The Hatred of Literature

For 2,500 years literature has been condemned in the name of authority, truth, morality and society. But in making explicit what a society expects from literature, anti-literary discourse paradoxically asserts the validity of what it wishes to deny. The threat to literature¿s continued existence, William Marx writes, is not hatred but indifference.

About the author

William Marx is Professor of Comparative Literature at the University of Paris Nanterre.

Summary

For 2,500 years literature has been condemned in the name of authority, truth, morality and society. But in making explicit what a society expects from literature, anti-literary discourse paradoxically asserts the validity of what it wishes to deny. The threat to literature’s continued existence, William Marx writes, is not hatred but indifference.

Product details

• Authors: William Marx, Marx William
• Assisted by: Nicholas Elliott (Translation), Elliott Nicholas (Translation)
• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 31.01.2018
• EAN: 9780674976122
• ISBN: 978-0-674-97612-2
• No. of pages: 240
• Dimensions: 150 mm x 216 mm x 22 mm
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Linguistics and literary studies > General and comparative literary studies; Social sciences, law, business > Media, communication > General, dictionaries; Media Studies, History of Ideas, books, LITERARY CRITICISM / Semiotics & Theory, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Media Studies, HISTORY / Historiography, PHILOSOPHY / Criticism, LITERARY CRITICISM / Books & Reading, Literature: history & criticism, Literary studies: general, History of Western philosophy