Death is the sound of distant thunder at a picnic.
W. H. AudenRead
Attacking bad books is not only a waste of time but also bad for the character. If I find a book really bad, the only interest I can derive from writing about it has to come from myself, from such display of intelligence, wit and malice as I can contrive. One cannot review a bad book without showing off.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Critiquing poor literature can reveal more about the critic's character than the book itself.
W. H. Auden suggests that criticizing or attacking bad books is counterproductive and may reflect negatively on the critic's character. He argues that when one engages in reviewing a poorly written book, the motivation should stem from self-reflection and the ability to showcase one's intelligence rather than a genuine assessment of the book itself, as such critiques can often reveal more about the reviewer than the work in question.
Themes
CriticismLiteratureCharacterBooksIntelligence
In practice
Example use cases
During a literary discussion, one might quote Auden to emphasize the futility of critiquing bad literature.
More from W. H. Auden
All quotes →That the speech of self-disclosure should be translatable seems to me very odd, but I am convinced that it is. The conclusion that I draw is that the only quality which all human being without exception possess is uniqueness: any characteristic, on the other hand, which one individual can be recognized as having in common with another, like red hair or the English language, implies the existence of other individual qualities which this classification excludes.
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Nobody knows what the cause is, though some pretend they do; it like some hidden assassin waiting to strike at you. Childless women get it, and men when they retire; it as if there had to be some outlet for their foiled creative fire.
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History is, strictly speaking, the study of questions; the study of answers belongs to anthropology and sociology.
W. H. AudenRead
Music is the best means we have of digesting time.
W. H. AudenRead
'Healing,' Papa would tell me, 'is not a science, but the intuitive art of wooing nature.'
W. H. AudenRead
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