Major Critics and Critical Theories

•                   Major Critics and Critical Theories

1. Classical Criticism

Plato

The foundation of Western criticism begins with Plato. In his famous work The Republic, Plato attacked poetry and expelled poets from his ideal state. His central concept was Mimesis (Imitation). According to Plato, the physical world itself is an imitation of the Ideal Forms (Truth), and art is an imitation of that imitation. Therefore, art is twice removed from reality. He criticized poetry on moral, emotional, and intellectual grounds, arguing that it stimulates emotions and weakens rational thinking.

Aristotle

A disciple of Plato, Aristotle provided literature with an independent and rational foundation through his work Poetics. He gave a positive interpretation to Plato’s concept of mimesis, arguing that imitation is a natural human instinct through which people learn. Aristotle defined Tragedy and introduced the theory of Catharsis, which refers to the purification or purgation of the emotions of pity and fear. He regarded Plot as the “soul of tragedy.”

Horace and Longinus

In his Ars Poetica, Horace emphasized Decorum, the principle that there should be harmony between subject matter and style. He believed that literature should both instruct and delight.

Longinus, in his work On the Sublime, developed the theory of Sublimity. According to him, great literature elevates readers beyond ordinary limits and transports them to a state of spiritual exaltation.

2. Renaissance and Neoclassical Criticism

Sir Philip Sidney

Sidney’s An Apology for Poetry was the first powerful defense of poetry. He argued that poetry is more philosophical than history because it does not merely show what happened but presents what ought to happen as an ideal.

John Dryden

Dryden is often called the Father of English Criticism. In his Essay of Dramatic Poesy, he compares ancient and modern writers. He supported the creative freedom of English drama over the rigid rules of French classicism.

Alexander Pope

Pope wrote An Essay on Criticism in heroic couplets. His famous maxim was “Follow Nature.” By “Nature,” he meant the principles established by ancient Greek and Roman writers, which he described as “Nature methodized.”

Dr. Samuel Johnson

Johnson’s Preface to Shakespeare is a landmark in literary criticism. He praised Shakespeare as the “Poet of Nature” because his characters represent universal human qualities. Johnson also challenged the strict observance of the Three Unities (time, place, and action).

3. Romantic and Victorian Criticism

William Wordsworth

Through the Preface to Lyrical Ballads, Wordsworth revolutionized poetic language. He famously defined poetry as the “spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings” recollected in tranquility. He advocated the use of everyday language in poetry.

S. T. Coleridge

In Biographia Literaria, Coleridge distinguished between Imagination and Fancy. Through his theories of Primary and Secondary Imagination, he explained how poets transform experiences into creative works. His concept of “willing suspension of disbelief” became a foundational principle for accepting supernatural elements in literature.

Matthew Arnold

Arnold viewed criticism as a cultural guide. He emphasized Disinterestedness, meaning the ability to see things as they truly are, free from personal or political bias. He also proposed the Touchstone Method, in which modern poetry is evaluated by comparing it with exemplary passages from great masters such as Homer, Dante, and Milton.

Walter Pater

Pater was a leading figure of the Aesthetic Movement. He promoted the doctrine of “Art for Art’s Sake.” According to him, the purpose of art is not to teach morality but to provide an experience of beauty and refined sensation.

4. Twentieth-Century and Modern Theories

T. S. Eliot

Eliot rejected the Romantic emphasis on self-expression and proposed the Theory of Impersonality. In Tradition and the Individual Talent, he argued that poetry is not an expression of personality but an escape from personality. He also introduced the concept of the Objective Correlative.

Marxist Criticism

Marxist criticism is based on the ideas of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. It views literature as a product of economic and social power structures. One of its key concepts is Base and Superstructure, where the economic base shapes literature and culture. Other important concepts include Alienation and Reification.

New Criticism

Emerging in the mid-twentieth century, New Criticism was a formalist movement that emphasized Close Reading. It focused on the text itself while largely ignoring the author’s biography and historical context. Wimsatt and Beardsley introduced the concepts of Intentional Fallacy and Affective Fallacy, warning against evaluating literature solely through authorial intention or reader emotion.

Reader-Response Criticism

This theory shifts attention from the author or text to the reader’s experience. It argues that meaning is created through the active participation and interpretation of readers. Major proponents include Stanley Fish and Wolfgang Iser.

Roland Barthes and “The Death of the Author”

In 1967, Roland Barthes wrote the revolutionary essay The Death of the Author. He argued that treating the author as the ultimate source of meaning imposes a false final interpretation on a text. According to Barthes, a text is a “tissue of quotations,” and its meaning is born in the mind of the reader rather than in the author’s intention.

5. Feminist and Postcolonial Criticism

Mary Wollstonecraft

Her work A Vindication of the Rights of Woman is considered a cornerstone of modern feminism. She argued that women’s inferior social position resulted from a lack of education and strongly advocated gender equality.

Postcolonial Criticism

Postcolonial criticism examines the effects of colonialism on literature and culture. Edward Said’s book Orientalism demonstrated how Western literature often portrayed the East as exotic, inferior, and “other.” Homi K. Bhabha introduced concepts such as Hybridity and Mimicry, while Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak focused on the voices of the Subaltern, those marginalized by dominant power structures.

Conclusion

The history of Western literary criticism represents a long intellectual journey—from Plato’s moralistic approach to Barthes’s post-structuralist perspective. The field continues to evolve, helping us understand that literature is not merely a play of words but a reflection of society, history, emotions, cultural values, and struggles for power. Through various critical theories, literature becomes a powerful lens for interpreting both human experience and the world around us.