Quote by Gore Vidal, New York Review of B

Great critics do not explicate a text; they describe it and then report on what they have described, if the description itself is not the criticism.(Gore Vidal writing about the critic Edmund Wilson)

Great critics do not explicate a text; they describe it and

Summary

This quote by Gore Vidal highlights the role of great critics in analyzing texts. According to Vidal, great critics go beyond simply explaining or interpreting a text. Instead, they focus on describing the text itself and then reporting their observations. In cases where the description alone can serve as a criticism, it implies that the quality of the text has been so beautifully captured and conveyed through the description that it becomes a critique in and of itself. This quote emphasizes the importance of thoughtful and insightful analysis in the field of literary criticism.

Topics

Criticism

By Gore Vidal, New York Review of B

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