A Map of Misreading
A Map of Misreading by Harold Bloom, published by Oxford University Press in 2003, is a 206-page exploration of literary criticism and semiotics. This edition serves as a companion to Bloom’s earlier work, The Anxiety of Influence, and provides insights into the reading of poetry through the lens of influence and intertextuality. Bloom posits that poetry is shaped by the relationships between texts, and he examines the works of notable British and American poets, including Milton, Wordsworth, and Dickinson.
In this text, Bloom instructs readers on how to interpret poetry, emphasizing the patterns of imagery that reflect both homage to and defense against earlier works. A significant focus is placed on Browning’s poem “Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came,” which exemplifies the intricate dynamics of poetic influence. Additionally, Bloom introduces a new preface that addresses contemporary poets such as Ann Carson and Henri Cole, further expanding on how modern poetry interacts with its predecessors. This edition offers a detailed examination of the connections between texts, making it a valuable resource for those interested in literary criticism and the evolution of poetic forms.
Official synopsis Publisher
In print for twenty-seven years, A Map of Misreading serves as a companion volume to Bloom’s other seminal work, The Anxiety of Influence. In this finely crafted text, Bloom offers instruction in how to read a poem, using his theory that patterns of imagery in poems represent both a response to and a defense against the influence of precursor poems. Influence, as Bloom conceives it, means that there are no texts, but only relationships between texts. Bloom discusses British and American poets including Milton, Wordsworth, Shelley, Keats, Tennyson, Browning, Whitman, Dickinson, Stevens, Warren, Ammons and Ashbery. A full-scale reading of one poem, Browning’s “Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came,” represents this struggle between one poet and his precursors, the poem serving as a map for readers through the many versions of influence from Milton to modern poets.
For the first time, in a new preface, Bloom will consider the map of misreading drawn by contemporary poets such as Ann Carson and Henri Cole. Bloom’s new exploration of contemporary poetry over the last twenty years will illuminate how modern texts relate to previous texts, and contribute to the literary legacy of their predecessors.
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