The Critic In The Modern World

The Critic in the Modern World explores the work of six influential literary critics-Samuel Johnson, William Hazlitt, Matthew Arnold, T.S. Eliot, Lionel Trilling and James Wood-each of whom occupies a distinct historical moment. It considers how these representative critics have constructed their public personae, the kinds of arguments they have used, and their core principles and philosophies.

Spanning three hundred years of cultural history, The Critic in the Modern World considers the various ways in which literary critics have positioned themselves in relation to the modern tradition of descriptive criticism. In providing a lucid account of each critic's central principles and philosophies, it considers the role of the literary critic as a public figure, interpreting him as someone who is compelled to address the wider issues of individualism and the social implications of the democratising, secularising, liberalising forces of modernity.

Review: The Critic in the Modern World is an exceptionally intelligent and well-written study, showing how some of the greatest English-language critics have engaged with literature and the world. Like the critics he writes about, Ley is addressing not the specialist but the generally educated reader, and anyone who cares about the tradition of criticism will find him a rewarding and enlightening guide. -- Adam Kirsch Ley (Univ. of Western Sydney; editor, Sydney Review of Books) sets out to trace the history of the public literary critic by examining the work of six influential and representative men: Samuel Johnson, William Hazlitt, Matthew Arnold, T.S.

Eliot, Lionel Trilling, and James Wood. Combining analysis of the critics' ideas with relevant pieces of their biographies and cultural and historical context, these essays explore the practice and influence of the public judge (as opposed to the academic one). Each piece can stand alone, but the work reads best chronologically as Ley compares and contrasts the ideas of each critic to his predecessors..Thoughtful and well written, Ley's study covers nearly 300 years of literary history.

He deftly moves the reader from Johnson's neoclassical stance through romanticism, modernism, and the present-day secular position of Wood. -- Stefanie Hollmichel Library Journal