Definitions: Essays in Contemporary Criticism [First Series] — A Reader’s Guide

Canby's Diagnostic Diction

Canby's own prose reveals his critical method. He frequently uses verbs of scrutiny: 'scrutinized,' 'characterizes,' 'dodges,' 'steps over.' In describing the young realists, he writes that their hero 'sees through his parents and characterizes them in a phrase.' This active, almost clinical language mirrors the 'minute and painful examination of environment' he attributes to the new generation. He also employs a distinctive rhythm of listing—'At the age of seven… At fourteen… At eighteen…'—to mimic the accelerated disillusionment he diagnoses. His choice of the word 'biography' for the fictional arc of a character underscores his view that these novels function as case studies rather than mere stories.

The Structure of Revolt in Fiction

Canby identifies a recurring narrative pattern in the works of young realists like John Dos Passos. He outlines a chronological sequence: the protagonist sees through parents, education, morality, home town, and social system by age twenty-three. This structure, he argues, prioritizes argument over plot. The 'mass of circumstantial incident and sensation' reminds him of Zola's naturalism. Canby notes that the story often ends because 'the author has run through society to date and does not know what to do next.' He does not claim this pattern applies to all novels, but he uses it to illustrate a shift from romantic escape to absorbed examination of everyday life.

Diction as Cultural Barometer

Canby pays close attention to the vocabulary of the era. He contrasts the 'romantic 'nineties' with the modern youth's world of 'intense sensation, usually disagreeable.' Words like 'disillusion,' 'rebellious pacifism,' and 'unflattering picture' recur in his analysis. He notes that the younger generation's literature is 'a literature of revolt' characterized by 'this happened to me' testimony. This emphasis on first-person experience, he suggests, reflects a broader cultural shift from belief systems to scrutiny of 'a method of living.' Canby's own diction—'attack upon orthodox conceptions,' 'disintegration,' 'criticism'—mirrors the period's self-consciousness.

The Reviewer's Craft and Limits

In the section on reviewing, Canby turns his analytical eye on critics themselves. He discusses 'The Sins of Reviewing' and 'The Race of Reviewers,' though the excerpts do not detail these sins. However, his preface makes clear that he aims only to 'put one foot in the crack' of difficult questions, not to provide final answers. This modesty is a deliberate rhetorical choice. He distinguishes between the reviewer's task and the critic's deeper analysis, and he warns against claiming too much. His own essays, he says, are 'informal definition' rather than categorical conclusions. This self-awareness about the limits of criticism is a recurring theme in his prose.

Canby's essays reward readers who attend to his precise word choices and structural observations. He does not offer a unified theory but rather a series of diagnostic probes into the literature of his time. His focus on diction—how authors use verbs, how they sequence events, what they choose to emphasize—provides a model for close reading that remains useful. Readers interested in the evolution of American literary criticism will find here a thoughtful, evidence-based approach that avoids both hype and dismissal.

Sometimes a book stays with you less for its arguments than for its quiet way of looking—Canby’s essays on realism and sentiment felt that way to me, a steady hand sorting through old American voices. It reminded me of the gentle unease in The valley of eyes unseen — Text and Context, where seeing and not-seeing shift so softly you hardly notice the ground moving.