This book marks the height of Mr. Trilling's mature and distinguished powers. He is able to make connections between apparently unconnected poles that set off lively sparks in the delighted reader's mind. In contrast to The Liberal Imaginations, its highly regarded and widely read predecessors, The Opposing Self is more literally, less polemical, in tone. There is still a sharp awareness of …
A review of research, Mainly 1930-1960 Now the Modern Language Association adds the Middle Ages to its list to literary areas covered by a bibliographical survey. Surely no other period has undergone such a radical re-examination in recent times as the medieval period-much of the re-examination having been done in the United States. Critics now see subtlety, power, sophistication, and wholenes…