Leavis

Leavis (Frank Raymond Leavis, 1895–1978) was a British literary critic and educator who became one of the most influential figures in English literary criticism in the mid-20th century. Trained at the University of Cambridge, he taught there and later in other institutions, but his work and influence spread through his writings, his teaching, and the literary quarterly Scrutiny, which he and Denys Thompson founded in 1932. Scrutiny promoted close, sustained reading of literary texts and a standard of moral seriousness, and it helped establish a distinctive critical movement often described as the Cambridge School.

Leavis is best known for The Great Tradition (1948, with Denys Thompson) in which he argued for a canon of English literature defined by rigor, moral seriousness, and formal achievement. He and his circle insisted that genuine literature helps to form character and culture, challenging mass culture and the modernist emphasis on experimentation. He also wrote The Common Pursuit (1952), which argued for a reform of English education and the cultivation of a disciplined habit of reading.

His work generated intense debate: supporters credited him with restoring standards in criticism and pedagogy, while critics argued that his canon was elitist and exclusive and that he neglected voices outside the traditional English literary canon. Leavis's influence extended through his students and through the institutions he helped shape; his emphasis on close reading and moral evaluation remains a point of reference in discussions of literary value and curriculum design.