George Eliot's Middlemarch

by Harold Bloom (Editor)

Literary analysis

Genres: Literary Criticism

166 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 1987

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

[Ariel · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Humanities teacher used to say that the purpose of literary criticism isn't to tear down or set out a particular framework for our classics that everyone should stick within. That, while this might be what it amounts to in modern circles more often than not, the real purpose is to provoke a community of original and intelligent thought by offering up an opinion that is well written and poignant enough to inspire the creation of new thought. Like the authors that write what we critique, we should focus on what our efforts bring into the world after being expressed- always striving for the open-minded and even open-ended because that is what ends up building something worthwhile.

I had a really great Humanities teacher. I also happen to believe that Bloom has edited a book that, through focused effort, is a wonderful companion piece to the experience of Middlemarch. One that sparks intelligent thought and seeks to build something that readers and admirers of Eliot can turn to.