Itryanexperimentaboutcriticismofjudgingbook.

Iwanttofind
outwhatsortofpictureweshallgetbyreversingtheprocess.

IN thisessayIproposetotryanexperiment.Literarycriticism
istraditionallyemployedinjudgingbooks.Anyjudgementit
impliesaboutmen'sreadingofbooksisacorollaryfromits
judgementonthebooksthemselves.Badtasteis,asitwereby
definition,atasteforbadbooks.Iwanttofindoutwhatsortof
pictureweshallgetbyreversingtheprocess.Letusmakeour
distinctionbetweenreadersortypesofreadingthebasis,andour
distinctionbetweenbooksthecorollary.Letustrytodiscoverhow
faritmightbeplausibletodefineagoodbookasabookwhichis
readinoneway,andabadbookasabookwhichisreadin
another.
Ithinkthisworthtryingbecausethenormalprocedureseemsto
metoinvolvealmostcontinuallyafalseimplication.Ifwesaythat
Alikes(orhasatastefor)thewomen'smagazinesandBlikes(or
hasatastefor)Dante,thissoundsasiflikesandtastehavethe
samemeaningwhenappliedtoboth;asiftherewereasingle
activity,thoughtheobjectstowhichitisdirectedaredifferent.
Butobservationconvincesmethatthis,atleastusually,isuntrue.
Alreadyinourschooldayssomeofusweremakingourfirst
responsestogoodliterature.Others,and
I

thesethemaJonty,werereading,atschool,TheCaptain,and,at
home,shortlivednovelsfromthecirculatinglibrary.Butitwas
apparentthenthatthemajoritydidnot'like'theirfareintheway
we'liked'ours.Itisapparentstill.Thedifferencesleaptotheeye.
Inthefirstplace,themajorityneverreadany.thingtwice.Thesure
markofanunliterarymanisthatheconsiders'I'vereaditalready'
tobeaconclusiveargumentagainstreadingawork.Wehaveall
knownwomenwhorememberedanovelsodimlythattheyhadto
standforhalfanhourinthelibraryskimmingthroughitbefore
theywerecertaintheyhadoncereadit.Butthemomentthey
becamecertain,theyrejecteditimmediately.Itwasforthemdead,
likeaburntoutmatch,anoldrailwayticket,oryesterday'spaper;
theyhadalreadyusedit.Thosewhoreadgreatworks,ontheother
hand,willreadthesameworkten,twentyorthirtytimes
duringthecourseoftheirlife.Secondly,themajority,thoughthey
aresome
timesfrequentreaders,donotsetmuchstorebyreading.Theyturn
toitasalastresource.Theyabandonitwithalacrityassoonasany
alternativepastimeturnsup.Itiskeptforrailwayjourneys,
illnesses,oddmomentsofenforcedsolitude,orfortheprocess
called'readingoneselftosleep'.Theysometimescombineitwith
desultoryconversation;often,withlisteningtotheradio.
Butliterarypeoplearealwayslookingforleisureandsilencein
whichto

readanddosowiththeirwholeattention.Whentheyaredenied
suchattentiveandundisturbedreadingevenforafewdaysthey
feelimpoverished.
Thirdly,thefirstreadingofsomeliteraryworkisoften,tothe
literary,anexperiencesomomentousthatonlyexperiencesof
love,religion,orbereavementcanfurnishastandardof
comparison.Theirwholeconsciousnessischanged.Theyhave
becomewhattheywerenotbefore.Butthereisnosignofanything
likethisamongtheothersortofreaders.Whentheyhavefinished
thestoryorthenovel,nothingmuch,ornothingatall,seemsto
havehappenedtothem.
Finally,andasanaturalresultoftheirdifferentbehaviourin
reading,whattheyhavereadisconstantlyandprominently
presenttothemindofthfew,butnottothatofthemany.The
formermouthovertheirfavouritelinesandstanzasinsolitude.
Scenesandcharactersfrombooksprovidethemwithasortof
iconographybywhichtheyinterpretorsumuptheirown
experience.Theytalktooneanotheraboutbooks,oftenandat
length.Thelatterseldomthinkortalkoftheirreading.
Itisprettyclearthatthemajority,iftheyspokewithoutpassion
andwerefullyarticulate,wouldnotaccuseusoflikingthewrong
books,butofmakingsuchafussaboutanybooksatall.Wetreat
asamainingredientinourwellbeingsomethingwhichtothemis
marginal.Hencetosaysimplythattheylikeonethingandwe
anotheristoleaveoutnearly
3

thewholeofthefacts.Iflikeisthecorrectwordforwhattheydoto
books,someotherwordmustbefoundforwhatwedo.Or,
conversely,ifwelikeourkindofbookwemustnotsaythatthey
likeanybook.Ifthefewhave'goodtaste',thenwemayhaveto
saythatnosuchthingas'badtaste'exists:fortheinclination
whichthemanyhavetotheirsortofreadingisnotthesamething
and,ifthewordwereunivocallyused,wouldnotbecalledtasteat
all.
ThoughIshallconcernmyselfalmostentirelywithliterature,itis
worthnotingthatthesamedifferenceofattitudeisdisplayedabout
theotherartsandaboutnaturalbeauty.Manypeopleenjoypopular
musicinawaywhichiscompatiblewithhummingthetune,
stampingintime,talking,andeating.Andwhenthepopulartune
hasoncegoneoutoffashiontheyenjoyitnomore.Thosewho
enjoyBachreactquitedifferently.Somebuypicturesbecausethe
walls'looksobarewithoutthem';andafterthepictureshave
beeninthehouseforaweektheybecomepracticallyinvisibletothem.
Butthereareafewwhofeedonagreatpictureforyears.As
regardsnature,themajority'likeaniceviewaswellasanyone'.
Theyarenotsayingawordagainstit.Buttomakethelandscapesa
reallyimportantfactorin,say,choosingtheplaceforaholidayto
putthemonalevelwithsuchseriousconsiderationsasaluxurious
hotel,agoodgolflinks,andasunnyclimatewouldseemtothem
affectation.To'goon'aboutthemlikeWordsworthwouldbe
humbug.