What is genius? It is the trait, says Harold Bloom, of standing both of and above an age, the ancient principle that recognizes and hallows the God within us, and the gift of breathing life into what is best in every living person. Now, in a monumental achievement of scholarship, America's preeminent literary critic presents an unprecedented celebration of one hundred of the most creative literary minds in history. From the Bible to Socrates, through the transcendent masterpieces of Shakespeare and Dante, down through the ages to Hemingway, Faulkner, and Ralph Ellison, Harold Bloom explores the many parallels among his chosen geniuses and the surprising ways in which they have influenced one another over the centuries. Accompanied by revealing excerpts from their works that continue to astonish, enchant, and move readers, Bloom's insightful and spirited analyses illuminate and enlarge our common understanding of Western literary and spiritual culture and offer us a grand yet intimate tour of it in one magnificent volume. - Back cover.
Book Details
Format
Paperback
ISBN-10
0446691291
ISBN-13
9780446691291
Publication Date
Jan 2003
Item Weight
2.00 pounds
Length
8.94 inch
Width
5.63 inch
Height
1.73 inch
First Sentence
Keter or the crown, in Kabbalah at once everything and nothingness, begins with this first Lustre of masters, each of whom dominates his genre forever.
Harold Bloom is an American literary critic and Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale University. Since the publication of his first book in 1959, Bloom has written more than 20 books of literary criticism, several books discussing religion, and a novel. He has 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. - Wikipedia