Studies in classic American literature

187 pages

English language

Published May 7, 1977 by Penguin Books.

ISBN:
978-0-14-003300-7
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OCLC Number:
2985589

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(2 reviews)

12 editions

Review of 'Studies in classic American literature' on 'Goodreads'

Took me nearly a month to finish this tripe.

While Lawrence does have a few interesting things to say, much of this book is itinerant rambling. He tries to establish the thread of a theme throughout American literature that "knowing" a thing is equivalent to killing it, but after the first few chapters, he seems to frequently forget his Grand Unifying Theme only to bring it up sporadically thereafter.

I understand there is a critical edition that includes various drafts of the writings – I can't in good conscience call these "essays" – in this book, including four versions of the Whitman piece (the finished version and three drafts). God save anyone who is forced to read that edition.

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Subjects

  • American literature -- History and criticism