don-t-think-about-who-the-audience-is-for-my-books/) [J. K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling-2/) > [I feel I have been playing all primary characters. And if your character forms a connect with the audience, it doesn't matter if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angad-bedi/i-feel-i-have-been-playing-all-primary-characters-and-if-your/) [Angad Bedi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angad-bedi/) > [When I was playing piano, it was like, 'I'm going to write a song using all the white keys.' My music director, who knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tesh/when-i-was-playing-piano-it-was-like-i-m-going-to-write-a-song-using/) [John Tesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tesh/) [Browse all 9,118 Audience quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It might be an idea for all literary critics to read the books they analyse aloud - it certainly helps to fix them in the mind, while providing a readymade seminar with your audience.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Will Self" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/it-might-be-an-idea-for-all-literary-critics-to-read-the-books-they/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Audience" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/it-might-be-an-idea-for-all-literary-critics-to-read-the-books-they/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a45/will-self-2296_audience_it-might-be-an-idea-for-all-literary-cri_680142.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a45/will-self-2296_audience_it-might-be-an-idea-for-all-literary-cri_680142.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a45/will-self-2296_audience_it-might-be-an-idea-for-all-literary-cri_680142.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It might be an idea for all literary critics to read the books they analyse aloud - it certainly helps to…” — Will Self", "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": "Will Self", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It might be an idea for...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/it-might-be-an-idea-for-all-literary-critics-to-read-the-books-they/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/it-might-be-an-idea-for-all-literary-critics-to-read-the-books-they/#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 } } ] } ```