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William Empson -
Seven Types of Ambiguity (1930)
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Critics…are of two sorts: those who merely relieve themselves against the flower of beauty, and those, less continent, who afterwards scratch it up.
William Empson
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An ambiguity, in ordinary speech, means something very pronounced, and as a rule witty or deceitful.... any verbal nuance, however slight, which gives room for alternative reactions to the same piece of language.
William Empson
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Proust has listed a great many reasons why it is impossible to be happy, but, in the course of being happy, one finds it difficult to remember them.
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The machinations of ambiguity are among the very roots of poetry.
William Empson
Quote of the day
Nobody ever did anything very foolish except from some strong principle.
William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne
William Empson
Born:
September 27, 1906
Died:
April 15, 1984
(aged 77)
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