The far-reaching discussion of anonymity that was precipi tated by Zola 's address in 1893 to the congress of the English Institute of Journalists ranged over the entire field of literary, dramatic, and political criticism , but it apparently changed little the current opinion in regard to literary criticism . Traill took the address as his text for a plea for the continuance of anony mity , - a system that the critic found in possession and con
formed to it, although he recognizes that the question is not causa finita ; the public and literature are best served by anony mous criticism , even though the critic at times prefers signature.112 Literary criticism has apparently often left something to be desired and this failure to reach an ideal has, as has been seen , been variously attributed in turn to perverted standards of criticism , to the critics themselves, to the editor, to publishers,
to the business manager, and equally to the signed and to the unsigned review . It is Bliss Perry who with keen insight finds “ a public which is genuinely interested in stock -market criticism ,
in baseball criticism , in political, social, and economic criticism , and , in a few cities, in musical and dramatic criticism , but which is not very eagerly interested in the criticism of books. To put it
concretely, the 'financial page of a New York , Chicago, or Boston newspaper is likely to be more expertly edited and more expertly
read than the 'literary page'. ” 113 It seems probable that " the
decline of the reviewer" so often lamented 114 must be explained by this failure of the public to demand genuine literary criticism , 112 H . D . Traill, “ The Anonymous Critic,” Nineteenth Century , December , 1893 , 34 : 932 -943. English periodical literature shows no subject that has engaged writers more frequently than has that of anonymous criticism . Among the most
importantmay be noted T . Hughes, “ Anonymous Journalism ,” Macmillan 's
Magazine, December, 1861, 5 : 157– 168 ; A . Trollope, “ On Anonymous
Literature,” Fortnightly Review , July 1, 1865; 1: 491-498 ; the best statement noted in favor of anonymity is that of G . C . Lewis, On the Influence of Authority in Matters of Opinion , pp. 236 – 249.
American writers have apparently been less interested in the subject. Poe favored signed criticism . Bliss Perry discusses the relative value of the signed and the unsigned review , but gives no decision . “ And no one knows, possibly not even these critics themselves. ” — “ The American Reviewer,"
Yale Review , October , 1914 , 4 : 3 – 24.
113 “ Literary Criticism in American Periodicals," Yale Review , July , 1914, 3:635 -655 .
114 New York Evening Post, January 18, 1919.
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