“of This Time, of That Place” Themes

I believe the main theme in “Of This Time, Of That Place”, by Lionel Trilling, is the writing and understanding of literature by modern students, and how it differs from those by past ‘old school’ strategies. Trilling demonstrates this by Joseph Howe’s poems being critiqued by Frederic Woolley, the editor of the magazine Life and Letters. In it, Woolley condemns Howe’s works, compared to those of Thomas Wormser, claiming Howe’s works were “insulting” and written with “precious subjectivism” (262). He goes on to praise Wormser’s literature, declaring that his work “…is what is needed in our time and place…Certainly it is true that Thomas Wormser writes in the lucid Dorian mode which sends men into battle with evil” (263). I believe Woolley is part of the ‘old school’ literary groups. He does not understand, let alone appreciate, the works of Howe and their message. He chooses to