Who really said it
This is the final sentence of Susan Sontag’s essay “Against Interpretation” (1964), later collected in Against Interpretation and Other Essays (1966).
Last verified 9 Nov 2026 · how we verify · spot an error?
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Verified quote & credit
“In place of a hermeneutics we need an erotics of art” Susan Sontag, “Against Interpretation” (1964), final sentence; collected in Against Interpretation and Other Essays (1966).
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Provenance
In place of a hermeneutics we need an erotics of art.
Complete essay textHow we verified this
The 1964 English essay is copyrighted. Only its brief final sentence is reproduced for criticism and identification.
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Context
Sontag argues that criticism can smother the experience of art when it treats a work mainly as a container of hidden meanings. The closing contrast follows her call to recover the senses and attend to how a work exists, giving the provocation its aesthetic context.
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Names Sontag; exact final sentence is followed by [1964]; surrounding paragraphs call for recovering sensory experience.
Sourced entry distinguishes the 1964 essay from the 1966 essay collection.
İpek Gürkan’s article abstract identifies the exact sentence as the conclusion of Against Interpretation and discusses sensory criticism.
Biographical reference identifies her criticism, fiction and major essay books.
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The author
For writers & researchers
Sontag, Susan. “Against Interpretation.” 1964; collected in Against Interpretation and Other Essays, 1966, final sentence.
Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘In place of a hermeneutics we need an erotics of art’?” Last verified 9 Nov 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/in-place-of-a-hermeneutics-we-need-an-erotics-of-art/