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Quote by Terry Eagleton

“It is true that some liberals and humanists, along with the laid-back Danes, deny the existence of evil. This is largely because they regard the word 'evil' as a device for demonising those who are really nothing more than socially unfortunate.”

Quote by Terry Eagleton

Author

Terry Eagleton is a renowned British literary critic, known for his research on Marxist literary theory. His work spans a wide range of literary and theoretical topics, influencing cultural studies and political commentary as well. more

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“Most students of literature can pick apart a metaphor or spot an ethnic stereotype, but not many of them can say things like: 'The poem's sardonic tone is curiously at odds with its plodding syntax.”

Literature Students Picks Metaphor Spots Tone Odds Stereotype Syntax Sardonic Ethnic Stereotypes

Author:Terry Eagleton

“Nations sometimes flourish by denying the crimes that brought them into being. Only when the original invasion, occupation, extermination or usurpation has been safely thrust into the political unconscious can sovereignty feel secure.”

Feels Has Beens Sometimes Political Nations Crime Originals Secure Unconscious Occupation Sovereignty Invasion Thrust Extermination Usurpation

Author:Terry Eagleton

“Poetry is the most subtle of the literary arts, and students grow more ingenious by the year at avoiding it. If they can nip around Milton, duck under Blake and collapse gratefully into the arms of Jane Austen, a lot of them will.”

Ifs Years Art Grows Students Arms Subtle Poetry Is Ducks Collapse Avoiding Jane Ingenious Blake Austen Milton Literary Art

Author:Terry Eagleton

“The British are supposed to be particularly averse to intellectuals, a prejudice closely bound up with their dislike of foreigners. Indeed, one important source of this Anglo-Saxon distaste for highbrows and eggheads was the French revolution, which was seen as an attempt to reconstruct society on the basis of abstract rational principles.”

Important Principles Source Revolution Bases Prejudice Bounds British Rational Supposed To Be Abstract Dislike Foreigners French Revolution Distaste Anglo Saxon Eggheads

Author:Terry Eagleton

“The conversion of agnostic High Tories to the Anglican church is always rather suspect. It seems too pat and predictable, too clearly a matter of politics rather than faith.”

Matter Seems Church Conversion Suspects Agnostic Predictable

Author:Terry Eagleton

“The German philosopher Walter Benjamin had the curious notion that we could change the past. For most of us, the past is fixed while the future is open.”

Past Notion Philosopher Curious Fixed German Philosopher

Author:Terry Eagleton

“The political currents that topped the global agenda in the late 20th century - revolutionary nationalism, feminism and ethnic struggle - place culture at their heart.”

Heart Political Culture Struggle Feminism Century Late Currents Revolutionary Nationalism Agendas 20th Century

Author:Terry Eagleton

“The study of history and philosophy, accompanied by some acquaintance with art and literature, should be for lawyers and engineers as well as for those who study in arts faculties.”

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Author:Terry Eagleton

“There is an insuperable problem about introducing immigrants to British values. There are no British values. Nor are there any Serbian or Peruvian values. No nation has a monopoly on fairness and decency, justice and humanity.”

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Author:Terry Eagleton

“With fiction, you can talk about plot, character and narrative, whereas a poem brings home the fact that everything that happens in a work of literature happens in terms of language. And this is daunting stuff to deal with.”

Character Facts Home Happens Literature Language Stuff Term Deals Fiction Narrative Plot

Author:Terry Eagleton