Subject: Only if you want to completely invalidate literary criticism
Author:
Posted on: 2016-05-16 23:38:00 UTC

"What's good or bad is based only on opinions, not facts."

Okay, so why is Shakespeare's poetry enjoyed by people everywhere, while my silly doggerel about my cat hasn't even been published in the school paper?

Why is it that people commonly criticize "Twilight" as being poorly written, but not "Dracula"?

Why can your high school literature teacher justify giving you a bad grade for poor writing, even if your grammar and spelling are fine?

The fact is, people judge each others' writing all the time. Book critics make a living from doing it.

And there's a difference between judging quality and judging preference. "Pride and Prejudice" is a very well-written book. Many people really enjoy it. I don't; I find it rather tedious to read. But I can recognize good writing when I see it; it's a well-written book, even though I don't like the genre. On the other hand, even though I absolutely love fantasy and sci-fi, I recognize "Eragon" as rather bad writing, a teenager's first attempt that somehow got published.

I also recognize that bad writers grow out of it. Christopher Paolini is probably going to write very well when he's had more practice, if he doesn't get a big head about having been published so young. But how is a person to know how to improve their writing if everyone says, "Well, it's only my opinion, but I personally happen to dislike your work," rather than, "Your characters have no realistic motivations, and your heroine is flatter than a cardboard cutout. You need to fix that"?

Saying I enjoy a piece of literature, and saying I think it's well-written, are two different things. I can read "A Little Princess" and admit that Sara Crewe is a Mary Sue while still enjoying the book thoroughly. I can wade through fifty pages about the Paris sewers and still enjoy "Les Miserables".

If we don't critique each others' writing, how are we ever going to get any better at it?

Reply Return to messages