Critical Theory Notes
Critical Theory Notes
8/27/2014
Practical Criticism → close reading
I.A. Richards introduces Practical Criticism and centers on close analysis of the words that comprise each page of text
William Empson was a pupil of Richard's. He applies an assiduously strict, almost mathematical formula to textual analysis, the drawback of which is that the flexibility of language is largely discounted.
F.R. Leavis, along with Q. D. Roth (whom he eventually marries), takes the process of close reading to the next level by examining its application to written forms ranging from journalism to popular fiction. Unfortunately, he tends to identity key textual passages without fully explaining their significance. → New Criticism
19th Century → critics begin looking at something other than poetry
Ten Major Claims of Liberal Humanism:
1. “Good” literature has transcendent value, applies universally to human experience, and will remain “good” literature “not for an age, but for all time.”
2. It follows, then, that literature contains a meaning and value entirely its own, which can be ascertained without taking historical, social, political, autobiographical, or intra-literary contexts into consideration
3. A literary work stands on its own and should be examined in isolation
4. In order for the value of literature to be universal, human nature must remain static. That is, people experience the same fundamental emotions, thoughts, and concerns across time.
5. We, as individuals, contain an immutable “essence” that is impervious to change at the hands of external conditions that nonetheless influence our development from the moment we are born. This putatively explains why transformative episodes in literature have an unsettling effect upon the reader.
6. Since human nature and the individual do not change, literature that purports to sway our opinions or cause us to reassess our value systems must harbor a political agenda, and as such cannot be considered great.
7. In
8/27/2014
Practical Criticism → close reading
I.A. Richards introduces Practical Criticism and centers on close analysis of the words that comprise each page of text
William Empson was a pupil of Richard's. He applies an assiduously strict, almost mathematical formula to textual analysis, the drawback of which is that the flexibility of language is largely discounted.
F.R. Leavis, along with Q. D. Roth (whom he eventually marries), takes the process of close reading to the next level by examining its application to written forms ranging from journalism to popular fiction. Unfortunately, he tends to identity key textual passages without fully explaining their significance. → New Criticism
19th Century → critics begin looking at something other than poetry
Ten Major Claims of Liberal Humanism:
1. “Good” literature has transcendent value, applies universally to human experience, and will remain “good” literature “not for an age, but for all time.”
2. It follows, then, that literature contains a meaning and value entirely its own, which can be ascertained without taking historical, social, political, autobiographical, or intra-literary contexts into consideration
3. A literary work stands on its own and should be examined in isolation
4. In order for the value of literature to be universal, human nature must remain static. That is, people experience the same fundamental emotions, thoughts, and concerns across time.
5. We, as individuals, contain an immutable “essence” that is impervious to change at the hands of external conditions that nonetheless influence our development from the moment we are born. This putatively explains why transformative episodes in literature have an unsettling effect upon the reader.
6. Since human nature and the individual do not change, literature that purports to sway our opinions or cause us to reassess our value systems must harbor a political agenda, and as such cannot be considered great.
7. In