Criticism, literary The term literary criticism, broadly used today to encompass any discourse on literature, includes three

distinguishable but overlapping fields of inquiry--literary history, literary theory, and evaluative criticism. In literary history, literature is viewed as part of a historical process. In literary theory, or poetics, an attempt is made to describe the principles of literature, and questions are asked about the nature of literature, its G !" #, and its techniques and functions. $iterary criticism in the narrow sense of evaluative criticism concerns the study and analysis of specific works and their authors. This %udgmental role is often singled out as the particular task of literary criticism and is a view sanctioned by the etymology of the term, which is derived from the Greek krinein, &to %udge.& The term kritikos as &a %udge of literature& originated as early as the end of the 'th century (C. )istory of Criticism *lthough literary questions are formally discussed in many of the dialogues of +$*T,, the +, TIC# ,- *"I#T,T$ is the fundamental te.t of literary criticism. It raised key questions and supplied the vocabulary for many concepts. In the +oetics, *ristotle defined the aim of literature as imitation /mimesis0. )e describes the form and plot of certain Greek tragedies and alludes to the effect of tragedy as &purgation.& )e pays no attention to the author. $,!GI!1#2s treatise ,n the #ublime speaks, rather, of the soul, the greatness of the author, as the standard of literature. These two treatises, and the rather casual verse epistle of ),"*C , the *rt of +oetry, are the source of the dictum that literature should both please and instruct. *lthough the tradition of "oman rhetoric and the craft of making verses was alive during the 3iddle *ges, the ancient authors were not rediscovered until the "enaissance, when the doctrine known as neoclassicism took form /see ! ,C$*##ICI#3, literature0. #everal stages occurred in the development of this doctrine4 an early reliance on the authority of the ancients, a plea for identifying the principles of the ancients with the voices of reason, and an increasing reliance on taste, conceived to be that of an educated elite. (roadly speaking, however, no great change took place5 neoclassicism, the critical doctrine that culminates in the works of #amuel 6,)!#,! during the late 78th century, is derived from "enaissance theory. The classical system dissolved in the second half of the 78th century under the impact of a new historical sense. +articularly in Germany, as demonstrated in the works of 6ohann Gottfried von ) "9 " and the two #C)$ G $ brothers, -riedrich and *ugust :ilhelm, the classical tradition was re%ected in favor of a view that saw each work as a product of its time and place. In this view, criticism can be used only to understand a work, enter into its spirit, and surrender to its particular beauty5 it cannot be used to %udge literature by an eternal standard. Immanuel ;*!T formulated a compromise4 taste, he grants in the Critique of 6udgment /7<=>0, is individual, but it claims universality and appeals to the common sense of humankind. In the 7=th century the historical view triumphed despite many attempts to anchor %udgment in new principles. #amuel Taylor C,$ "I9G tried to distinguish critically between fancy and imagination. ,thers, such as :illiam )*?$ITT, relied on their personal reactions and developed procedures that have been called impressionistic. :alter )oratio +*T " advanced an aesthetic movement advocating art for its own sake. 3ost theorists, however, tried to give a causal e.planation of the course of literature. The approach of )ippolyte *dolphe T*I! , for e.ample, which looked for a milieu, a moment, and a race /or nation0, was most influential. 3*"@I#3, proponents of which look for economic and social causes, is in the same tradition.

The A>th century has been an era of enormous e.pansion and diversity in literary criticism. Italy, the 1##", and the 1nited #tates have played increasingly significant roles. Totally new methods have been developed from related disciplines. 3ar.ist criticism, which prevailed in astern urope, found many adherents in the :est. -reudian psychoanalysis was applied to literature. Carl 61!G2s speculations on archetypes in the collective unconscious inspired a search for myths in all literature. * new and rigorous stylistic criticism has developed under the influence of modern linguistics. * psychological and anthropological approach has been taken by !orthrop -"B , who attempts to trace similarities in the literary patterns of different cultures. In "ussia and later in CCechoslovakia a new, formal study of literature called #T"1CT1"*$I#3 has flourished and has had an impact in both -rance and the 1nited #tates. * form of philosophical criticism that draws its inspiration from @I#T !TI*$I#3 has had a great impact. #pokesmen of 3,9 "!I#3 such as T. #. $I,T in ngland and +aul D*$ "B in -rance have profoundly altered taste. -unctions of Criticism 9espite the complaints of writers and readers against faultfinding, criticism is an inevitable and indispensable activity. +eople will always talk and write about books and distinguish between good and bad ones. Theater critics and book reviewers sift through books and plays, now produced in staggering numbers. ,nly a small fraction of the books published in nglish are reviewed, and even fewer survive more than a few years. Critics thus mold and determine taste, shaping and establishing writers2 reputations. Critics also assess the works of the more remote past, constantly reinterpreting and reassessing the tradition of literature. Thus criticism either becomes the guardian of tradition or is used to revalue writers or trends from new perspectives. :riters constantly emerge from obscurity5 their works are revived, reduced in stature, or pushed into oblivion. In this way critics define and redefine the classics. 3ost commonly, however, critics serve the present concern, preparing the way for new trends or writers. Criticism thus plays a large part in literary history. *nother side of literary criticism, theory of literature, is less concerned with immediate facts. It is inspired by the desire to know how literature is made--the underlying principles, rules, conventions, and devices of composition. Theory leads to questions of * #T) TIC# and finally to philosophy, to questions about the nature of language, and even to the nature of reality. 3ethods of Criticism The methods of criticism vary with its functions. $iterary works may be described merely to communicate some idea of their content or effect, but critics also interpret a work and develop the tools to do so. They analyCe sound patterns and meters5 styles5 devices such as metaphors, character, and plot5 and the ideas that emerge from the work. They analyCe tone and any particular individuality that can be evoked or defined. Interpretation leads finally to a decision about artistic merit and often to %udgments about the moral, political, religious, or philosophical implications of a work. True to the traditional pattern, most modern critics do not see a work in complete isolation5 they study it in relation to its presumed causes or at least its antecedents. #ince the author is the most obvious cause, the author2s life, personality, psychology, and e.periences are the concern of biographical criticism. Critics who engage in historical criticism look for the antecedents of writings in the history of literature. They study a work in the tradition of a specific genre or form even if it revolts against its predecessors. -inally, critics may study the social setting of an author2s works. They trace the author2s roots and contacts in a specific society, time, or locale.

They relate the works to trends in the other arts, to philosophy, theology, politics, economics, and other human activities. In ssays in the )istory of Ideas /7='80, for e.ample, *rthur ,. $ove%oy /78<E-7=FA0 integrates philosophy and literature in a study of intellectual history. #tudy has increasingly been devoted to the effect of literature on society. The almost endless questions bring out clashes of views that have been debated throughout history. #ome of these debates are still unsettled. -or instance, the question about the nature of literature has been answered either by considering literature as an art that induces aesthetic en%oyment and contemplation or by considering literature as communication, in no way different from the ordinary functions of language. The !ew Critics /see ! : C"ITICI#30, including Cleanth (",,;#, 6ohn Crowe "*!#,3, *llen T*T , and "obert +enn :*"" !, say that literary works should be e.amined autonomously by close te.tual reading. 3ost critics, however, continue to emphasiCe the traditional approach that treats literature in its broader conte.ts. *nother question in any theory of criticism is that of sub%ectivity versus ob%ectivity. The sub%ective view is that all criticism is %ust airing of personal opinions. The ob%ective view is that absolute standards, or at least determinants in the te.t, e.ist to which the critic must adhere. The variety of voices today is so great that the situation has been compared to the Tower of (abel, with its mutually incompatible languages. !ever before has there been such a ferment in criticism, and critics have never before attracted so much attention and fervent loyalty. /#ee 9 C,!#T"1CTI,! for an e.ample of a recent school of criticism that has received notice well beyond academia.0 Indeed, some scholars argue that this is the age of criticism, since literary critics now often function not only as specialists in literature, but also as general critics of society and civiliCation. "ene :ellek (ibliography4 *brams, 3eyer )., 3irror and the $amp4 "omantic Theory and the Critical Tradition /7=GE5 repr. 7=8E05 *uerbach, ric, 3imesis, trans. by :. ". Trask /7=GE05 (loom, )., ed., The *rt of the Critic, 77 vols. /7=8G-8805 (ooth, :. C., The "hetoric of -iction /7=F705 (rooks, Cleanth, The :ell-:rought 1rn /7='<05 (urke, ;., The +hilosophy of $iterary -orm /7='75 repr. 7=<'05 Cain, :. ., The Crisis in Criticism4 Theory, $iterature, and "eform in english #tudies /7=8'05 9aiches, 9avid, Critical *pproaches to $iterature, Ad ed. /7=8705 del, $eon, ed., $iterary )istory and $iterary Criticism /7=<'05 liot, T. #., The #acred :ood, <th ed. /7=F>05 mpson, :., #even Types of *mbiguity, rev. ed. /7=GE05 -rye, !orthrop, *natomy of Criticism /7=G<05 Greene, :. C., The Choices of Criticism /7=FG05 )artman, G., The -ate of "eading and ,ther ssays /7=8'05 )owe, Irving, ed., 3odern $iterary Criticism /7=G805 6ames, )enry, The *rt of the !ovel /7=E'5 repr. 7=G'05 $eitch, D. (., *merican $iterary Criticism from the 2E>s to the 28>s /7=8805 !abokov, D., $ectures on $iterature /7=8>05 +reminger, *le., ed., +rinceton ncyclopedia of +oetry and +oetics, new ed. /7=<'05 "ichards, I. *., +ractical Criticism /7=A=05 Trilling, $ionel, The $iberal Imagination /7=G>05 :arren, ". +., and (rooks, C., 1nderstanding +oetry, 'th ed. /7=<F05 :ellek, "ene, * )istory of 3odern Criticism, F vols. /7=GG-8F05 :imsatt, :illiam ;., and (rooks, Cleanth, $iterary Criticism4 * #hort )istory /7=G<05 :oolf, D., "eviewing /7=E75 repr. 7=8'0.