The Liberal Imagination by Lionel Trilling - NYRB Classics | Literary Criticism & Essays for Book Clubs & Academic Study

It’s hard to imagine a time when a work of literary criticism was a bestseller but Lionel Trilling’s The Liberal Imagination was such a book some seventy years ago. In some ways it betrays its age, the reliance of Freudian interpretations being a salient example, but in other ways the criticism is as relevant as a current issue of the New York Review of Books.Its theme is a defense of imaginative or romantic literature against the then enthusiasm for so called realism. According to Trilling, the realist ideal is to portray life as accurately as possible within the confines of a novel. Often this resulted in emphasizing the harsh and painful aspects of twentieth century America.In contrast, Trilling argues for the active use of the imagination. By this he means that the point of literature is not to be a metaphorical camera on society, but to engage the reader in eras, situations and characters that they would never encounter in their life. It is precisely the opposite of the realist’s animus towards romanticism. While the realist believes that depicting harsh conditions is the best way to effect social change, Trilling argues that imaginative, romantic literature is the best to engage the reader’s empathy outside the bounds of their day to day life.There is much more to the book than this. Incisive commentary on American authors like Henry James, Mark Twain and F. Scott Fitzgerald also make for perennial interest. While not essential reading, all those who are devotees of literary criticism that is not only incisive and influential, but has something of the art of literature itself, should budget some reading time to enjoy (and you will enjoy) reading this book.