PROTECTING PEOPLE FROM BAD LITERATURE (COMMENT).

PROTECTING PEOPLE FROM BAD LITERATURE (COMMENT). I always resisted criticism (such as T.S. Eliot’s) that condemned HAMLET or PARADISE LOST, and I my feelings have gotten stronger with time. In this post, I extended Bentham’s statement that “the game of push-pin is of equal value with the arts and sciences of music and poetry” to the proposition that bad art is of equal value with good art if people like it as much. Annalisa commented here that: “I have a theory that you become fond of things that the majority of people underappreciate or outright dislike.” I think that some of what Annalisa is getting at is my belief that “bad art” needs to be defended if there are those who love it (and apparently I am on occasion one of those who loves it).