''Scrutiny: A Quarterly Review'' was a

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to inclu ...

periodical founded in 1932 by L. C. Knights and

F. R. Leavis Frank Raymond "F. R." Leavis (14 July 1895 – 14 April 1978) was an English literary critic of the early-to-mid-twentieth century. He taught for much of his career at Downing College, Cambridge, and later at the University of York. Leavis r ...

, who remained its principal editor until the final issue in 1953. Other editors included D. W. Harding and

Harold Andrew Mason Harold Andrew Mason (30 July 1911 – 25 November 1993) was a lecturer of English at Exeter University. He was born in Hull, England in 1911. He was educated at Hull Grammar School, Christ's Hospital, Hull University College and Oriel Coll ...

. An additional volume, number 20, is often included in this series, including "A Retrospect" by Leavis, indexes, and errata.

Background

Literary critic and historian

Boris Ford Richard Boris Ford (1 July 1917, in Simla, India – 19 May 1998, in London, England), was a literary critic, writer, editor and educationist. Early life The son of an Indian Army officer, Brigadier Geoffrey Noel Ford, and his Russian wife Ekate ...

has stated that it was L. C. Knights "who had the idea of creating such a literary quarterly, and took steps to bring it into being on 15 May 1932 - Knights's 26th birthday. Knights was the only one of Scrutiny's editors who served in that role for every one of its 76 issues." The first issue appeared early in May 1932, with 100 copies sold in the first week, with subscribers including

T.S. Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist, publisher, playwright, literary critic and editor.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Biogr ...

George Santayana Jorge Agustín Nicolás Ruiz de Santayana y Borrás, known in English as George Santayana (; December 16, 1863 – September 26, 1952), was a Spanish and US-American philosopher, essayist, poet, and novelist. Born in Spain, Santayana was raise ...

R. H. Tawney Richard Henry Tawney (30 November 1880 – 16 January 1962) was an English economic historian, social critic, ethical socialist,Noel W. Thompson. ''Political economy and the Labour Party: the economics of democratic socialism, 1884-2005''. 2nd ed ...

and

Aldous Huxley Aldous Leonard Huxley (26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. He wrote nearly 50 books, both novels and non-fiction works, as well as wide-ranging essays, narratives, and poems. Born into the prominent Huxle ...

. The circulation rose slowly, with 750 copies being printed later in the 1930s, and 1000 copies in the 1940s. At its height in the 1950s, ''Scrutiny'' only printed 1,500 copies, but most of these were held by colleges and academic libraries for circulation. As such, ''Scrutiny'' was widely read, and Leavis became very influential in 20th century literary criticism in part because he was editor of the journal. After writing many articles for the journal, music critic

Wilfrid Mellers Wilfrid Howard Mellers (26 April 1914 – 17 May 2008) was an English music critic, musicologist and composer. Early life Born in Leamington, Warwickshire, Mellers was educated at the local Leamington College and later won a scholarship to ...

appeared on the editorial board of the January 1942 issue, and continued in that position until the December 1948 issue. Besides its editorial staff, ''Scrutiny'' was able to have a contributing body of many important

literary critics Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...

, including:

Q.D. Leavis Queenie Dorothy Leavis (née Roth, 7 December 1906 – 17 March 1981) was an English literary critic and essayist.Mary Grover, "Leavis, Q.D." in Faye Hammill, Esme Miskimmin, Ashlie Sponenberg (eds.) ''An Encyclopedia of British Women's Writing 19 ...

, Marius Bewley,

William Empson Sir William Empson (27 September 1906 – 15 April 1984) was an English literary critic and poet, widely influential for his practice of closely reading literary works, a practice fundamental to New Criticism. His best-known work is his firs ...

, L.C. Knights,

Michael Oakeshott Michael Joseph Oakeshott FBA (; 11 December 1901 – 19 December 1990) was an English philosopher and political theorist who wrote about philosophy of history, philosophy of religion, aesthetics, philosophy of education, and philosophy of ...

Herbert Read Sir Herbert Edward Read, (; 4 December 1893 – 12 June 1968) was an English art historian, poet, literary critic and philosopher, best known for numerous books on art, which included influential volumes on the role of art in education. Read ...

I. A. Richards Ivor Armstrong Richards CH (26 February 1893 – 7 September 1979), known as I. A. Richards, was an English educator, literary critic, poet, and rhetorician. His work contributed to the foundations of the New Criticism, a formalist movement ...

Derek A. Traversi Derek Aimone Uberto Antona-Traversi (November 7, 1912 – August 25, 2005) was a British literary critic who spent much of his life abroad employed by the British Council and then at United States universities. His literary criticism ranged from ...

, and

Martin Turnell Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Aust ...

. Some of the contributors to ''Scrutiny'' were also contributors to ''

Left Review ''Left Review'' was a journal set up by the British section of the Comintern-sponsored International Union of Revolutionary Writers (previously known as the International Bureau for Revolutionary Literature; also known as the Writers' Internationa ...

''. Many contributors focused on the topics of education and politics, but, according to

Richard Poirier Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stro ...

, "its most important achievement was a nearly complete revaluation of English literature". That is not to say that they always supported these critics; according to John Grant, ''Scrutiny'' denounced "the later work of Empson and Richards" and disregarded "critics in the colonies such as Blackmur, Burke, and Frye".

Critical response

Poirier claims that "''Scrutiny'' had earned more respect and more denunciation than any other quarterly in English". Grant, in responding to Poirier's review of ''Scrutiny'', found that "''Scrutiny'' specialized in being right—half the time. In order to praise, it felt compelled also to damn, and then found it easy to do so because it possessed "standards" against which all works could be judged." There were other detractors, including

T. S. Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist, publisher, playwright, literary critic and editor.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Biogr ...

; "'I so strongly disagreed with Dr Leavis during the last days of crutiny' Eliot wrote, 'and objected to his attacks and innuendoes about people I knew and respected. I think it is a pity he became so intemperate in his views and was extravagant in his admirations, as I had, in the earlier stages of the magazine, felt great sympathy for its editor.'"

Collections

Articles from ''Scrutiny'' have been separately republished in collections. *. *. ** Review:

Reprints

In 1963, the entire publication was reprinted in 20 bound volumes from photographic copies by the

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambr ...

References

External links