literary criticism - Encyclopedia Britannica
Oct 15, 2024 · Literary criticism, the reasoned consideration of literary works and issues. It applies, as a term, to any argumentation about literature, whether or not specific works are analyzed. Plato’s cautions against the risky consequences of poetic inspiration in general in his Republic are thus often.
Literary criticism - Analysis, Interpretation, Theory | Britannica
Oct 15, 2024 · Literary criticism - Analysis, Interpretation, Theory: The debate over poetic truth may illustrate how modern discussion is beholden to extraliterary knowledge. Critics have never ceased disputing whether literature depicts the world correctly, incorrectly, or not at all, and the dispute has often had more to do with the support or condemnation ...
Literary criticism - Historical Development | Britannica
Oct 15, 2024 · From this period until the later part of the 18th century Aristotle was once again the most imposing presence behind literary theory. Critics looked to ancient poems and plays for insight into the permanent laws of art.
Freudian criticism | Psychoanalysis, Unconscious, Dreams | Britannica
Freudian criticism, literary criticism that uses the psychoanalytic theory of Sigmund Freud to interpret a work in terms of the known psychological conflicts of its author or, conversely, to construct the author’s psychic life from unconscious revelations in his work.
Deconstruction | Definition, Philosophy, Theory, Examples, & Facts ...
Sep 20, 2024 · Deconstruction, form of philosophical and literary analysis, derived mainly from work begun in the 1960s by Jacques Derrida, that questions the fundamental conceptual distinctions in Western philosophy through a close examination of the language and logic of philosophical and literary texts.
Literary criticism - Neoclassicism, Decline | Britannica
Oct 15, 2024 · The decline of Neoclassicism is hardly surprising; literary theory had developed very little during two centuries of artistic, political, and scientific ferment. The 18th century’s important new genre, the novel, drew most of its readers from a bourgeoisie that had little use for aristocratic dicta.
Historical criticism | Textual, Source, Contextual | Britannica
historical criticism, literary criticism in the light of historical evidence or based on the context in which a work was written, including facts about the author’s life and the historical and social circumstances of the time.
M.H. Abrams | American Literary Critic & Editor | Britannica
M.H. Abrams was an American literary critic who revolutionized the study of the Romantic period in English literature through groundbreaking analysis. He also served as general editor (1962–2000) for the first seven editions of The Norton Anthology of English Literature.
Platonic criticism | Platonic philosophy, classical Greece, dialogues ...
Platonic criticism, literary criticism based on the philosophical writings of Plato, especially his views on art expressed in Phaedrus, Ion, and the Republic. In practice Platonic criticism is part of an extensive approach to literature, involving an examination of the moral, ethical, and historical effects of a work of art.
literary criticism summary | Britannica
literary criticism, Discipline concerned with philosophical, descriptive, and evaluative inquiries about literature, including what literature is, what it does, and what it is worth. The Western critical tradition began with Plato ’s Republic (4th century bce ).