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.
W. H. AudenRead
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.
W. H. AudenRead
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
Similar quotes
A man ceases to be a beginner in any given science and becomes a master in that science when he has learned that... he is going to be a beginner all his life.
Robin G. CollingwoodRead
The enlightened attention rejects nothing nor welcomes anything-like a mirror it responds equally to all.
ZhuangziRead
Good questions work on us, we don't work on them. They are not a project to be completed but a doorway opening onto greater depth of understanding, actions that will take us into being more fully alive.
Peter BlockRead
You will always be too much of something for someone: too big, too loud, too soft, too edgy. If you round out your edges, you lose your edge. Apologize for mistakes. Apologize for unintentionally hurting someone - profusely. But don't apologize for being who you are.
Danielle LaporteRead
I have lost stories and many starts of novels before. Not always as punishment for 'telling,' but more often as a result of something having gone cold and dead because of a hiatus. Telling, you see, is the same as a hiatus. It means you're not doing it.
Cynthia OzickRead
Patience is...clearly not fatalistic, shoulder-shrugging resignation. It is the acceptance of a divine rhythm to life; it is obedience prolonged. Patience stoutly resists pulling up the daisies to see how the roots are doing.
Neal A. MaxwellRead