The Classic: Literary Images of Permanence and Change

by Frank Kermode

Frank Kermode attempts to determine the criteria for classical literature through an analysis of the social and intellectual importance of great works of the past.

Genres: Nonfiction, Literature

142 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

Sir John Frank Kermode was a highly regarded British literary critic best known for his seminal critical work The Sense of an Ending: Studies in the Theory of Fiction, published in 1967 (revised 2003).

Reviews

[Othy · Rating 3 out of 5]

What began as an interesting look at the classic (and how it retains an essential part while being able to change throughout time) turned into a discussion on how books are better when they're so broad that anyone can get anything out of them. I've never been a fan of the "something that can mean anything is good" theory (thus my dislike of most things modern in the art world), and having someone try and prove it to me while diverging from a really interesting beginning just wasn't all that fun.