Journal article
"The Old Order Changeth, Yielding Place to New . . . "
Philological quarterly, Vol.103(3), pp.195-201
07/01/2024
Abstract
Readers of the magazine will immediately recognize the opening stanza of Spenser's "Mutabilitie Cantos," as well as its relevance; as long as humans exist, they will continue to reflect on the implications of time and change. This is Professor New's problem and his theme, but he adds to what might seem a straightforward elegy for changing tastes some very particular twists. It is understandable that the editor of the nine-volume Works of Laurence Sterne should hope that future generations will find these works of continuing value, but his argument seems more dogmatic, and perhaps more despairing, than fully "discriminating." Although one might wish with Professor New to "make literature great again," his assumptions embed entangled issues. Here, Boos suggests a few counterpoints. First, it's untrue that the recovery of hitherto less-discussed works of literature means that these were/are all inferior--they just weren't as well known, in part because past editors, scholars, and critics failed to note works in certain categories: literature by women, people of color, former slaves, working-class and colonial writers, those with heterodox views on class or sexuality, those published far from the metropole, and so on.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- "The Old Order Changeth, Yielding Place to New . . . "
- Creators
- Florence Boos
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Philological quarterly, Vol.103(3), pp.195-201
- ISSN
- 0031-7977
- eISSN
- 2169-5342
- Publisher
- University of Iowa, Philological Quarterly
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 07/01/2024
- Academic Unit
- English
- Record Identifier
- 9985014894102771
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