Ferocious Alphabets

by Denis Donoghue

A collection of essays explores the richness and variety of the English language and some unusual words and examines the two opposing schools of modern literary criticism, the "Graphireader" and "Epireader"

Genres: Literary Criticism

Paperback

First published July 1, 1981

Reviews

[David Winters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Over thirty years old, and still pretty much unsurpassed in its insights. Don't be fooled by the book's appearance--i.e., as a medley of belletristic essays. If you're truly tuned in to what Donoghue is saying here, it'll alter the way you think about style in literary criticism, and indeed in literature. Skip the first two chapters, but read the rest. Highlights include Donoghue's take on Blackmur, and the "graphireading" section toward the end.

[Harrison Glaze · Rating 5 out of 5]

A witty, generous, illuminating guide through twentieth-century literary theory and criticism (even if, as seems to be the case with a lot of very good lit-crit books, the parts are probably greater than the whole) and a fine, fine collection of open-minded but old-school humanistic criticism in its own right.

[Ryan Gato · Rating 3 out of 5]

A snazzy and concise overview of some of the major hitters of 20th century literary criticism. Donoghue sketches a rough divide between practitioners of "epireading" and "graphireading"--respectively--allowing the strenghts and weaknesses of both modes to come through.

The sections on Bloom, Derrida, Blackmur, Burke and Kenner were particularly thorough and illuminating.

Highly recommended.

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

A collection of essays about what a reader responds to in literature—more of a text book of criticism than a casual read.