taste and judgment

Re: Freddie’s post on the various ways you can like or dislike something, I wonder of this from Auden’s “commonplace book” A Certain World might help: 


As readers, we remain in the nursery stage so long as we cannot distinguish between Taste and Judgment, so long, that is, as the only possible verdicts we can pass on a book are two: this I like; this I don’t like.


For an adult reader, the possible verdicts are five: I can see this is good and I like it; I can see this is good but I don’t like it; I can see this is good and, though at present I don’t like it, I believe that with perseverance I shall come to like it; I can see that this is trash but I like it; I can see that this is trash and I don’t like it. 


 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on August 20, 2022 04:09
No comments have been added yet.


Alan Jacobs's Blog

Alan Jacobs
Alan Jacobs isn't a Goodreads Author (yet), but they do have a blog, so here are some recent posts imported from their feed.
Follow Alan Jacobs's blog with rss.