Romantic Era

The Romantic period and the attendant rise of the novel in England as the preeminent literary form saw the emergence of the first truly popular literature, and with it denunciations of the degradation of culture at the hands of frivolous entertainments and occupations. Fretting critics lamented the idea that the fashion for new and exciting works of literature was crowding out more "important" texts, and the fashionability of knowledge was met not with excitement at the prospect of a public hungry for education, but rather concern based on the belief that a little bit of knowledge was more dangerous than none at all (Revolutions in Romantic Literature 104). Even a cursory survey of the last three hundred years shows that this kind of response has greeted the emergence of nearly every new medium, whether it be novels, radio, television, or videogames. While it might be tempting to simply...
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