Measurement and the Study of Literature

Why has the computer not in fact revolutionized literary studies? Most literary scholars prefer to think of themselves as creative artists rather than as scientists, yet most scholars who have tried to use the computer in literary studies have failed to be sufficiently creative: little computer-assisted investigation has gone beyond variations of concordance making. Before the computer can help make a science of literary study, we must learn to distinguish carefully between the activities of appreciating & enjoying literature, of describing & defending our mode of appreciation, & of investigating & understanding literature as a phenomenon. Only the latter activity is potentially a science of literature. Modified AA.