内容简介
HaroldBloomonTheMerchantofVenice:"Shylock'sproseisShakespeare'sbestbeforeFalstaff's...Hisutterancesmanifestaspiritsopotent,malign,andnegativeastobeunforgettable."
作者简介
HaroldBloomOneofourmostpopular,respected,andcontroversialliterarycritics,YaleUniversityprofessorHaroldBloom’sbooks–about,variously,Shakespeare,theBible,andtheclassicliterature–areaseruditeastheyareaccessible.Biography"Authenticliteraturedoesn'tdivideus,"thescholarandliterarycriticHaroldBloomoncesaid."Itaddressesitselftothesolitaryindividualorconsciousness."ReveredandsometimesreviledasachampionoftheWesterncanon,BloominsistsontheimportanceofreadingauthorssuchasShakespeare,Milton,andChaucer--notbecausetheytransmitcertainapprovedculturalvalues,butbecausetheytranscendthelimitsofculture,andthusenlargeratherthanconstrictoursenseofwhatitmeanstobehuman.AsBloomexplainedinaninterview,"Shakespeareisthetruemulticulturalauthor.Heexistsinalllanguages.Heisputonthestageeverywhere.Everyonefeelsthattheyarerepresentedbyhimonthestage."BloombeganhiscareerbytacklingtheformidablelegacyofT.S.Eliot,whohaddismissedtheEnglishRomanticpoetsasundisciplinednature-worshippers.BloomconstruedtheRomanticpoets'visionsofimmortalityasrebellionsagainstnature,andarguedthatanessentiallyRomanticimaginationwasstillatworkinthebestmodernistpoets.HavingrestoredtheRomanticstocriticalrespectability,Bloomadvancedamoregeneraltheoryofpoetry.Hisnow-famousTheAnxietyofInfluencearguedthatanystrongpoemisacreative"misreading"ofthepoet'spredecessor.Thebookraised,asthepoetJohnHollanderwrote,"profoundquestionsabout...howthepriorvisionsofotherpoemsare,foratruepoet,aspowerfulashisowndreamsandasformativeashisdomesticchildhood."Inadditiontodevelopingthistheory,Bloomwroteseveralbooksonsacredtexts.InTheBookofJ,hesuggestedthatsomeoftheoldestpartsoftheBiblewerewrittenbyawoman.TheBookofJwasabestseller,butitwasthe1994publicationofTheWesternCanonthatmadethecritic-scholarahouseholdname.Init,Bloomdecriedwhathecalledthe"SchoolofResentment"andtheuseofpoliticalcorrectnessasabasisforjudgingworksofliterature.Hisdefenseofthethreatenedcanonformed,accordingtoTheNewYorkTimes,a"passionatedemonstrationofwhysomewritershavetriumphantlyescapedtheoblivioninwhichtimeburiesalmostallhumaneffort."BloomplacedShakespearealongwithDanteatthecenteroftheWesterncanon,andhemadeanotherdefenseofShakespeare'scentralitywithShakespeare:TheInventionoftheHuman,anilluminatingstudyofShakespeare'splays.HowtoReadandWhy(2000)revisitedShakespeareandotherwritersintheBloompantheon,anddescribedtheactofreadingasbothaspiritualexerciseandanaestheticpleasure.Recently,BloomtookupanothercontroversialstancewhenheattackedHarryPotterinanessayforTheWallStreetJournal.His2001bookStoriesandPoemsforExtremelyIntelligentChildrenofAllAgesadvancedanalternativetocontemporarychildren'slit,withacollectionofclassicworksofliterature"worthyofrereading"bypeopleofallages.ThepoetandeditorDavidLehmansaidthat"whiletherearesomecriticswhoareknownforacertainsubtletyandacertainjudiciousness,thereareothercritics...whoradiateferociouspassion."HaroldBloomisaferociouslypassionatereaderforwhomliterarycriticismis,asheputsit,"theartofmakingwhatisimplicitinthetextasfinelyexplicitaspossible."GoodToKnowBloomearnedhisPh.D.fromYaleUniversityin1955andwashiredasaYalefacultymemberthatsameyear.In1965,attheageof35,hebecameoneoftheyoungestscholarsinYalehistorytobeappointedfullprofessorinthedepartmentofEnglish.HeisnowSterlingProfessorofHumanitiesatYaleandBergVisitingProfessorofEnglishatNewYorkUniversity.ThoughsomeconservativecommentatorsembracedBloom'scanonasareturntotraditionalmoralvalues,Bloom,whooncestyledhimself"aTrumanDemocrat,"dismissesattemptsbybothleft-andright-wingerstopoliticizeliterature."Toreadintheserviceofanyideologyisnot,inmyjudgment,toreadatall,"hetoldaNewYorkTimesinterviewer.HisgreataffinityforShakespearehasputBloomintheunlikelypositionofstageactoronoccasion;hehasplayedhis"literaryhero,"port-lovingraconteurSirJohnFalstaff,inthreeproductions.BloomismarriedtoJeanne,aretiredschoolpsychologistwhomhemetwhileajuniorfacultymemberatYaleinthe1950s.Theyhavetwosons.class="fact-value">NewYork,NewYork
