"All bad Literature rests upon imperfect insight, or upon imitation, which may be defined as seeing at second-hand"
- George Henry Lewes
About this Quote
This quote by George Henry Lewes recommends that all bad literature is an outcome of either an absence of understanding or a lack of creativity. Lewes implies that bad literature is developed when the author does not have a deep understanding of the topic, or when the author is merely copying the work of another. This absence of insight or creativity causes an absence of creativity and a lack of quality in the literature. Lewes recommends that excellent literature is created when the author has a deep understanding of the subject matter and is able to express it in an original and innovative way. This quote functions as a suggestion to writers to strive for originality and insight in their work, as this is the key to creating good literature.
"A lawyer without history or literature is a mechanic, a mere working mason; if he possesses some knowledge of these, he may venture to call himself an architect"
"Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it"
"Great literature must spring from an upheaval in the author's soul. If that upheaval is not present then it must come from the works of any other author which happens to be handy and easily adapted"
"All literature consists of whatever the writer thinks is cool. The reader will like the book to the degree that he agrees with the writer about what's cool"
"What fascinated me mostly about Mickey Cohen was that he, in his later years, hired someone to help him to comprehend literature, to help him to read better, to understand words better"
