Bridget Vincent
"Not an idle spectator": Geoffrey Hill as model reviewer
Vincent, Bridget
Authors
Abstract
Geoffrey Hill’s prose has prompted longstanding critical controversy, much of which turns on the perceived difficulty, intransigence and anachronism of his oeuvre as a whole. This paper proposes that new ways to navigate this controversy can be found in Hill’s preoccupation with the exemplary dimensions of writing – that is, in his interest in the poet’s capacity to offer examples (positive and negative) to a community of readers. The discussion pays particular attention to the connections Hill’s reviews establish between style and ethical choice and between literary difficulty and democracy; connections which are intertwined with his ethics of exemplarity in fundamental ways. The paper also engages with those dimensions of literary exemple-use which emerge in new or unusual ways in his prose: his presentation of ‘models’ or ideals for the organisation of civil society; his treatment of certain literary works as exemplars or embodiments of philosophical ideas; and his procedural tic of ‘sampling’ regularly for the purpose of chastisement the ‘bad example’ set by some of the works he criticises.
Citation
Vincent, B. (2014). "Not an idle spectator": Geoffrey Hill as model reviewer. Diogenes, 60(1), https://doi.org/10.1177/0392192113520095
Journal Article Type | Article |
---|---|
Acceptance Date | Feb 14, 2012 |
Publication Date | Apr 16, 2014 |
Deposit Date | Aug 24, 2016 |
Publicly Available Date | Aug 24, 2016 |
Journal | Diogenes |
Print ISSN | 0392-1921 |
Electronic ISSN | 1467-7695 |
Publisher | SAGE Publications |
Peer Reviewed | Peer Reviewed |
Volume | 60 |
Issue | 1 |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1177/0392192113520095 |
Public URL | https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/726942 |
Publisher URL | http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0392192113520095 |
Contract Date | Aug 24, 2016 |
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