3 ms·
If it's not general popularity, and it's only critical popularity after a few hundred years, then can a writer's talent even be judged in the short term? (Thi
by wyday 19y ago
If it's not general popularity, and it's only critical popularity after a few hundred years, then can a writer's talent even be judged in the short term?
(This question sounds smarmy, but I ask it earnestly.)
- gwenhwyfaer 19y agoProbably not, no, since one of the tests of quality is timelessness.
- pg 19y agoNo, there's currently no neutral way. Good judges can tell who the good writers are, but there's no currently no independent way of telling who the good judges are. Empirically the oscillations of opinion seem to settle down after a few hundred years. Even then there are probably errors. E.g. tragedies will tend to be more highly regarded than comedies, because they seem more serious.