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An Experiment in Criticism

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An Experiment in Criticism

By: C. S. Lewis
Narrated by: Richard Elwood
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About this listen

Why do we read literature and how do we judge it? C. S. Lewis' 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' wisdom is valuably down-to-earth, refreshing, and stimulating in the questions it raises about the experience of reading.

©1961 Cambridge University Press (P)2021 Upfront Books European Literary History & Criticism World Literature

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A writer’s thoughts on appreciation of art and literature

Do you treat a book like a magazine, throwing it away after one reading, or do you read it again and again? When you think about a book, is it mainly to extract the message and meaning, or do you appreciate it mainly as a work of art? This book will add new depth to every novel you read and every work of art you see

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