The literature of democracy

Abstract

Introduction: The character of a people is written as indelibly on the pages of its literature as is the bounty of nature inscribed on her wonderful scroll of field, forest, and sea. In a study of writers, the real criterion is the inherent worth, the truth and soundness of the production and the perfection of its form. But this criterion is now seldom applied exclusively, the supreme test being associated in modern criticism with others of varying importance.