Learning why one great book is just like every other great book is the key to understanding literature

Learning why one great book is just like every other great book is the key to understanding literature

After all, all he did was string together a lot of old, well-known quotations.

After all, all he did was string together a lot of old, well-known quotations.

It takes a great deal of history to produce a little literature.

It takes a great deal of history to produce a little literature.

The great Cham of literature. (Samuel Johnson)

The great Cham of literature. (Samuel Johnson)

Literature is a power to be possessed, not a body of objects to be studied.

Literature is a power to be possessed, not a body of objects to be studied.

Poetry is at least an elegance and at most a revelation.

Poetry is at least an elegance and at most a revelation.

The writing of a poem is like a child throwing stones into a mineshaft. You compose first, then you listen read more

The writing of a poem is like a child throwing stones into a mineshaft. You compose first, then you listen for the reverberation.

Some people talk in their sleep. Lecturers talk while other people sleep.

Some people talk in their sleep. Lecturers talk while other people sleep.

The decline in literature indicates a decline in the nation. The two keep pace in their downward tendency.

The decline in literature indicates a decline in the nation. The two keep pace in their downward tendency.