A Theology of Criticism

A number of critics and scholars have argued for the notion of a distinctly Catholic quality or character of imagination: not a matter of doctrine or even necessarily of belief, but a sensibility, a complex of intellectual, emotional, spiritual and ethical assumptions and proclivities that proceed from Catholic belief and constitute a stance towards reality that informs imaginative expression. In this book Michael Murphy brings to bear Hans Urs von Balthasar's perspectives on theology and literary criticism to put this concept to the test and give it greater specificity and definition. The works examined range from fiction by such authors as Flannery O'Connor, Walker Percy, and Jack Kerouac, to poetry from Denise Levertov and William Everson and the films of Lars von Trier.