Book Review: "Take Arms Against a Sea of Troubles" by Harold Bloom

Harold Bloom has always been a contentious figure if you've studied literature at university. I mean there are two types of people you'll meet: people who think he's right and people who think he's wrong. I've been quite the former to be honest, he makes some really good points and the way he states that for him, Shakespeare replaced God, was something I could definitely get on board with. Harold Bloom wrote many books, some of which I have read (such as: The Western Canon and The Art of Reading Poetry - both on my degrees. Then there's The Anatomy of Influence which I want to read again if I can find it) but there are others that I simply didn't get to read in their entirety, and so am only familiar with bits and pieces. So I am quite happy to place myself as a Harold Bloom fan - I too believe that literature is a way of life.

Harold Bloom confronts his own mortality. At the time of writing this book he is approaching 90 without knowing he would not ever get there - he died at 89. He looks at literature through a deeply personal lens, something that is different to his usual writings. But it also has similarities in the sense that it is still an intellectual appreciation, something deep in the soul. He states that reading is a combative act and so, the Hamlet quotation of the title is apt as we readers seek to push back against the inevitability of death by living thousands of lives in our own. I personally love this belief, I can definitely support the idea that I am some sort of warrior even though if you ever met me in real life you would think I am probably a deeply unwell individual. I cannot sit back and support reality. It really isn't for me.

Poetry is the main form of armour investigated in this book. Milton, Shakespeare, Blake, Wordsworth, Shelley, Byron and many more (even TS Eliot) are featured within lengthy and deep chapters that consider the timelessness of their pieces. Apart from referring to Shakespeare as his God, Bloom refers to Shelley as possibly the greatest lyrical poet to ever live. He often wrestles with some cynicism when it comes to poetry, admitting that Dante is one of the greatest poets in all of human history, yet the God of Dante's Divine Comedy is not available to him. He speaks of all of this as examples and ways in which literature can formulate and often reformulate our sense of self and meaning. For example: literature reformulated my sense of meaning by making me believe that reality simply was not enough. You can't experience something i.e Canto XIII of The Inferno in real life and yet, the writing is simply gorgeous. You sure could live there if you wanted. Though I wouldn't recommend it. Go and read the Canto and you'll find out why.

The elegy regarding different people he has met and debated with in his life is always a great read from a great person like him. Harold Bloom speaks of these people are other intellectuals such as: Robert Frost and Geoffrey Hartman. The latter, Bloom talks about as a lesson too late as Hartman had already passed away. He didn't seem to take to well to arguments presented by Frost. Not only do these show us a man at his work and in his natural habitat, but it portrays a great mind aware that the end is near. Christopher Hitchens' Mortality seems to do the same thing. This hyper-awareness of the end is not painful or sad, but rather a time to collect memories and make sure there is a document of how you would like them saved to humanity's collective consciousness. However, there is a tone of haunting regret amongst some of the encounters he had. There are simply so many emotions conveyed here, many of them collated from a chair in a hospital.

There's a giant chapter on Shelley and Byron, mainly because we who have read Bloom's work understand his deep appreciation for Shelley as one of the greatest of all the poets. I also enjoyed it because Byron happens to be my favourite poet of all time. His appreciation of Shelley no longer though just feels intellectual, the language is deeply appreciative and very emotional. Some of the poems he recites in order to stave off the morbidity of knowing about death. This is something because we know that Shelley died quite suddenly and very young, at least Byron got a taste of illness first and would have known he was dying. There are so many shrouds about Shelley's death but, if he did drown, then there's a small chance he knew. There's quite a difference, Bloom admits implicitly, between knowing you're going to die at 89 to knowing you are dying in the moment at 29.

I too, think I'd like to go with poems by John Keats on my person.

The way in which Bloom looks at Dante and Shakespeare has often been one of my favourite things to read when it comes to his critiques. Dante changes his readers and Shakespeare changes us. Dante, a man who is on a journey which will shape faith and identity - he is morphing into a man learning and being enlightened about his position. Dante will show you a photograph of your face: before and after - see the difference? It's huge. Shakespeare, a man who wills us out of our holes and into the spectacle of space. He gives us one of those distorted mirrors from the carnival; depending on where we hold it, our image changes.

Bloom definitely argues in favour of the fact that literature can withstand religion even when the religious will of the reader has not withstood. It's here where he really argues against those who attempt to change the Western Canon. I agree, timeless literature, great literature, transcends any and all of history, love, identity and philosophical changes. There is a reason that Dante, Shakespeare and Milton etc. are held up as the great writers of history. To suggest that they shouldn't be there and replaced by another person simply appreciated for their 'identity' is a useless construct and more than that, is quite insulting to the other person. The Western Canon is already made up of its greats and identity simply doesn't matter: transcendence does. Intelligence does.

All in all, I adored reading this book. It definitely came at the right time for me. I had so much fun with it. I hope you consider it, the depth is simply brilliant. The incredible appreciation for literature gives something to all of us who love to read.