William Empson

Empson was an ethical critic from the outset. He pioneered the techniques of "verbal criticism" chiefly in order to promote tolerance of cultural and historical differences, and to discourage the sacrifice of self or others to any form of irrationalism. In his later work, Empson's growing obsession with the horror of the Crucifixion (as event and symbol), together with his eclectic interest in the mediatory forms of pantheism and vitalism, are all enlisted in support of the campaign against human sacrifice in all its guises, which was already being waged in "Seven Types of Ambiguity" . "William Empson" provides an account of Empson's career to date, and seeks to serve also to discredit the appropriation of his name in recent polemic by the conflicting parties of deconstruction and politicized cultural criticism. This book should be of interest to students and teachers of the theory and history of literary criticism.