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534 BOOK REVIEWS The Intent of the Critic. By EDMUND WILSON, NoRMAN FoERSTER, JOHN CROWE RANSOM, W. H. AuDEN. Edited, with an introduction, by DoNALD A. STAUFFER. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1941. Pp. 147. $!MO. The Novel and Society. By N. ELIZABETH MoNROE. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1941. Pp. ~8~, with index. $3.00. The Mind of the Maker. By DoROTHY L. SAYERS. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co., 1941. Pp. xiv + ~~9. $~.00. The Intent of the Critic was planned as a companion to The Intent of the Artist, previously published by the same firm. One's first impression, after comparing the book with its precursor, is that the critic is much more articulate than the artist in trying to express his purpose. This is to be expected, for the critic is more at home in analysis. Four outstanding critics were asked to contribute to· this work; they were chosen because of their distinctive critical approaches to literature-historical (Wilson) , ethical (Foerster) esthetic (Ransom), social (Auden). The introduction was written by Donald A. Stauffer. It is extremely interesting and should be read last, or at least reread at the end. " The Historical Interpretation of Literature " is Edmund Wilson's contribution . Wilson is looked upon as one of the outstanding literary critics. From the evidence of this piece we are somewhat skeptical. He ·does give a clear exposition of the various historical approaches to literature that are common today-social, economic, and psychological (Freudian). These tend to explain the genesis and meaning of the work of literature. They are not literary criticism. "No matter how thorough and complete our explanations of works of literature may be from the historical and biographical points of view, we must be ready to try to estimate the relative degrees of success attained by the products. of the various periods and the various personalities . . ." (p. 57) . By what criterion shall we judge a work of literature? Wilson's is entirely pragmatic-literature gives relief to the tension aroused by the strangeness of life's tensions. "This relief that brings the sense of power, and with the sense of power, joy, is the emotion which tells us when we are in the presence of a first-rate piece of literature" (p. 61). There is an obvious objection to such a criterion and Wilson does not overlook it; there are many who find relief from life's tensions in the trashiest sort of writing. In answer to this objection Wilson appeals to the experience of the more highly organized man who has a wider intellectual range. Nevertheless, "The difference between the emotion of the more highly organized man and the emotion of the less highly organized one is merely a matter of gradation" (p. 61). In other words, Wilson's criterion of literary excellence is purely subjective. However, there is some gain when a man of Wilson's prominence admits the limitations of historical criticism. BOOK REVIEWS 535 "The Esthetic Judgment and the Ethical Judgment" is the title of Norman Foerster's contribution. He immediately makes an important distinction between literary criticism and general criticism. "An essential task of the literary critic is to contemplate, analyze, and judge a literary work as a work of art, as a thing of beauty, in its esthetic character" (p. 69). In most of the arts, criticism is confined~ to the esthetic; in literature, however, criticism is as often ethical as esthetic. The reason for this Foerster finds in the articulateness of literature. What he means is that the literary artist more clearly expresses his philosophy of life and his judgments of value in his work than other artists do. He insists that the ultimate critical judgment on a piece of literature must take into consideration the ethical content as well as the esthetic means of the production. What Foerster says is undoubtedly true, especially with regard to contemporary literature, which, to a large extent, has fallen off from the traditional aims of literature. Literature, as a fine art, has always aimed at the production of beauty, which, when contemplated, gives pleasure. Today, the aim seems to be rather a criticism of life, a wordy struggle with life...

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