A Historical
Survey of Literary
Criticism
Practical Criticism: in its most general sense, what readers have been doing since the emergence of the first work of literature, be it oral or written. Today it also includes the practical function of critics.
Theoretical Criticism: what theoreticians of literature do.
In the west, it is assumed to have begun in the 5
thcentury BCE Athens.
The performance of Aristophanes’ play, The Frogs in 405 BCE
as a part of a contest dates the beginning. The play was
subjected to the judgement of some kind of an authority who
decides the best play, with respect to certain criteria. The
authority here is supposed to have given a start to the
ongoing debate “about the nature and function of literature”,
introducing “the formal study of literary criticism”.
The Antiquity
Plato (c. 427 – 347 BCE)
Works of criticism: Among others, in Ion, Crito and The Republic he expressed his ideas that “laid the foundation for many […] of the pivotal issues of philosophy and literature, including concepts of truth, beauty, and goodness; the nature of reality; the structure of society; the nature and relations of being (ontology);
questions about how we know what we know (epistemology); and ethics and morality.
Main concepts: His doctrine of ideas, also known as essences, or forms. According to it:
Ultimate reality is spiritual, which he calls The One. It is composed of “ideal” forms that exist beyond this world and common human understanding.
Our physical world is composed of the shadows, replicas, or imitations of these ideal forms.
For instance: the idea of a chair precedes the existence of a physical chair.
His techniques for discovering truth are logic and reasoning.
As we have seen, for Plato the ultimate reality is in the world of ideas, and the physical world is but an imitation of it. So, for poets are the imitators of the physical world, their practice is based upon imitating these imitations. Thus, the productions of poets are twice distanced from the ultimate reality. In addition, poets do not make use of logic and reason, but use inspiration.
As a result, a poet’s craft does not lead people to the ultimate
reality. Just the opposite, it embodies the danger of setting bad
examples before people. This is the reason for Plato’s famous
banishment of poets from the society he prospects. Actually, he
admits them into the state, as long as they “are themselves
good and also honourable in the state”. With this, Plato refers
to “poetry’s function and value in and for his society”,
recognising its effect on citizens. If poets are “mere imitators
of reality”, namely, good liars, they are to be sent to exile from
the state. If they sing the praises of loyal Greeks, they may
stay.
Main area of interest in criticism: The function of poetry (namely, literature)
Influence: Plato initiates the still-existing debate on the value, nature, and worth of literature, and of those who produce works of literature.
The catchphrases: Poetry is the imitation of the imitation.
Poetry is twice distanced from the ultimate reality.
Aristotle (384 – 322 BCE)
Works of criticism: In Poetics, Aristotle states the general principles of tragedy, as he saw them at the time, in accordance with his principles of philosophy.
Main concepts: Mimesis, which gathers all the arts
under the roof of imitation. In this, Aristotle agrees with
Plato. However, as Plato sees the art of poetry as a
potential threat against the order in society, for Aristotle it
may prove helpful in the improvement of society.
This disagreement has its roots in the differing approaches of these two philosophers towards the idea of imitation. Against Plato’s idea that “imitation is two steps removed from the truth or realm of the ideal”; Aristotle deems “that poetry is more universal, more general than things as they are” for “ ‘it is not the function of the poet to relate what happened, but what may happen –what is possible according to the law of probability or necessity’ ”.
Comparing it with history, Aristotle concludes that poetry is a more philosophical and therefore higher thing. This is because the historian writes of what has already happened, whereas the poet writes of what could and should happen. Aristotle explains it as the tendency of poetry to express the universal (with respect to universal truth); as history tends to express the particular (namely, what happened in a particular case).
So, for Aristotle, poets do not imitate the physical world as it is, but create an imitation of it as it should be, and this paves the way that gets to the ideal as near as possible.
Comedy versus tragedy: In its most general sense, a comedy imitates the actions of the ones who are inferior to the audience. It does not reflect those people’s vices, however, but merely what is ridiculous, caused by “some error or ugliness that is painless and has no harmful effects”.
A tragedy, however, analysed in detail in the Poetics, is defined as:
“an imitation of a noble and complete action, having
the proper magnitude; it employs a language that has
been artistically enhanced by each of the kinds of
linguistic adornment, applied separately in the various
parts of the play; it is presented in dramatic, not
narrative form, and achieves, through the
representation of pitiable and fearful incidents, the
catharsis of such pitiable and fearful incidents”.
Tragedy is an organic whole, which means that it has a beginning, a middle and an end; and its parts are all interrelated. The three unities of time, place and action all serve to this sense of wholeness.
Tragic hero is a noble man of a positive character, but he is not faultless. So, his misfortunes and ultimate downfall are caused by some error or frailty in his own character. This is what we call his tragic flaw, or hamartia.
Catharsis is the aimed emotional effect of a tragedy on its audience. It is the purgation, or purification of the emotions of the audience by the end of the play.
Main area of interest in criticism: Literary form
Influence: Literary criticism’s concern with the compositional elements of a work began with Aristotle’s Poetics. It set the standard with respect to which literary works (especially in drama) are judged for ages, including the Renaissance and the 18
thcentury.
The catchphrase: Poetry tends to express the universal,
not the particular.
Horace (65 – 8 BCE)
Works of criticism: From Ars Poetica (The Art of Poetry) and a personal letter it is possible to gain an understanding of his views with respect to literature.
Main concepts: In these texts Horace aims to provide a guideline on how to be a good writer. His advices basically include that poets:
Should imitate other poets, especially the poets of the past, and particularly the Greeks.
Should write about traditional subjects in unique ways
Should avoid all extremes in subject matter, diction, vocabulary and style; gaining mastery in these skills by reading and following the examples of the classical Greek and Roman authors.
Should avoid appearing ridiculous and must therefore
aim their sights low, not attempting to be a new Virgil or
Homer.
Literature’s ultimate aim is to be “sweet and useful”
(dulce et utile), and therefore it is the task of the poet to aim for the both in his works. He should aim to teach and delight.
Main area of interest in criticism: Literary taste (namely, the features that makes a literary work good)
Influence: His views on literature “became the official cannon of literary taste during the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and partly in the Neoclassic period.
The catchphrase: Literature’s ultimate aim is to
teach and delight.
Longinus (lived in the 1
stcentury)
Work of criticism: On the Sublime
Main concepts: One cannot accurately judge a literary work, unless one is exceedingly well-read.
What is great in a work, Longinus names as sublime. This is an aspiration for higher, for “something more divine than we”. All readers possess the innate capacity to recognise it.
The harmonious response of our intellects, emotions and wills to a work of art means that we have been touched by the sublime.
The author must possess a great mind and a great soul.
The text must be composed of dignified and elevated diction, disposing the reader to high thoughts.
The reader’s reaction to a work matters only if as the
audience they are learned enough.
Main area of interest in criticism: Single elements of a text
Importance: He is the first literary critic to quote in his writings from a different tradition than his own (from Hebrew).
In that he deserves the title of the first comparative critic in literary history.
He is also the first critic to define a literary classic.
His critical method and concepts can be seen as foreshadowing
various schools of literary criticism that emerged in the 20
thcentury (including New Criticism and reader-oriented
criticism).
Plotinus (204 – 207)
Works of criticism: He penned 54 treatises, (most probably) posthumously collected, edited and given the name The Enneads.
Main concepts: Unity with The One is the goal of humanity, for humanity exists in other forms of being (such as intelligence, Soul and Matter) that stem from but are separate from it.
All particular souls form only one Soul.
Influence: He is the founder of neo-Platonism.
Thinkers and authors of the subsequent centuries adopted and adapted his philosophy into their own systems of thought (from St Augustine and Boethius in the 4th and 5th centuries to the American Romantics Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson) .
The way the West has come to perceive Plato and his works depends mostly on the writings and teachings of Plotinus.
The Italians
The Middle Ages:
Dante Alighieri (1265 – 1321)
Works of criticism: Letter to Can Grande della Scala, originally a letter, in which he explains his literary theory.
Main concepts: The language spoken by the people (the vernacular) is an appropriate and beautiful language for writing.
Allegory and symbolic language, techniques used in religious writings, can be used in secular works, as well (as he said that he did in The Divine Comedy).
Main area of interest in criticism: The proper language for poetry
Influence: The common tongue became an acceptable means of
expression in literature, thus paving the way for an increase in
audience.
The Renaissance:
Giovanni Boccaccio (1313 – 1375)
Works of criticism: On the Genealogy of the Gods of the Gentiles (1374), which makes it possible for us to catch a glimpse of the literary criticism of the period.
Main concepts: The purpose of poetry is to improve life by revealing both truth and God.
Poets are similar to philosophers in that they seek truth through contemplation rather than reason.
Poets are equal to theologians in that they seek knowledge about God himself, and find it in allegory.
Main area of interest in criticism: The function of poetry
Influence: His defence of poetry had been effectual throughout the Renaissance.
He is frequently quoted by the authors of the subsequent centuries, such as Chaucer, Spenser, Jonson, Milton and Shelley.
His defence paved the way for Sidney’s Defense of Poesy.
The English
The Renaissance :
Sir Philip Sidney (1554 – 1586)
Works of criticism: An Apology for Poetry (originally Defense of Poesy, 1595) is the definitive formulation of Renaissance literary theory and the first influential piece of literary criticism in English history. Sidney’s sources include Plato, Aristotle, Horace and several of his own contemporary Italian critics.
Main concepts: Poetry is an art of imitation, as defined by Aristotle with the concept of mimesis.
Poetry is not a mindless or immoral activity.
Poetry’s chief concern is to “teach and delight”.
Poetry is more valuable than history, law, and philosophy;
and it embodies the truth above all other arts and sciences.
The unities of time, place and action are elemental in a tragedy.
Creative poetry is similar to religion for both function through stirring the emotions of the reader.
Poets affirm morality, blend truth with symbolism, and give delight.
Main area of interest in criticism: The function of poetry
Influence: The English tradition and history of literary
criticism begins with Sidney.
The Neoclassical Period (1660 – 1700):
John Dryden (1631 – 1700)
Works of criticism: An Essay of Dramatic Poesy (1668)
Main concepts: A drama must stick to the three unities.
The language of a play must observe “proper” speech.
The violent actions should not be shown onstage, it would be quite “improper”, and therefore against decorum.
English drama is better than the French.
Shakespearean tradition in drama is defended.
The rhymed verse in drama is more valuable than the blank verse.
Main area of interest in criticism: The appreciation of
literary works by their audience
Influence: Dryden develops the study of literature in and of itself, not with respect to morality or religion.
He creates a natural, simple prose style which Dryden develops the study of literature in and of itself, not with respect to morality or religion.
He creates a natural, simple prose style which is still effectual on writing in general, as well as on literary criticism.
He brings the best insights of various schools of criticism together (from Greek to French), by making use of these critical perspectives.
He advocates for the establishing of objective principles of criticism, at the same time moving the focus of criticism from merely the formal features of a work, into a more modern issue, namely the appreciation of the texts by readers and critics.
The key concepts: concepts such as decorum,
politesse (namely, courteous formality), clarity,
order, decorum, elegance, cleverness, wit are
definitive of Dryden’s style, as well as the period he
produces his works.
The Age of Reason:
Also called the Augustan Age (after the Roman Emperor Augustus)
Joseph Addison (1672 – 1719)
Works of criticism: His essays published in the newspaper he started with Richard Steele, namely, The Tatler and The Spectator.
These essays were the readings of classical and contemporary literary works.
Main concepts: Philosophy, through common sense, can mould the humankind.
The past critics (the Ancient ones) have already said all there is to say, thus contemporary criticism must rely on and justify their ideas.
Greatness of literature (also called the sublime) is not mechanical superiority, but the potential of a work to display the immensity of life in a way that transcends imagination.
The aim of the critics should be to set bridges between common people and great works of literature and criticism. The means to do it includes well-written prose and wit.
Main area of interest in criticism: The value and function of literature
Influence: Literature and criticism became a matter of interest for the common people.
The catchphrase: “To enliven morality with wit and to
temper wit with morality”.
Alexander Pope (1688 – 1744)
Works of criticism: Essay on Criticism (1711), in which he attempted to codify Neoclassical literary criticism, and
therefore addressed primarily to literary critics.
Main concepts: The golden age of criticism is the classical age, the age of Homes, Aristotle, Horace, and Longinus, who discovered the truth about “unerring nature”.
A good poet needs to be natural genius, adorned with a
knowledge of classics and an understanding of the rules
of poetry; balancing himself through politeness and grace
in terms of style. His emphasis on defining the boundaries of
style makes his literary theory a rhetoric one.
The works of such a poet seeks to reaffirm truths or absolutes already discovered by the classical writers.
This makes his theory of criticism mimetic.
The task of the critic is to validate and maintain classical values in the ever-shifting flux of cultural change. Thus, he is the one who defines and defends good taste and cultural values.
Main area of interest in criticism: Literary taste
Importance: Examining his Essay on Criticism, it is
possible to gain an insight into the 18
thcentury thought
and literary criticism.
The Romantics:
William Wordsworth (1770 – 1850)
Works of criticism: In his preface to the second edition of Lyrical Ballads (1798), Wordsworth explains the new vision of poetry he shares with Coleridge, giving us a glimpse of the beginnings of a radical change in literary theory.
Main concepts: The subject matter for his poetry is driven from common life.
The” proper” language of poetry is as it is really used by people.
The manner is the natural state of excitement.
The poets do no longer need to follow a prescribed set of rules, for the aim is that they freely express their own individualism.
Readers are to decide in accordance with their own feelings, not having to base their judgements upon that of others.
Main area of interest in criticism: The elements and subject matter of literature
Influence: Imagination is valued over reason in the
composition of poetry, which resulted in new definitions of poetry and poet, as well as new judging criteria on behalf of the reader.
The mimetic and rhetorical theories of the past centuries are shifted towards expressive theories. Highlighting the
individuality of the artist and carrying readers into a privileged position in the appreciation of literature.
The catchphrases: “All good poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings”.
Poetry takes “its origin from emotion
recollected in tranquillity”
Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792 – 1822)
Works of criticism: A Defence of Poetry (1821), as an answer to an attack on Romantic poetry.
Main concepts: Shelley blends Plato’s concept of the Ideal Forms with his own understanding, and the result is that poetry is the best way to reach at these Forms and at the ultimate truth.
Individual and imagination are defended against the Neoclassicism’s emphasis on order and reason.
Plato’s Forms go hand in hand with the Romantic ideal of imagination. Thus, poetry is less concerned with reason and rationality; and, more concerned with the spiritual and the transcendental.
The basic criteria for the judgement of poetry are the imagination and the emotions; not didactic structural elements.
Poetry is a teacher and a guide to Truth, and it is embodied in nature and the individual, not in science, reason, or philosophy.
Main area of interest in criticism: The function of literature
Importance: Shelley represents the shift in thought from the Age of Reason or Neoclassicism to Romanticism, manifesting itself in literary criticism.
The 19
thCentury and the Early 20
thCentury:
Hippolyte Adolphe Taine (1828 – 1893)
Works of criticism: The History of English Literature (1863) that can be seen as the first example of the approach we today call the historical approach.
Main concepts: To study only the text without
considering the author and his/her inner psyche would
result in an incomplete analysis. So, the text and the
author should be examined together.
The environmental causes that should be taken into consideration in the process of analysis are:
Race: authors’ inherited and learned personal characteristics
Milieu / surroundings: authors’ culture, intellectual concerns
Moment /epoch: the time period in which the work is written
Dominant faculty: each author’s individual talent that differentiates it from others
Main area of interest in criticism: The meaning of the text
Influence: The text can now be approached as a literary object that can be dissected to discover its meaning.
Literary works are now seen as the results of their histories.
The catchphrase: A work of art is “the result of given
causes”.
Matthew Arnold (1822 – 1888)
Works of criticism: In his essays “The Study of Poetry”
and “The function of Criticism at the Present Time” Arnold assumes a position that combines the ancient theories of criticism with the current emphasis on the objectivity of knowledge.
Main concepts: Poetry can provide necessary truths, values, and guidelines for society.
The best poetry is of a “higher truth and seriousness”
than history – or any other human subject or activity, such as religion, science, and philosophy.
Literature reflects the society in which it is written, and for this reason presents its values and concerns.
A classic work of literature belongs to the “highest” or
“best” class.
Seriousness goes hand in hand with moral excellence.
The critic is to be objective, not having an interest in worldly affairs such as politics, which may breed bias. Thus, paving the way for high culture will be possible.
The critic is to refer to the ideas and expressions of the masters of the antiquity, using them as the chief criterion in the judgement of poetry.
Main area of interest in criticism: The function of poetry
Influence: Arnold’s aim for an objective criticism results in
the opposite direction. Now, the critic is not only an
interpreter of literary texts, but also has a duty as the
authority on values, culture, and tastes of the society.
Henry James (1843 – 1916)
Works of criticism: In his essay “The Art of Fiction” (1884), James states that the English novel “had no air of having a theory, a conviction, a consciousness of itself behind it – of being the expression of an artistic faith, the result of choice and comparison”. For this reason, in this essay he assumes the task of providing the novel with a theory of its own.
Main concepts: A definition of the novel as: “a personal, a direct impression of life: that […] constitutes its value, which is greater or less according to the intensity of the impression”.
A novel must be interesting.
Readers do not suspend their disbelief (against what Coleridge claimed) as they read a literary text. So, a novel must be realistic.
A work of art is organic, with a life of its own, not a mere collection of realistic data.
Third person narration is preferable rather than omniscient narration. It creates a greater sense of illusion.
It is the reader who decides the value of a text, not the critics.
Main area of interest in criticism: Criticism of novel as a genre
Influence: The genre of novel became a respectable topic for literary critics.
His emphasis of realism started a debate which has not concluded yet.
Mikhail Bakhtin (1895 – 1975)
Works of criticism: Problems of Dostoyevsky’s Poetics (1929), Rabelais and His World ([1946] 1968), The Dialogic Imagination:
For Essays by M.M. Bakhtin (posthumously, 1981) and in his essay “Discourse in the Novel” he applies his ideas to the novel.
Main concepts: The concept of the dialogic is central to his critical theory, which proposes that all language is a dialogue in which a speaker and a listener form a relationship.
Another key term is heteroglossia (from Russian, literal meaning: “other or different tongues”), which demonstrates the multiplicity of languages that operate in any given culture. This term is not limited to the spoken language, but encompasses a wider scope. It includes all the forms of social speech that people use in their daily activities. Each varying act of speech, Bakhtin calls a dialogic utterance.
The term polyphony, in its most basic sense, proposes that multiple viewpoints coexist in the body of a single novel.
This implies that there are many truths, not one, and none of which is particularly certain. The multiplicity of truths, claims Bakhtin, creates a carnivalistic atmosphere, a sense of joyful relativity. In polyphonic novels, there exists a carnival sense of the world, a sense of joyful abandonment where many voices are simultaneously heard.
Main area of interest in criticism: The language of the text
Influence: Bakhtin’s ideas have become the starting point
for often conflicting multiplicity of voices in contemporary
cultural theory.
Modern Literary Criticism
