Harold Bloom discusses Shakespeare and the nature of genius

From March 25, 2003: "Harold Bloom, widely recognized as America's leading literary critic, discusses Shakespeare and the nature of genius. Bloom based his presentation on three of his recently published books: Hamlet: Poem Unlimited (Riverhead Books, 2003), Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human (Riverhead Books, 1998), and Genius: A Mosaic of One Hundred Exemplary Creative Minds (Warner Books, 2002)."
"Bloom is Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale University and Berg Professor of English at New York University. The winner of a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship in 1985 and an American Academy of Arts and Letters Gold Medal for Criticism in 1999, he is the author of more than 20 books. He has edited nearly 500 additional works, most of them in the Chelsea House series of literary criticism."

[@gkissel1]

"The test for literary genius is her or his ability to expand the reader's consciousness without in anyway deforming it." -- Harold Bloom

[@Muguetsu]

If you think about it, the "without deforming it" mans a lot. One thins is that the expansion of consciousness takes place [i]upon[/i] a range of predetermined meanings. This is why it is not deformed, because what is expanded are not the extreme boundaries, but the internal possibilities. Another thing is that it is a strong argument against the school of deconstruction since one thing these belated Platonists aim for is to deform pervious established meanings so that they can fill the void with their own ideologies

[@uscbro69]

Nah that was Mozart

[@ianeldred841]

This is the man who opened the cosmological breadth of Shakespeare to me. His intellect, assuredly, is vast and incredible but it is his passion that deeply moves one to explore the undisclosed secrets of Shakespeare's characters.

[@nbme-answers]

4:15 start

[@cheri238]

My admiration for Harold Bloom is never-ending. RIP🙏❤️.

[@richardwestwood8212]

I liked very much how he trashed Stephen King and the Harry Potter series.

[@cheri238]

@Richard Westwood I would rather read Tolkien, each has their choice.

[@Muguetsu]

34:24 the play illuminates, not the other way around 35:50 Bradley 36:25 Goddard 36:55 Barton 38:14 Fletcher 38:53 the death of the author never took place except in Paris and in its weak imitators in this side of the water 39:59 unanswered questions

[@hamunderhill2062]

the master had a few bad habits but wisdom lurks when he speaks thanks for posting on wallace stevens' 140th birthday

[@robertjordan355]

What were his bad habits?

[@justvitvit]

It's a shame the audio is not working well

[@apollocobain8363]

We have supercomputers in our pockets but we can't properly operate the microphones developed over 100 years ago.

[@Badlighter]

If Shakespeare is a king, then Mr Bloom is amongst the foremost in his retinue. Jeewa

[@artieash6671]

no sound! the sound track has been removed. please restore it.

[@TheWhitehiker]

Starts at 5.00; poor sound.

[@Muguetsu]

"hoping that no ideologue will rise to entertain" lmao

[@phatatduong1963]

Follow me that great write forever ❤❤❤❤❤

[@apollocobain8363]

Literary criticism and our understanding of genius would be better served if we drop the superlatives. If we understand that "Hamlet" is based on earlier works and was edited after the death of the author(s) then we can properly see Shakespeare as a key part of the chain which improved and delivered this play to us. Perhaps the main reason that Shakespeare plays have stood the test of time from ~1600 to the present is that they were reworks of stories which had already been time-tested when they were reworked and printed as "Shakespeare"

[@aaronaragon7838]

Very good point. Shakes was the master of dialogue but all his plots were borrowed.

[@syourke3]

I agree with Bloom about how political correctness has wrecked the English literature departments, but I hate the way he worships Shakespeare, I think he’s terribly pretentious and overrated.

[@user-ue6sg1ec8q]

Tibi et devere

[@sohailajaved3278]

Expected Bloom to talk about these topics rather than read his notes. Unimpressive. Prefer to read his books.

[@suziewheeler6530]

If u understand this genius belongs to Oxford not shakspar, them ots worth a listen. Otherwise forget it

[@socialswine3656]

yawn

[@ExxylcrothEagle]

why is he smacking his lips every 3 seconds..... I find bloom repulsive as a speaker....and he doesn't really shed as much light as he thinks he does... any intelligent person can come to his conclusions, which should not be taken as any kind of final word anyway

[@MultiToxicapple]

he is clearly on medication which makes his mouth dry u idiot. and no they couldnt. bloom was a genius

[@timholbrook7671]

It's just dear Harold BEING HAROLD! Take him and love him or leave him. RIP! And, yes you will be sadly missed!

[@timholbrook7671]

Yes, it was indeed his medication.

[@Zendogg702]

It’s always the puny diminutive fools who think they’re qualified to criticize a great master. These same idiots couldn’t do the smallest fraction of what the great one did. Their feeble opinions, voiced with such certainty, always belie the vacuity of the common mind that must secretly or unconsciously envy what is far out of their reach.

[@infinitafenix3153]

What I find repulsive are people who do not respect illness and old age, as if it'll never happen to them... most probably it will, not with Bloom's intellect though.