Valid literary judgment requires knowing the work’s historical context

Evidence

But is it possible to give a judgment, of the type given in the Manual, without knowing precisely these elements? How, in their absence, can one distinguish what is strictly personal to Goethe from what is representative of an age and of a social group? Judgments of this type are justified only to the extent that they are not empty generalities containing in themselves the most disparate things but are precise, proven and decisive. Failing this they can only serve to disparage a theory and to encourage a superficial way of looking at questions. — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 1665

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Statutes must be interpreted in light of their whole historical and systemic context. — Henry M. Hart, Jr. and Albert M. Sacks, The Legal Process: Basic Problems in…, 1318; Literary judgments require historical knowledge to separate the personal from the representative — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 1665; Localized critique gains its justification from the specific historical moment — Michel Foucault, Society Must Be Defended, 499 (+3 more)
• yield-rescued: below the book’s yield-target cutoff, included anyway for connecting to: Statutes must be interpreted in light of their whole historical and systemic context. — Henry M. Hart, Jr. and Albert M. Sacks, The Legal Process: Basic Problems in…, 1318; Literary judgments require historical knowledge to separate the personal from the representative — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 1665; Localized critique gains its justification from the specific historical moment — Michel Foucault, Society Must Be Defended, 499 (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• Literary judgments require historical knowledge to separate the personal from the representative #corroborates (0.92) — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 1665