What is Harold Bloom's theory of the anxiety of influence?
My theory of the 'anxiety of influence' posits that every strong poet experiences a profound, often unconscious, struggle against the immense power of their literary ancestors. This is not a passive reception but an active, dialectical process. The poet must 'misread' their precursors, to quote my own coinage, through a 'clinamen'—a swerving or misprision—to find their own unique voice. This creative wrestling is essential for genuine poetic originality, a movement away from the overwhelming strength of the past.
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