An Experiment in Criticism (Canto Classics) - Softcover

Lewis, C. S.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1107604729 ISBN 13: 9781107604728

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2012

Synopsis

Why do we read literature and how do we judge it? C. S. Lewis's classic An Experiment in Criticism springs from the conviction that literature exists for the joy of the reader and that books should be judged by the kind of reading they invite. He argues that 'good reading', like moral action or religious experience, involves surrender to the work in hand and a process of entering fully into the opinions of others: 'in reading great literature I become a thousand men and yet remain myself'. Crucial to his notion of judging literature is a commitment to laying aside expectations and values extraneous to the work, in order to approach it with an open mind. Amid the complex welter of current critical theories, C. S. Lewis's wisdom is valuably down-to-earth, refreshing and stimulating in the questions it raises about the experience of reading.

About this title

Review:

'Lewis is at one and the same time provocative, tactful, biased, open-minded, old-fashioned, far-seeing, very annoying and very wise.' Church Times

'This genuinely provocative little book ... Professor Lewis makes the best case against evaluative criticism that I have read.' David Daiches, New York Times Book Review

Book Description:

Amid the complex welter of current critical theories, C. S. Lewis's wisdom is valuably down-to-earth, refreshing and stimulating in the questions it raises about the experience of reading.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1107604729
• ISBN 13: 9781107604728
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 150