The Critical Game

Macy, John Albert, 1877-1932Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.0

Word count: 333K words
Chapters: 34

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Critical Game by John Albert MacyAuthor: Macy, John Albert, 1877-1932,Language: English, Class: PN: Language and Literatures: Literature: General, Criticism, Collections, Release Date: Jan 3, 2012

Editor's review

This is a collection of literary criticism by the American critic John Albert Macy, a cross-section of English-language critical writing in the early twentieth century. The "game" in the title hints at the author's attitude toward criticism itself: criticism is not a trial but a rule-governed, pleasurable intellectual exercise. In discussing writers and works, the book favors impressionistic judgment and stylistic appreciation; its prose has the feel of an essay, making it a useful sample of the critical taste of that era. Its value lies in showing how criticism shifted from moral instruction to aesthetic experience, and how critics conversed with the public in the context of the periodical press. Read today, some judgments feel dated and the targets of debate are no longer familiar to general readers, so it suits those interested in the history of criticism and the essay tradition, or those who wish to study it as a model of prose style. Readers expecting systematic literary theory or analysis of contemporary works will be disappointed.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in the history of early twentieth-century Anglo-American literary criticism
Readers who enjoy essayistic reviews and stylistic appreciation
Writers who want to learn critical writing and the appreciation of style
Students studying the shift in criticism from moral instruction to aesthetic experience

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking a systematic framework of literary theory
Readers hoping to find analysis of contemporary writers and works
Readers unfamiliar with early twentieth-century polemics who do not wish to look them up

Reading tips

Read it as a collection of essays, dipping in and starting with entries on writers you know, to get a feel for the critical tone.
As you read, note how the author uses metaphor and impressionistic judgment in place of systematic argument, and keep notes on style.
Read alongside a history of criticism, placing the individual reviews back in the periodical and polemical context of their time.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Does the "game" in the title mean the criticism isn't serious?

No. Here "game" is closer to a rule-governed, skillful intellectual activity, emphasizing that criticism is a practice requiring training and taste rather than casual praise or blame. The author still takes literary judgment seriously; he simply does not treat criticism as moral trial. Understanding this helps grasp the critical stance behind the book's essayistic prose.

Can I understand this book without a background in the history of criticism?

You can read it, but there will be a gap. The writers and polemical targets discussed were mostly issues of the English-speaking world at the time, and some names and disputes are unfamiliar today. Without that background, it's best to start with an introductory overview of early twentieth-century Anglo-American criticism, or to skip unfamiliar entries and begin with reviews of writers you know, gradually getting used to the author's tone and manner of judgment.

Is this book suitable for learning to write literary criticism?

It works as a stylistic model, but not as a methodology textbook. The author's impressionistic judgments, metaphors, and sense of rhythm are worth studying, but the book lacks systematic steps of analysis. Learners can excerpt passages, analyze how judgments and examples are organized, and then compare them with modern standards of critical writing, taking what is useful while avoiding conclusions based on impression alone.

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About the author

Macy, John Albert, 1877-1932 Author · American · 1877–1932

John Albert Macy (1877–1932) was an American writer and critic. One of his better-known contributions was his involvement in editing Helen Keller's autobiography The Story of My Life, and he was once married to Keller's teacher Anne Sullivan, a connection that tied him to the editing and circulation of Keller's early works. Macy's own writing centered mainly on literary criticism; his representative work, The Critical Game, deals with literature and critical practice, with prose that leans toward reflection and carries the analytical perspective of a reviewer. His subject matter was not especially broad, and public information about him is relatively limited, so in literary history he is regarded more as an editor and critic associated with Helen Keller than as a prolific author. Overall, his style favors exposition and evaluation, offering some reference value for understanding the context of early twentieth-century American literary criticism.