Tag Archives: literary history

Harold Bloom and “The Western Canon”: A Note on His Death

Posted on October 18, 2019 by Brenton Dickieson

I received news this week that Harold Bloom has died. Bloom (1930-2019) was an avid reader, a rapid writer, and a penetrating critic whose essays and books on literature are breathtaking in scope and exemplary in their attention to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Original Research, Reviews, Thoughtful Essays | Tagged books, C.S. Lewis, canon, Charles Dickens, Charles Williams, Dante, fantasy, feminism, Harold Bloom, J.R.R. Tolkien, Leo Tolstoy, literary criticism, literary history, Milton, mimesis, Reading, Shakespeare, T.S. Eliot, The Western Canon, Ursula K. LeGuin | 1 Comment

H.P. Lovecraft’s “Supernatural Horror in Literature”

Posted on August 22, 2018 by Brenton Dickieson

I am in the midst of an extended reading of Stephen King‘s Dark Tower Cycle, including the extra books that connect most intimately with King’s great mythic universe (see Mathew Olson’s essay here; I’m rereading ‘Salem’s Lot now with Wolves … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged 'Salem's Lot, Dagon, Danse Macabre, H.P. Lovecraft, Horror, literary criticism, literary history, Literary Theory, Stephen King, Supernatural Horror in Literature, The Dark Tower, The Wolves of the Calla | 17 Comments

John Lawlor on C.S. Lewis’ “The Allegory of Love”

Posted on May 22, 2017 by Brenton Dickieson

The Allegory of Love … is a work which has all the authority of a mind of the highest quality marking out clear paths in a complex and absorbing mass of material. As such it effortlessly joins company with that … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged C.S. Lewis, John Lawlor, literary criticism, literary history, medieval literature, Memories and Reflections, Shakespeare, The Allegory of Love, W.P. Ker | 14 Comments

An Essential Reading List from C.S. Lewis: An Experiment on An Experiment in Criticism

Posted on August 4, 2016 by Brenton Dickieson

On A Pilgrim in Narnia we have been playing with lists of the key books to read–what we might call a “canon.” We’ve thought about the key books of Western literature (here and here), thought about the problems of this discussion, … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections | Tagged An Experiment in Criticism, books, C.S. Lewis, canon, Deconstructionism, literary criticism, literary history, Narnia, Reader Response Criticism, Reading, Sherlock Holmes, The Western Canon, writing | 78 Comments

Harold Bloom’s “The Western Canon”

Posted on July 11, 2016 by Brenton Dickieson

Harold Bloom’s The Western Canon: The Books and School of the Ages was a sensation when it appeared in 1994. Harold Bloom, a curmudgeonly anti-academic ivy league scholar, fills this challenging read with fresh insights on every page. He … Continue reading →