Harold Bloom

Film & Theater USA 1930 – 2019 102 quotes

Influential critic whose works on Shakespeare provided quotable literary insights, though primarily a scholar.

Quotes by Harold Bloom

Theater is where Shakespeare lives eternally.

Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human 1998

I detest the School of Resentment.

The Western Canon 1994

Prospero is Shakespeare's farewell to the stage.

Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human 1998

Reading Freud is like reading Shakespeare: profound and troubling.

Interview 1980

The canon survives because it is great.

The Western Canon 1994

Macbeth's ambition is the dark side of will.

Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human 1998

Critics must love literature more than theory.

How to Read and Why 2000

Shakespeare's clowns are wiser than his kings.

Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human 1998

Influence is the shadow of genius.

The Anxiety of Influence 1973

The West is Shakespeare.

Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human 1998

Books are our immortality.

How to Read and Why 2000

Deconstruction is a polite way of saying nothing.

The Western Canon 1994

Othello's jealousy is universal.

Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human 1998

To be a critic is to be a strong misreader.

The Anxiety of Influence 1973

Literature teaches us to die.

How to Read and Why 2000

The Tempest is Shakespeare's most personal play.

Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human 1998

Genius is the capacity to misread.

The Anxiety of Influence 1973

I have devoted my life to defending the canon.

Interview 2019

Shakespeare's women are stronger than his men.

Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human 1998

Criticism is an art of love.

Agon 1980