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Thirdly, critical theories are closely connected
with the spirit of the age-the intellectual and moral environments in which the
critic lives and has his being. Thus, in the modern age with un-precedented
development in social and behavioral sciences, - psychology, sociology,
anthropology, etc., -we have the psychological and sociological approach to
criticism. Marxism has given rise to the Marxist theory of literary criticism and
Existentialism accounts for Existential criticism. The scope of criticism has
widened so much, and there is such lack of unanimity regarding nature and the function of criticism that T.S. Eliot compares the professional critics too, "a Sunday Park of contending and contentious orators, who have not even arrived at
the articulation of their differences."
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Function of Literary Criticism
Nature
and Function of Literary Criticism
Criticism:
Its Nature and Definition
Etymologically
the word criticism is derived from the Greek word meaning ‘Judgment’, and hence
criticism is the exercise of Judgment, and literary criticism is the exercise
of judgment on works of literature. From this, it would appear that the nature
and function of literary criticism is quite simple and easy to understand.
Criticism is the play of the brain on a work of writing, and its capacity is to
inspect its excellencies and defects, and finally to evaluate its artistic
worth. However, things are not quite so simple as that. As soon as we proceed
to examine the nature and function of criticism in some detail, we are
confronted with a host of conflicting views, theories and definitions.
Conflicting
Views and Theories
The
following cross-section of statements on criticism would suffice to give' the
students an idea of the chaos of critical theories that have come down to us
through the ages:
1.
Criticism is the play of the mind on the aesthetic qualities of literature,
having for its object an interpretation of literary values -(Atkins).
2.
Criticism is the exercise of judgment in the province of art and literature,
and the critic is a person who is possessed of the knowledge necessary to
enable him to pronounce right judgments upon the merit or worth of such works
as come within this province.
3.
They entirely botch the idea of analysis who think its business is essential
to discover the fault. Criticism, as it was first instituted by, Aristotle, was
meant to be a standard of judging well the chiefest part of which is to observe
those excellences which should delight a reasonable reader.
4.
The true critic will dwell on excellencies rather than imperfection-(Addison).
5.
Is the work good or bad that is the critics' domain? - (Victor Hugo).
6,
Criticism busies itself, “with the goodness or badness, the successor
ill-success, of literature from the purely literary point of view-(Saintsbury)
7.
Criticism is the art of estimating the quality and character of a work of art,
and the function or work of a critic--(New English Dictionary).
8.
Criticism is a published analysis of the qualities and characteristics of work in literature or fine art- (Edmund Gosse).
9.
To set up as a critic is to set up as a judge of value. (I.A. Richards).
10.
Criticism is an unengaged undertaking to learn and proliferate the best that is
known and thought in the world- (Matthew Arnold).
11.
To feel the virtue of the poet or the painter, to disengage to set it forth,
are the three stages of the critic's duty- (Walter Pater).
12.
The sole task of criticism is to answer three questions: What has the artist
tried to express? How has he succeeded in expressing it? Was it worth
expressing? -(Spingarn).
13.
The critic must enquire: Whether and how far this aim (the aim of the poet)
this task of his accorded not with us...but with human, nature, and with the
nature of things at large; with the universal principles of poetic beauty...as
it stands written in 1he hearts and imagination of all men-(Carlyle).
14.
Criticism is the "commendation and exposition of works of art by means of
written words"- (T.S. Eliot).
15.
The end of criticism is the "elucidation of works of art and the
correction of taste- (T.S. Eliot).
Causes
of such Diversity
Such
diversity of views, such a lack of unanimity among thinkers, clearly brings out
the complex nature of criticism and its functions. As a matter of fact, the
view of criticism has varied from critic to critic and age to age. There are as
many theories of criticism as there are critics. This is so because the
attitude towards criticism is determined by a number of factors. It is
determined, first of all, by the accidents of personal organization, by the
likes and dislikes, by the prejudices and predilections of the critic himself.
The view of criticism is directly related to the critic's own intellectual
pre-occupation and his philosophy or outlook on life. Now the outlook on life,
and preoccupations and predilections, differ from individual to individual,
and hence the complexity of critical theories A critic with a moral and religious
bias would be of the view that the function of criticism is to examine the
moral worth and significance of a work of literature; on the contrary, one with
a more artistic bent of mind would hold that the function of criticism is
chiefly aesthetic appreciation.
Secondly,
the theory of criticism is closely connected with the theory of poetry.
Therefore, the idea of criticism varies in accordance with the idea of
literature. Thus, neo-classical criticism is built upon the neo-classical theory of
literature and romantic emphasis on individualism accounts for the romantic
impressionistic view of criticism.
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