Abstract
negotiations with notions of aesthetic impurity. Bagehot looked at the increasing democratisation of culture and the changing habits of readers with more excitement than apprehension. His critical perspective was predicated not on an elitist form of detachment from the unrefined philosophies of the commercial classes, but on a kind of respectful proximity to the practicalities that affected the life of of what he called the "transacting and trading multitudes". In order to bring literature to business, Bagehot brought business into literature. His stance lacks purity and solemnity: standards of value imported from the business sphere co-habit with more traditional
notions of aesthetic excellence; a mixture of high-brow and middle-brow concerns inspires his assessments of literary works. As this article demonstrates, Bagehot’s criticism thrives on an impure and sometimes awkward combination of aesthetic and business values.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 217-234 |
| Number of pages | 18 |
| Journal | English Literature |
| Volume | 2 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Dec 2015 |
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Bibliographical note
Open Access. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.Copyright © and Moral Rights are retained by the author(s) and/ or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This item cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder(s). The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.
Keywords
- Criticism
- Business
- Bagehot
- economics
Cite this
"The mind washes its hand in a basin" : Walter Bagehot Literary Essays and Impure Criticism. / Colella, Silvana.
In: English Literature, Vol. 2, No. 2, 12.2015, p. 217-234.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - "The mind washes its hand in a basin"
T2 - Walter Bagehot Literary Essays and Impure Criticism
AU - Colella, Silvana
N1 - Open Access. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Copyright © and Moral Rights are retained by the author(s) and/ or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This item cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder(s). The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.
PY - 2015/12
Y1 - 2015/12
N2 - Bagehot’s literary essays provide fertile ground for the exploration of mid-Victoriannegotiations with notions of aesthetic impurity. Bagehot looked at the increasing democratisation of culture and the changing habits of readers with more excitement than apprehension. His critical perspective was predicated not on an elitist form of detachment from the unrefined philosophies of the commercial classes, but on a kind of respectful proximity to the practicalities that affected the life of of what he called the "transacting and trading multitudes". In order to bring literature to business, Bagehot brought business into literature. His stance lacks purity and solemnity: standards of value imported from the business sphere co-habit with more traditionalnotions of aesthetic excellence; a mixture of high-brow and middle-brow concerns inspires his assessments of literary works. As this article demonstrates, Bagehot’s criticism thrives on an impure and sometimes awkward combination of aesthetic and business values.
AB - Bagehot’s literary essays provide fertile ground for the exploration of mid-Victoriannegotiations with notions of aesthetic impurity. Bagehot looked at the increasing democratisation of culture and the changing habits of readers with more excitement than apprehension. His critical perspective was predicated not on an elitist form of detachment from the unrefined philosophies of the commercial classes, but on a kind of respectful proximity to the practicalities that affected the life of of what he called the "transacting and trading multitudes". In order to bring literature to business, Bagehot brought business into literature. His stance lacks purity and solemnity: standards of value imported from the business sphere co-habit with more traditionalnotions of aesthetic excellence; a mixture of high-brow and middle-brow concerns inspires his assessments of literary works. As this article demonstrates, Bagehot’s criticism thrives on an impure and sometimes awkward combination of aesthetic and business values.
KW - Criticism
KW - Business
KW - Bagehot
KW - economics
U2 - 10.14277/2420-823X/EL-2-2-15-3
DO - 10.14277/2420-823X/EL-2-2-15-3
M3 - Article
VL - 2
SP - 217
EP - 234
JO - English Literature
JF - English Literature
SN - 2385-1635
IS - 2
ER -