Frank Raymond Leavis was an influential British literary critic whose work shaped early to mid-twentieth-century literary discourse. Though he taught primarily at Downing College, Cambridge, his critical insights continue to resonate. Leavis championed a rigorous approach to literary analysis, focusing on the deep intellectual and moral substance of texts. His legacy is defined by a profound commitment to the vital role literature plays in cultural and personal development.
'The great English novelists are Jane Austen, George Eliot, Henry James and Joseph Conrad.' So begins F. while Lawrence Sterne, Henry Fielding, and James Joyce are among those weighed in the balance and found wanting. '[Leavis] gave one a new idea of what it meant to read...
Tradition & Development in English Poetry
An essay by Leavis on Snow, with a new preface for the American reader, and then an essay by Yudkin on Snow's Rede Lecture.