The Role of Literary Criticism

Literary criticism is chiefly concerned with meaning and analysis. The literary critic enables readers to
see things in a text that otherwise might go unnoticed. Most critics do not overlook the pleasure readers
receive from reading literature; rather, they feel that good criticism extends it.
W. H. Auden, a poet and critic himself, suggested that criticism is most useful when it calls our
attention to things worth attending to. What is the function of a critic? According to Auden, a critic
should:
1. Introduce me to authors or works of which I was hitherto unaware;
2. Convince me that I have undervalued an author or a work because I had not read them
carefully enough;
3. Show me relations between works of different ages and cultures which I could never have
seen for myself because I do not know enough and never shall;
4. Give a “reading” of a work which increases my understanding of it;
5. Throw light upon the process of artistic “making”;
6. Throw light upon the relation of art to life, science, economics, ethics, religion, etc.

“The Dyer's Hand” (New York, 1963, pp. 8 – 9)

Why study literary criticism?
For students of literature, the study of literary criticism can facilitate in three specific ways:

* To help resolve a difficulty in the reading;

* To help choose the better of two conflicting readings;
* To enable readers to form judgments about literature.

What are the Critical Standards?

How do critics evaluate a literary work? Often, by the same standards we use to evaluate the value of
something – say a movie! Personal taste, ethics and aesthetic qualities often influence how a critic
approaches and assesses a work.

1. Personal Taste
This is one approach to evaluating a work of literature, but there are obvious limitations to this
approach. There must be external standards by which a work can be evaluated, as most other things are
evaluated by independent criteria.

2. Ethics
This approach evaluates literature in terms of its moral effect on the reader. In his “Preface to
Shakespeare” Samuel Johnson wrote, “It is always a writer's duty to make the world better.” Hence,
Johnson would argue that a good work of literature deserves the reader's attention when it reminds us of
our moral responsibilities and encourages us to do better.

3. Aesthetic Qualities
This aesthetic study of literature concentrates on the beautiful – that is what delights the senses - rather
than on the moral, social, or practical levels of literature.

Assignment Evaluating a Literary Work

Read one of the following works and evaluate the work using the three critical standards. Using the
report card template, record and explain your evaluation. Submit your evaluation to your teacher.

“The Passionate Shepherd to his Love” – Walter Raleigh

“The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd” Christopher Marlowe
“Devouring Time” William Shakespeare