June 14, 2010
from the comments
I feel like Orwell sometimes, but ever since I was required to read Melville’s “Benito Cereno” ten times in a row through the lens of a different critical perspective each time, I generally have a greater sense of appreciation for it now. If anything, I think Orwell’s statement exposes that the act of criticism can be intellectually taxing. Criticism is the art of really applying yourself to a work in an attempt to mine it for more value than might be readily apparent. Trying and failing to find that value isn’t necessarily rationalizing an opinion–it can also mean that you have seriously engaged with the text and found, not that it has little to offer, but that it was not what you were looking for.
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