Literature and Society Quotations
Quotes
Explanation: Leavis means that society does not exist separately; it lives and expresses itself through individual human beings.“I might have said the truth that it is only in individuals that society lives.”
Explanation: He defines genius as complete awareness and creativity that shows itself through fresh, powerful use of language.“Full consciousness is genius, and manifests itself in technical achievement, the new use of words.”
Explanation: Leavis stresses that all literary creation depends on individual talent; without it, art cannot exist.“Without the individual talent there is no creation.”
Explanation: He repeats that society’s true spirit and values are found in individuals, not in abstract systems or governments.“It is only in individuals that society lives.”
Explanation: Leavis criticizes modern literature for losing moral depth and cultural balance.“No one seriously interested in modern literature can feel that it represents a satisfactory cultural order.”
Explanation: He praises earlier writers like Bunyan and the Augustan authors who created great literature because they were deeply rooted in their society and culture.“A humane masterpiece resulted because he belonged to the civilization of his time.”
Explanation: Leavis criticizes Wordsworth, saying his focus on rustic life was disconnected from the real moral and social issues of his time.“Wordsworth’s interest in rustic life was something external to the world he belonged to and remote from it.”
Explanation: Leavis says every writer must understand that his work is part of a literary and cultural tradition.“The individual writer is to be aware that his work is of the literature to which it belongs.”