The Rise Of English Pdf | Terry Eagleton

Eagleton’s central, cynical, and electrifying argument is this: English Literature was invented as a substitute for religion.

When God died, something had to fill the void of absolute morality. The Victorians needed a way to socialize the middle and working classes into obedience without using overt force. You couldn't beat people into being good citizens forever. So, you taught them poetry. Terry eagleton the rise of english pdf

As Eagleton famously writes, English Literature was seen as "an ideal solution" to the crisis of the late Victorian era. It was: In short, the discipline was designed to produce

In short, the discipline was designed to produce sensitive, polite, obedient subjects. The student who could weep at the death of Little Nell was less likely to join a trade union. "The English themselves, indeed, have rarely been an

Eagleton discusses how the subject expanded after World War II and the role it played in the decline of the British Empire.

"The English themselves, indeed, have rarely been an articulate people; but it is perhaps one of the hidden functions of literary criticism to help to produce them as such."