SIR,—One hopes there are as many ardent defenders of Mr.
Amis as there are of Strix, but just to make sure.
It is time an attack was made on the classics of Eng. Lit. if only for the sake of provoking reasoned defence by their admirers. All we do get are hands raised in horror! Mr. Singer, even if one allows that Mr. Amis has not written 'one solitary poem,' will no doubt be after Mr. Daniel George next week for criticising novels. And Mr. Ure. Displaying a wit readers of his introduction to the Pelican Seven- teenth Century Prose would hardly have suspected, he rather spoils the effect by not answering any points at all; still, we have seen that too in the same intro- duction. Could he perhaps have answered Mr. Amis's four specific criticisms of Beowulf? And not ignored the reasoned, qualified praise of its style? If Mr. Ure had not attempted to be a third-rate 'Priestley on Leavis' and had devoted the major part of his letter to the book under review his letter would have had little difficulty in outshining the rest. From Mr. Singer's emotional, irrelevant and unfounded per- sonal attack to the gnomic misunderstandings of Mary Holtby they are a poor defence of established standards.—Yours faithfully,
St. Antony's College, Oxford
W. F. MANDLE
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