Literary Theory - General & Miscellaneous

William Empson: The Critical Achievement

Name: William Empson: The Critical Achievement
Author: Christopher Norris
ISBN: 9780521118866

by Christopher Norris, Nigel Mapp

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Overview

William Empson (1906-84) was one of the twentieth century's most distinctive critical voices, and left (perhaps unwittingly) a profound mark upon Anglo-American literary culture. This book is the first full study of Empson's literary criticism in its various aspects, taking account of recent developments in critical theory and of Empson's complex - at times deeply antagonistic - attitude towards those developments. In their diversity of viewpoint and critical approach the essays reflect this sturdy resistance to the fashionable trends of 'Eng. Lit.' opinion. Topics include Empson's speculative treatment of language and the sublime in his Seven types of ambiguity (1930); his brilliant redefinition of the pastoral genre; the logico-semantic theory of multiple meaning developed in The structure of complex words (1951); his critique of 'neo-Christian' values and assumptions in Milton's God (1961) and the essays of his last two decades; and the relation between Empson's and Derrida's approaches to the issue of textual 'undecidability'. There are also chapters on his highly individual methods of teaching and postgraduate supervision, as well as his prominent (if unwilling) role in the shaping of English as an academic discourse. The nine essays by experts on twentieth-century criticism and theory follow on from Christopher Norris's extended introductory piece which charts the ground and offers a major revaluation of Empson's place in the theoretical tradition. Together, the components of the book present Empson as by far the most intelligent, inventive, humane, and sheerly readable of critics in the modern 'analytical' school.

Synopsis

William Empson (1906SH84) was one of the twentieth century's most distinctive critical voices, and left a profound mark upon Anglo-American literary culture. This book is the first full study of Empson's literary criticism in its various aspects, taking account of recent developments in critical theory and of Empson's complex SH at times deeply antagonistic SH attitude towards those developments. In their diversity of viewpoint and critical approach the nine essays reflect this sturdy resistance to fashionable trends of 'Eng. Lit.' opinion. Topics include the relations between Empson and Derrida's approaches to the issue of textual 'undecidability', and Empson's prominent (if unwilling role) in the shaping of English as an academic discourse. Christopher Norris's extended introduction charts the ground and offers a major revaluation of Empson's place in the theoretical tradition.