Quote:
Originally Posted by Katsunami
[...] Some classics _are_ massively overrated, IMHO.
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It's common enough to see, I've said it (or something very much like it) myself from time to time, but I think "massively overrated, in my opinion" makes an interesting clause to analyse.
If I was asked to explain what "massively overrated" means, I'd probably say something like: many people hold a higher opinion of the the work than it deserves.
So the phrase effectively comes to: most other opinions are wrong, in my opinion.
And when put like that, it has a certain ring of self-aggrandizement: my opinions are better than most other people's. Which is correct, of course
, just not something I'd normally say out loud.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Katsunami
[...] I think that if WotW had been written after 2000, it wouldn't even have been published...
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I think this is true of a huge number of books now considered classics. I'm pretty sure LotR would be a different book if published now. The world has changed and expectations are different.