Henry James: The Old Order
Virginia Woolf’s The Old Order is a collection of essays and reviews on the works of Henry James. Woolf examines James’s novels, short stories, and plays, as well as his life and times. She looks at the themes of his works, such as the struggle between the old and the new, the power of money, and the importance of relationships. Woolf also examines James’s writing style, his use of language, and his influence on other writers. The book is an insightful and engaging look at one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century.
By Virginia Woolf · First published 1917 · Genre: Literary Criticism, Biography, History · 2,996 words
First lines
With this small volume, (* THE MIDDLE YEARS. By Henry James.) which brings us down to about the year 1870, the memories of Henry James break off. It is more fitting to say that they break off than that they come to an end, for although we are aware that we shall hear his voice no more, there is no hint of exhaustion or of leave-taking; the tone is as rich and deliberate as if time were unending and matter infinite; what we have seems to be but the prelude to what we are to have, but a crumb, as he says, of a banquet now forever withheld. Someone speaking once incautiously in his presence of his "completed" works drew from him the emphatic assertion that never, never so long as he lived could there be any talk of completion; his work would end only with his life; and it seems in accord with this spirit that we should feel ourselves pausing, at the end of a paragraph, while in imagination the next great wave of the wonderful voice curves into fullness.
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Henry James: The Old Order is listed on Textopian as an essay by Virginia Woolf, dated 1917 CE.
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- Work type: Essay
- Author: Virginia Woolf
- Date: 1917 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Literary Criticism, Biography, History, Literature
- Length: 2,996 words
- Structure: 1 section, 87 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Difficult (10th-12th Grade)
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Genres
- Literary Criticism — Virginia Woolf's book is a critical analysis of the works of Henry James, focusing on his themes of the 'Old Order' and the 'New Order'.
- Biography — The book is a biography of Henry James, exploring his life and works.
- History — The book examines the historical context of Henry James' works, and the changes in society that he wrote about.
- Literature — The book is a study of the literature of Henry James, and the themes and ideas he explored in his works.
Tags
atmosphere · beautiful · beautifully · beauty · brings · character · city · critical · day · days · eliot · essay