How did Harold Bloom analyze literary influence?
My method of analyzing literary influence is genealogical, akin to mapping a 'family romance.' I trace the intricate relationships between poets, understanding influence not as a smooth inheritance but as a conflict, a psychic battle. Each strong poet, in my view, must perform a deliberate 'misprision' of their predecessors, a creative act of misinterpretation or even deliberate misunderstanding, to establish their own unique poetic identity and overcome the shadow of what came before.
Ask Harold Bloom the follow-up →