Authors and Authority : English and American Criticism 1750–1990

The second edition of this lively and trenchant one-volume history of literary criticism in English includes new assessments of the work of T.S. Eliot, I.A. Richards, F.R. Leavis, the American New Critics, Northrop Frye, Roman Jakobson, Harold Bloom, Paul de Man, Virginia Woolf and others. Authors and Authority traces the connections between critical debate and the changing forms of literary culture from the Neoclassical period to the latest manifestations of literary theory, feminist criticism and cultural studies. From reviews of the first edition: ' ... a most important study.' British Book News' ... valuable and suggestive.' Poetry Nation Review ' ... consistently balanced, judicious and acute - massively erudite without ever being overpowering.' M. Fagg, Times Educational Supplement Authors And Authority Is A One-volume History Of Anglo-american Literary Criticism From The Neoclassical Period Up Until Recent Trends In Modern Literary Theory, Feminist Criticism And Cultural History. Focussing On The Work Of Major Critics Such As Johnson, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Arnold, Eliot, Virginia Woolf, Leavis, Frye And Lionel Trilling, Parrinder Traces The Connections Between Authorship And Critical Authority, And Between Literary Debate And The Changing Forms Of Culture And Society. Surveying The Development That Leads From The Creative Manifestos Of The Romantic Poets To The Current Interpretative Theories Of Stucturalism, Deconstruction And New Historicism, The Author Asks Whether There Is A Future For A Distinctively Literary Criticism, And Whether The Gulf Between Creator And Critic Can Be Healed. -- Back Cover. 1. Samuel Johnson: The Academy And The Market-place --- 2. William Wordsworth: The Poet As Prophet --- 3. The Romantic Critics --- 4. Victorian Criticism - The Republic Of Letters --- 5. Modernists And New Critics --- 6. The Age Of Interpretation --- 7. The Challenges To Interpretation. Patrick Parrinder. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 350-373) And Index. Front Matter....Pages i-viii Introduction....Pages 1-5 Samuel Johnson: The Academy and the Market-Place....Pages 6-37 William Wordsworth: The Poet as Prophet....Pages 38-63 The Romantic Critics....Pages 64-116 Victorian Criticism: The Republic of Letters....Pages 117-206 Modernists and New Critics....Pages 207-269 The Age of Interpretation....Pages 270-313 The Challenges to Interpretation....Pages 314-349 Back Matter....Pages 350-392