Agon: Towards a Theory of Revisionism

by Harold Bloom

Harold Bloom expands upon his controversial theory of revisionism, which he views as a contest of opposing artistic and moral drives. From this theoretical perspective, Bloom reexamines Freud, religious sources of literature, literary modes such as fantasy, and the sequence of American writers.

Genres: Nonfiction, Literary Criticism

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

Harold Bloom was an American literary critic and the Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale University. In 2017, Bloom was called "probably the most famous literary critic in the English-speaking world." After publishing his first book in 1959, Bloom wrote more than 50 books, including over 40 books of literary criticism, several books discussing religion, and one novel. He edited hundreds of anthologies concerning numerous literary and philosophical figures for the Chelsea House publishing firm. Bloom's books have been translated into more than 40 languages. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1995.
Bloom was a defender of the traditional Western canon at a time when literature departments were focusing on what he derided as the "school of resentment" (multiculturalists, feminists, Marxists, and others). He was educated at Yale University, the University of Cambridge, and Cornell University.

Reviews

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Challenging, and usually persuasive. Rereads Freud as a literary critic. Most gripping is his view that "strong" (great) poets write to overcome the anxiety caused in them by their predecessors. The make the canon requires dealing with prior writers to make a new voice. Some writers succeed and some fail. Book also has some extended critical analysis of writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Walt Whitman, Wallace Stevens, Hart Crane, John Ashby, and John Hollander, ed..

Bloom attributes the creation of the American religion, a form of Gnosticism, to Emerson. This is more fully developed in The American Religion. Bloom's reference to Ralph Waldo Emerson Self Reliance as reflecting the American character is troubling, especially since plausible. Every preacher should take note and examine himself and the rest of us, in light of this issue.

[Jeffrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re-Read Review: I re-read this almost a year later and find much more value from this second reading. This is a book that looks at what is art, and what is the universe. Bloom developes a theory of the artist through a Gnostic lense, and asks us to look at the world and look for the seams through which our social fabric is bound, and where we may open a seam and plumb the Abyss through our material world, so as to expand the temporal and social articulations in such a way that brings us a knowledge that speaks to our time.

Bloom demands a lot of his readers.

I've heard this phrase before to describe books and authors, this is the first time I have ever actually found that metaphor appropriate.