Hard work makes easy reading or, at least, easier reading. That book won instant acclaim. I had no reason to expect in 1953 that it would appeal to more than a specialized group interested in literary criticism. I think one of the reasons why it's been of interest to a broad spectrum of readers is because one of its emphases was on the role of metaphors in steering human thinking. One of its chief emphases, he explained, is the profound influence of biblical and theological literature on secular thinking, literature and the writing of history.
People get the title wrong in all sorts of ways.
It's rare to find someone getting it right. Abrams also was surprised by the success of the Norton Anthology . He was approached by the president of W.W. Norton to edit a volume to be used in survey courses in literature, modeled on a course he taught at Cornell. What happened was inconceivable. It took off and sold all over the world.