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INTRODUCTION TO LITERARY CRITICISM

What is literary criticism?

The word criticism comes from the Greek word kritikos that means
judgement. So, literary criticism refers to the process of judging a work of
literature (prose, poetry, drama, short story, novel) and stating whether it
will stand the test of time or not (whether a particular work will be
remembered by readers or forgotten, in future). M.H. Abrams defines
literary criticism as ...studies concerned with defining, classifying,
analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating works of literature.
Qualities of a Critic:
The person who assesses (judges) a literary work is a critic. A good critic
should possess the following qualities:

He/she should have a thorough knowledge of the genre of the literary

work being assessed (for example, a critic of drama should have good
knowledge of the various forms of drama, its history, the dramatic
techniques, etc.).
A critic should have knowledge of the happenings in the world around
and should be able to relate it to the literary work. Further, he/she
should be quite versed (quite expert) in all or any of these fields related
to Literature like religion, philosophy, psychology, and even sociology.
This is necessary for a detailed analysis of the literary work.
As mentioned above, the critic should provide an in-depth or extensive
analysis of a literary work and not merely provide an overall idea about
it.
A critic should be unbiased and free from any kind of prejudice. He/she
should not employ (use) criticism as a weapon for personal attacks
against others, or as a tool to favour those whom he/she likes.

Aspects of Literary Criticism:

Literary Criticism is based on four main aspects the work of art, the
writer, the universe, and the reader. These aspects are interrelated and are
the chief areas of interest for the critic. Depending on the school of
criticism, critics focus more on any one of these aspects. For example,
reader-response criticism focuses more on the role of the reader than on the
other three aspects. In other words, the literary work is seen more from the
readers view point.
History of Literary Criticism:

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Classical Criticism:

The history of literary criticism can be traced back to the

classics Plato, Aristotle, Horace, and Longinus. Plato was not in favour of
poetry. He called poetry divine madness. (In those days, people who
predicted the future in temples of gods spoke poetic language. To Plato, it
was a kind of madness.) According to him, poetry encouraged passion in
human beings and that was not good. He attacked poetry saying it was
twice-removed from reality. Therefore, in his work The Republic, he stated
that poets and actors should be driven out of the Ideal Republic State.
Aristotle, on the other hand, says that poetry (now poetic drama) springs
from two sources the instinct of imitation (mimesis) and the instinct of
harmony and rhythm. In his book Poetics, Aristotle deals with the rules of
tragedy. In fact, he was the first to put forth the characteristics (features or
qualities) of tragic drama. Aristotle never approved of mixing the tragic and
the comic. He felt it would spoil its dignity and seriousness. Horace, the
Roman lyric poet, presented the rules of poetry and the qualities of a good
poet in his work, Ars Poetica (The Art of Poetry). According to him, poetry
should delight and instruct (it should be a medium of pleasure and thought).
On the Sublime by Longinus discusses what is sublime or excellence in
literary language. According to him, there are five sources of the sublime
and if a poet makes use of these sources, his work is sure to be a
masterpiece.

English Literary Criticism

Elizabethan Literary Criticism: This refers to the literary criticism that
was present during the period of Queen Elizabeth I. Though there were
many critics, the most significant (important) of them was Sir Philip Sidney.
His work An Apologie for Poetry clearly defends poetry from the other
critics of his time like Stephen Gosson. This work clearly tries to bridge the
gap between philosophy and literature. Like Horace, Sidney agrees that a
poet must delight and instruct through his works. In fact, An Apologie for
Poetry defends art and poetry from the attacks of great philosophers like
Plato. Sidney clearly states that poetry is a creative imitation of life and
cannot be considered inferior in any way. He even goes a step further in
saying that human nature is more important unlike Aristotle who said
actions of human beings are more important. In short, Sidney emphasised
(stated strongly) that poetry is a remarkable means of communication. Its
importance lies in how and what it communicates its ideas to society.
Neoclassical Literary Criticism: This refers to the literary criticism that
was present during the seventeenth and early eighteenth century. The
renowned (famous) writers of the period also played the role of literary
critics. Some of them are John Dryden, Alexander Pope, and Samuel
Johnson. John Dryden is known for his critical essays, Preface to Fables and

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An Essay on Dramatic Poesy. Alexander Pope is known for his poetic critical
work, Essay on Criticism. Johnson is always remembered for his work,
Preface to Shakespeare where he defends Shakespeare from the harsh
criticism of other critics of his time like Dennis and Rhymer.
The following are some of the characteristics of neoclassical literary
criticism:
Importance was given more to reason than to imagination.
The focus of good writing was supposed to be on form than on the
content itself.
The views of Aristotle were considered the parameters to be following
while writing or assessing a literary text.
as the name suggests, the neo-classicists considered the Greek and
Roman writers the best or the most superior. They felt that no writer can
excel their standards of writing.