“Modern critics, who refuse to let a plain thing alone, have now started a theory that Cervantes's work is a vast piece of "symbolism." If so, Cervantes didn't know it himself and nobody thought of it for three hundred years. He meant it as a satire upon the silly romances of chivalry.” IfsKnowsYearsRomanceThreePiecesModernTheoryHundredCriticsRefuseSillySatireSymbolismChivalry Book:Leacock on Life Source: Leacock on Life
“When modernist poetry, or what not so long ago passed for modernist poetry, can reach the stage where the following piece by Mr. Ezra Pound is seriously offered as a poem, there is some justification for the plain reader and orthodox critic who shrinks from anything that may be labelled 'modernist' either in terms of condemnation or approbation. Better he thinks, that ten authentic poets should be left for posterity to discover than one charlatan should be allowed to steal into the Temple of Fame.” ThinkingShouldMayLongLeftTermPiecesStagePoetReaderFameTenCriticsFollowingStealingTemplesPoundsOrthodoxJustificationLong AgoShrinksPosterityCondemnationCharlatans Author:Laura Riding
“[On The Waste Land:] Various critics have done me the honor to interpret the poem in terms of criticism of the contemporary world, have considered it, indeed, as an important bit of social criticism. To me it was only the relief of a personal and wholly insignificant grouse against life; it is just a piece of rhythmical grumbling.” WorldImportantDoneSocialBitsTermPiecesLandHonorWasteCriticismCriticsVariousContemporaryReliefInsignificantGrumblingWaste Land Author:T. S. Eliot
“In any case, once you're dealing on a nonverbal level, ambiguity is unavoidable. But it's the ambiguity of all art, of a fine piece of music or a painting - you don't need written instructions by the composer or painter accompanying such works to 'explain' them. “Explaining” them contributes nothing but a superficial 'cultural' value which has no value except for critics and teachers who have to earn a living.” NeedsArtValuesLevelsCasesTeacherPiecesWrittenPaintingFineCriticsPainterInstructionComposerSuperficialExplainingAmbiguityNonverbal Author:Stanley Kubrick
“When I was a film critic, the reason I kind of found it disenchanting was because the things that I wanted to talk about were the ideas in the movie, the theme of it, and contextual elements that weren't necessarily central to the story. But the only thing people really wanted was a plot description and how many stars I'd give it. It didn't matter how much effort you put into writing a piece, they looked at it solely as a consumer's guide toward going or not going to films.” PeopleGivingWritingKindIdeasMatterReasonStoriesWantedFilmFoundStarsEffortPiecesElementsCriticsGuidesConsumersThemeDescriptionPlotFilm Critics Author:Chuck Klosterman
“I don't know what will become of this piece. Our brave critics will no doubt charge me with imitating Ravel's Bolero. Too bad - this is how I hear war.” KnowsWarDoubtPiecesBraveCriticsNo DoubtImitatingRavel Author:Dmitri Shostakovich
“I have often read critical pieces where the critic said that what the composer was trying to do didn't come off. I have wondered what the critic meant if he didn't know what the composer was trying to do.” IfsKnowsTryingSaidPiecesCriticsCriticalComposer Author:Ornette Coleman
“Full House was a show that was done for ten-year-olds. The critics hated it. They said terrible, terrible things about it. But it should have been reviewed by ten-year-olds. That's who it was made for. They loved it. And if they loved it, great. Why the hell does a fifty-year-old guy working at a big newspaper have to tell me I'm a piece of crap?” IfsShouldYearsDoeHas BeensMadeSaidDoneShowsBigsGuyHouseHellPiecesTerribleTenCriticismShould HaveCriticsNewspapersHatedFiftyCrapThey SaidTerrible ThingsShould Have BeenOld GuysFull HouseFifty Year Olds Author:Bob Saget