UNIT I.

LITERARY CRITICISM

Unit Objectives:

1. Define what literary criticism is, identify its nature, aims and implications
2. Discuss the ideal characteristics of a literary critic
3. Write a critique of a critique

Lesson I. The Nature of Literary Criticism

Questions for Focused Reading:

1. What is literary criticism? Discuss its goals and implications.

2. How would you compare (or contrast) practical criticism from the theoretical one.
3. Enumerate some standards of judgment in evaluating literary works.

A. Definitions and Aims

Literary criticism – is the evaluation, analysis, and interpretation of literary works ( Gillespie,
Fonseca, & Pipolo, 2005)

- is the art of analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating literature (Pascua & Roque,
2001).

- is the central concern of the literary scholar. It is by means of criticism that the
scholar ultimately comes to terms with the essential object of his study, the
literary work (Bennett & Royle, 1994)

Forms (Bennett & Royle, 1994)

 Analysis of a phrase or of a metaphor or of the structure of a poem

 Interpretation of a word or of a symbol
 Judgment of the metrical success of a line of verse or of the logic of an argument
in a literary essay or of the validity of a view of life in tragedy
 Establishment of a set of principles concerning the nature of poetry or of tragedy
or of all literary art

Other forms (Keene & Adams, 2002)

 Explication (explanation in detail and analysis of) a key section of a work (sometimes
referred to as a “close reading”).

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  Analysis of the theme or main message of the text.
 Analysis of a character or a comparison of two characters.
 Analysis of the plot or structure
 Analysis of the setting (the time and place of the action).
 Explanation of the use of point of view (the position from which the events are
described)
 Explanation f the author’s use of symbolism (character’s names, objects, settings, or
events with deeper meanings).
 Comparison of the text to another one by the same or by a different author.
 A view of the text in relationship to the author’s life.
 A view of the text in relationship to the society in which it was produced.
 Comparison of your responses with the responses of other readers.

Aims:

1. To help us solve a problem in the reading.

The historical approach, for instance, might be helpful in addressing a problem in Thomas
Otway’s play Venice Preserv’d. Why are the conspirators, despite the horrible, bloody details
of their obviously brutish plan, portrayed in a sympathetic light? If we look at the author and
his time, we see that he was a Tory whose play as performed in the wake of the Popish Plot
and the Exclusion Bill Crisis, and that there are obvious similarities between the Conspiracy
in the play and the Popish Plot in history. The Tories would never approve of the bloody
Popish Plot, but they nonetheless sympathized with the plotters for the way they were abused
by the Tory enemy, the Whigs. Thus it makes sense for Otway to condemn the conspiracy
itself in Venice Preserv’d without condemning the conspirators themselves.

2. To help us choose the better of two conflicting readings.

A formalist approach, for instance, might be helpful in enabling us to choose between a

reading which sees the dissolution of society in Lord of the Flies as being caused by too strict
a suppression of the “bestial” side of man and one which sees it as resulting from too little
suppression. We can look into the text and ask: What textual evidence is there for the
suppression or indulgence of the “bestial” side of man? Does Ralph suppress Jack when he
tries to indulge bestial side in hunting? Does it appear from the text that an imposition of a
stricter law and order would have prevented the breakdown? Did it work in the “grownup”
world of the novel?

3. To help us evaluate literature.

One of the purposes of criticism is to judge if a work is any good or not. For instance, we
might use a formalist approach to argue that a John Donne poem is of high quality because it
contains numerous intricate conceits that are well sustained. Or, we might use the mimetic

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approach to argue that The West Indian is a poor play because it fails to paint a realistic
picture of the world (Burris, 1999)

Functions of a Critic:

1. to select works of art worth writing about, with special emphasis n works that are
new, not much discussed, or widely misunderstood (not works regarded as canonical)

2. to describe or analyze or interpret the chosen works, as a basis for judgments which
can often be merely implied

3. to explain why he enjoys a particular book, and perhaps to find new reasons for
enjoying it, so as to deepen his readers’ capacity for appreciation
(From Criticism: A Many-Windowed House by Malcolm
Cowley in Knickerbocker, et al. 1985. Interpreting
Literature, 7th ed. New York: Rinehart & Winston)

Subjects:

1. A specific literary work in whole or in part

2. A group or type of literary works
3. All literary works (by an author or in a certain period of time)
4. The principles of literature

Two Kinds of Criticism

1. Practical – is usually meant the attempt to evaluate a specific literary work, often by
dealing with a particular part or parts (such as words, phrases, images, or specific
ideas) or with a phrase or aspect (such as theme, plot, characterization, or structure)
2. Theoretical – is usually meant the attempt to organize principles (of aesthetics,
psychology, morality, or the like) which seems to govern literary works in general or
in certain groups.

The two categories are interdependent, they tend to coalesce. Criticism which is thought of as
“practical” always implies and sometimes overtly elaborates a theory of literature. While
criticism, which is thought of as “theoretical” usually proceeds to its generalizations by
introducing or implying instances of practical criticism as evidence. Ideally, practical and
theoretical criticism proceed together in dealing with a specific literary work in whole or in
part, or with a group or type of literary works, r with all literary works, or with principles of
literature.

B. Presuppositions of Literary Criticism

Every form of literary criticism implies an attitude toward what literature is, what
literature does, and how literature should be judged. These presuppositions of criticism thus

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concern the essential nature of literature, the principal functions of literature, and standards
of judgment.

1. Nature of Literature

a. Literature works. It is created and understood. It has been largely unaffected by the
thoughts and writings of metaphysicians. Under these circumstances it is wasteful to
attend t the question “What is this material with which criticism deals?” It is better to
accept literature as a fact and proceed, as effectively as one can, to understand it.
b. The literary work enjoys objective reality in and of itself, that it exists permanently as
a substantial entity. The critic emphasizes one of the following method as essential to
comprehending the literary work:
 To recover the total conditions under which the work commenced to exist,
including the conditions of language, social context, intellectual milieu,
intentions, and the like.
 The other method focuses attention on the integrity of the literary work:
comparisons are declined; meaning and standards for judgment are found
within the work itself.
c. The literary work is a dynamic entity in a state of flux. It is the sum total of all
response made t it in the past and present and future. The meaning of the work is that
which the reader discovers, and the work therefore has unlimited meaning.
d. The literary work is an essence with objective reality and the sum total of all
responses made to it.
e.
2. Function of Literature

Horatian terms: “to delight” (giving pleasure) and “to instruct” (communicating truth), or
“sweet” and “useful”

English Renaissance slightly inclined in the direction of “instruct” so that literature was “
delightful instruction”

Other theorists: instructive delight

In other cases, the function may approach so nearly to “delight” (or to “instruct”) that the
other extreme is almost forgotten

Recent scholarly opinion indicates that another function of literature is to actively shape our
culture. For example, some literary historians believe that human beings learned how to
cultivate a romantic idea of love in this light rather than as a social or sexual arrangement
between a man and a woman. Both ancient and modern approaches emphasize two of
literature’s major functions: to construct and articulate sociocultural realities and to involve
you as the reader in an invigorating interaction with these realities (Gillespie, Fonseca &
Pipolo, 2005)

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For the French philosopher Jean-Paul-Sartre (1905 – 1980_, the function of literature is to
search for the meaning of life and to speculate the role of human beings in the world (as cited
by Gillespie et al., 2005)

3. Standards of Literary Judgment

Three Kinds of Standards:

 Individual – the most flexible, the least restrictive, and the most un-standard.
This is the standard of the individual critic’s taste, sensibilities, and
inclinations.
 Intrinsic – is intended to signify under which the critic looks within the
literary work itself for the standards by which it is t be judged. The literary
work is thus judged in terms of what it, as a unique production (an “artifact”),
undertakes to be. Intrinsic standard is normally thought to be an absolute
standard; it is usually accompanied by the belief that the function of literature
is t be true t its own nature.
 Extrinsic – is an appeal to some kind of authority outside the literary work as
a basis of judgment. In its least subtle form, it may be a set of “rules” imposed
(as by a church) or received (as from Aristotle). Generally extrinsic standards
are formalizing of some aspects of human experience with which the literary
work is said to deal as a form of art. The standards may be moral, social,
political, and the like. If the standard of the author or of the author’s time, it is
historical. Since universal assent on these standards has never been possible,
the judgments are generally called relative.

C. Techniques of Literary Criticism

1. Analytical Techniques
 Verse – the examination of prosodic effects may be carried on by
analysis of sound, meter, rhyme, or rhythm
 Prose fiction – can be analyzed by its narrative, characterization,
setting, tone, point of view, or motivation
 Stylistic analysis – can be made of any kind of literature by the study
of metaphor, image, rhetorical figures, or syntactical patterns
 Structural analysis – may scrutinize myth, symbolism, organizing
metaphor, or recurrent imagery

Analysis is a basic technique of criticism because it helps to achieve that careful, diligent,
and thoughtful reading which should precede evaluation and judgment.

2. Other Techniques
 A work may be evaluated and judged in comparison with one or more
other works.

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  A work may be evaluated and judged on the basis of the human experience
which it represents. Any moral theory of literature would require the
application of this technique at some point in the course of criticism.
 The technique of appreciation may be used. It is largely discredited unless
it leads to other technique ( and its eventual modification and enrichment).
 The reference of a literary work to the theory of the genre in which it falls
(such as epic, tragedy, novel, sonnet, ballad, short story, comedy, de,
pastoral) in order to identify and evaluate elements which are common to
and divergent from its type in theory

3. Interrelation of Techniques
Techniques are overlapping and interdependent, and normally more than one is
used in a given piece of criticism

Unit II provides a comprehensive discussion of the critical approaches to literature.

Whatever approach you may think appropriate for a chosen subject, following are some tips
in writing papers that analyze and interpret literature ( Keene and Adams, 2002, p. 201)

 Be sure that each claim an example in your essay supports your thesis: the author’s
biography or your own response to the text is relevant only if it is directly connected
to your main point.
 Watch out for “giving in” to summarizing the plot. You might want to describe the
action and setting in your introduction, but then you should begin to analyze the text
and prove your thesis.
 Avoid overusing direct quotations. Use them sparingly to support the points that you
are making about the work.
 Use the present tense to refer to the characters and action because they are timeless:
“Hamlet is the prince of Denmark”.
 Put titles of books, plays, movies, journals, and other complete works, not published
as part of a longer work, in Italics. Use quotation marks for titles of short stories,
essays, songs, and poems.
 Be careful to properly identify passages, cite sections, and introduce quotations from
the text as well as from secondary sources.

Steps in Criticizing a Text:

1. Previewing

Even before you read a text, preview it by asking yourself some questions about the
title, the writer, and the type of writing you are encountering:

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  What does the title suggest?
 Have I heard of this author before?
 What type of text is this - a poem, a story, or a play?
 What kind of structure does it possess – stanzas, paragraphs, acts, scenes?
 How is the text organized – by contrast, or by cause and effect?

2. Close reading and highlighting

Read the text close and highlight – by underlining words or coloring them with a
highlighting pen – the sections that particularly strike you from the pint of view of
style, structure ideas, characterization, or any other key features and you have
observed as a reader.

3. Textual Analysis and annotating

Annotating means making marginal notes on the book’s pages, or using a pad or note
cards .Once you reach this phase, you are also involved in the critical process f
selecting and summarizing. After a second and third reading, your notes will
eventually lead you to respond to the literary and cultural impact f the text by
identifying its words, imagery, and themes.

4. Value judgment/ Pronouncement

Once you are through with the first two steps, you may now proceed to one of the main
objectives of analyzing a literary piece, that is, to evaluate it whether good or bad
(Standards of judgment are discussed in details in Unit 2).

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NAME _____________________________________ DATE_____ SCORE___

Learning Activities:

1. Read the poem “Ode on a Grecian Urn” and underline or highlight some key words
in it and jot down some annotations on the margins. After that write a one-two page
analysis of the poem based on the annotations.

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O Attic shape! Fair attitude! With brede
Of marble men and maidens wrought,
With forest branches and the trodden weed,
Thou, silent form, dost tease us out of thought
As doth eternity: Cold pastoral! 45
When old age shall this generation waste,
Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe
Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say’st,
Beauty is truth, truth beauty – that is all,
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know. 50

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2. On the box below, write your analysis of “Ode on a Grecian Urn”

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Lesson 2. Ideal Characteristics of a Literary Critic

Below is Alexander Pope’s Essay on Criticism. Read it answer the questions on the box
below.

Questions for Focused Reading:

1. What are the qualifications of a critic?

2. What is Pope’s idea of writing?
3. What is the relationship between writing and literary criticism?
4. How is false criticism distinguished from true criticism?

From an Essay on Criticism

Alexander Pope

AN ESSAY ON CRITICISM some made coxcombs Nature meant but fools:

in search of wit, these lose their common
PART I sense, and then turn critics in their own
defence: each burns alike, who can, or cannot
‘Tis hard to say, if greater want of skill write, 30
Appear in writing or in judging ill; or with a rival’s, or an eunuch’s spite. All fools
But, of the two, less dang’rous is th’ offence to have still an itching to deride, and fain would
tire on patience, than mislead our sense; Some be upopn the laughing side. If Maevius
few in that, but numbers err in this, Ten scribble in Apollo’s spite, there are who judge
censure wrong for one who writes amiss; A still worse than he can write.
fool might once himself alone expose; Now Some have at first for wits, then pots past,
one in verse makes many more in prose. turn’d critics next, and prov’d plain fools at
‘Tis with our judgments as our watches none last. Some neither can for wits nor critics pass,
go just alike yet each believes his own. 10 as heavy mules are neither horse nor ass. Those
In poets as true genius is but rare, true taste as half-learn’d witlings, num’rous in our isle, 40
seldom is the critic’s share; both must alike as half-form’d insects on the banks of Nile;
from heav’n derive their light, these born to unfinish’d things, one knows not what to call,
judgme, as well as those to write. Let such their generation’s so equivocal; to tell them
teach others who themselves excel, and cesure would a hundred tongues require, or one vain
freely, who have written well. Authors are wit’s, that might a hundred tire.
partial to their wit, ‘tis true, but are not critics But you who seek to give and merit fame, and
to their judgment too? justly bear a Critic’s noble name, be sure
Yet, if we look more closely, we shall find yourself and your own reach to know, how far
most have the seeds of judgment in their mind. 20 your genius, taste, and learning go; launch not
Nature affords at least a glimm’ring light; the beyond your depth, but be discreet, 50 and
lines, tho’touch’d but faintly are drawn right: mark that point where sense and dullness
But as the slightest sketch, if justly trac’d, so meet.
by false learning is good sense defac’d: some Nature to all things fix’d the limits fit, and
are bewilder’d in the maze of schools, and wisely curb’d proud man’s pretending wit. As

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on the land while here the ocean gains; in And pointed out those arduous paths they trod;
other parts it leaves wide sandy plains; thus in Held from afar, aloft, th’ immortal prize,
the soul while memory prevails, the solid And urg’d the rest by equal steps to rise.
pow’r of understanding fails; where beams of Just precepts thus from great examples giv’n,
warm imagination play, the memory’s soft She drew from them what they deriv’d from
figures melt away. One science only will one Heav’n;
genius fit; so vast is art, so narrow human wit: The gen’rous critic fann’d the poet’s fire,
not only bounded to peculiar arts, but oft’ in And taught the world with reason to admire.
those confin’d to single parts. Like kings we Then Criticism the Muse’s handmaid prov’d,
lose the sonquest gain’d before, by vain To dress her charms, and make her more
ambition still to make them more: each might belov’d:
his sev’ral province well command, would all But following wits from that intention stray’d;
but stoop to what they understand. First follow Who could not win the mistress, woo’d the
Nature, and your judgment frame by her just maid;
standard, which is still the same: unerring Against the poets their own arms they turn’d,
nature! Still divinely bright, one clear, Sure to hate most the men from whom they
unchang’d, and universal light, life, force, and learn’d.
beauty, must to all impart, at once the source, So modern ‘pothecaries, taught the art
and end, and test of art.1 Art from that fund By doctors’ bills to play the doctor’s part,
each just supply provides; works without Bold in the practice of mistaken rules,
show, and without pomp presides: in some fair Prescribe, apply, and call their masters fools.
body thus th’ informing soul with spirits feeds, Some on the leaves of ancient authors prey;
with vigour fills the whole; each motion Nor time nor moths e’er spoil’d so much as
guides, and ev’ry nrve sustains, itself unseen, they:
but in th’ effects remains. Some, to whom Some dryly plain, without invention’s aid,
Heav’n in wit has been profuse, 80 want as Write dull receipts how poems may be made;
much more, to turn it to its use; for wit and These leave the sense, their learning to
judgment often are at strife, tho’ meant each display,
other’s aid, like man and wife. And those explain the meaning quite away.
You then whose judgement the right
1
One of the key lines of the Essay on Criticism. course would steer,
Nature, the fundamental process of reality as it Know well each ancient’s proper charcter;
reveals persisting forms, is the object of imitation, His fable, subject, scope in ev’ry page;
or the “source”; the “end” of art is to duplicate and Religion, country, genius of his age:
express the character of this reality; and the “test”
Without all these at once before your eyes,
is the success with which this is done.
Cavil you may, but never criticize.
Be homer’s works your study and delight,
Read them by day, and mediate by night;
‘Tis more to guide, than spur the Muse’s steed; Thence from your judgment, thence your
Restrain his fury, than provoke his speed: maxims bring,
The winged courser, like a gen’rous horse, And trace Muses upward to their spring.
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Shows most true mettle when you check his If the rules be well considered, we
course. shall find them to be made only to reduce
Those Rules of old discover’d, not devis’d Nature, into method… ‘tis only by these, that
Are Nature still, but Nature methodiz’d: probability… is maintained, which is the soul
By the same las which first herself ordain’d. of poetry” (Dryden, Preface to “Troilus and
Hear how learn’d Greece her Cressida,” Essay [ed. Ker, 1926], I, 213).
usefulrules indites,
When to repress, and when indulges our Still with itself compar’d, his text peruse;
flights: And let your comment be the mantuan Muse.
High on Parnassus’ top her sons she show’d, When first young Maro in his boundless mind

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 5
A work t’ outlast immortal Rome design’d, An element of good fortune, or lucky chance,
Perhaps he seem’d above the critic’s law, as well as industry or caution (“care). Here,
And but from Nature’s fountain scorn’d to and in the following fifteen lines, Pope is
draw: repeating the argument of the critics who were
But when t’ examine every part he came, reacting against the extreme neoclassic faith in
Nature and Homer were, he found, the same. rules (see above, P. 10).
Convinc’d, amaz’d, he checks the bold design,
And rules as strict his labour’d work confine Some figures monstrous and mis-shap’d
As if the Stagyrite o’erlook’d each line. appear,
Learn hence for ancient rules a just esteem; Consider’d singly, or beheld too near,
To copy Nature is to copy them. Which, but proportion’d to their light, or
Some beauties yet no precepts can declare, place,
For there’s a happiness as well as care. Due distance reconciles to form and grace.
Music resembles poetry; in each A prudent chief not always must display
Are nameless graces which no methods teach, His pow’rs in equal ranks, and fair array,
And which a master-hand alone can reach. But with th’ occasion and the place comply,
If, where the rules not far enough extend, Conceal his force, nay, seem sometimes to fly.
(Since rules were made hut to promote their Those oft’ are stratagems which errors seem,
end) Nor is it homer nods but we that dream.
Some lucky license answer to the full Still green with bays each ancient,
Th’ intent propos’d, that license is a rule. altar stands,
Thus Pegasus, a nearer way to take, Above the reach of sacrilegious hands;
May boldly deviate from the common track. Secure from flames, from envy’s fiercer rage,
Great wits sometimes may gloriously offend, Destructive war, and all-involving age.
and rise to faults true critics dare not mend; See, from each clime, the learn’d their incense
From vulgar bounds with brave disorder part, bring;
And snatch a grace beyond the reach of art, Hear, in all tongues consenting Paeans ring!
Which, without passing thro’ the judgment, In praise so just let ev’ry voice be join’d,
gains And fill the gen’ral chorus of mankind.
The heart, and all its end at once attains. Hail, Bards triumphant! Born in happier days;
In prospects thus some objects please our Immortal heirs of universal praise!
eyes, Whose honours with increase of ages grow,
Which out of Nature’s common order rise. As streams roll down, enlarging as they flow;
The shapeless rock, or hanging precipice. Nations unborn your mighty names shall
But tho’ the Ancients thus their rules invade, sound,
(As kings dispense with laws themselves have And worlds applaud, that must not yet be
made) found!
Moderns, beware! Or if you must offend O may some spark of your celestial fire,
Against the precept, ne’er transgress its end; The last, the meanest of your sons inspire,
Let it be seldom, and compell’d by need; (That on weak wings, from far, pursue your
And have, at least, their precedent to plead; flights;
The critic else proceeds without remorse, Glows while he read, but trembles as he
Seizes your fame, and puts his laws in force. writes,)
I know there are, to whose To teach vain wits a science little known,
presumptuous thoughts T’admire superior sense, and doubt their own!
Those freer beauties, ev’n in them, seem faults
PART II
3
Virgil Of all the causes which conspire to blind
4
Aristotle, who was biorn in Stagira, Man’s erring judgment, and misguide the
Macedonia. mind,
What the weak head with strongest bias rules.

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Is pride, the never-failing vice of fools. We cannot blame indeed—but we may sleep.
Whatever Nature has in worth deni’d, In wit, as nature, what affects our hearts
She gives in large recruits of needful pride; Is not th’ exactness of peculiar parts;
For as in bodies, thus in souls, we find ‘Tis not a lip, or eye, we beauty call,
What wants in blood and spirits, swell’d with But the joint force and full result of all.
wind: Thus when we view some well-proportion’d
Pride, where wit fails, steps in to our defence, dome,
And fills up all the mighty void of sense: (The world’s just wonder, and ev’n thine, O
If once right reason drives that cloud away, Rome!)
Truth breaks upon us with resistless day. No single parts unequally surprise,
Trust not yourself; but, your defects to know, All comes united to th’ admiring eyes;
Make use of ev’ry friend—and ev’ry foe. No monstrous height, or breadth, or length,
appear;
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The Renaissance phrase for rational insight The whole at once is bold, and regular.
into the absolute forms and principles of Whoever thinks a faultless piece to see,
Nature. Thinks what ne’er was, nor is, nor e’er shall be
In ev’ry work regard the writer’s end,
A little learning is dang’rous thing; Since none can compass more than they
Drink deep, taste not the Pierian spring: intend;
There shallow draughts intoxicate the brain, And if the means be just, the conduct true,
And drinking largely sobers us again. Applause, in spite of trivial faults, is due
Fir’d at first sight with what the Muse imparts, As men of breeding, sometimes men of wit,
In fearless youth we tempt the heights of arts, T’ avoid great errors, must the less commit;
While from the bounded level of our mind, Neglect the rules each verbal critic lays,
Short views we take, nor see the lengths For not to know some trifles is a praise.
behind; Most critics, fond of some subservient art,
But more advanc’d, behold with strange Still make the whole depend upon a part:
surprise, They talk of principles, but notions prize,
New distant scences of endless science rise! And all to one lov’d folly sacrifice.
So pleas’d at first the tow’ring Alps we try, Once on a time, La Mancha’s Knight,
Mount o’er the vales, and seem to tread the they say,
sky, A certain bard encountering on the way,
Th’ eternal snows appear already past, Dicours’d in terms as just, with looks as sage,
And the first clouds and mountains seem the As e’er could Dennis, of the Grecian stage;
last: Concluding al were desp’rate sots and fools,
But those attain’d, we tremble to survey Who durst depart from Aristotle’s rules.
The growing labours of the lengthen’d way; Our author, happy in a judge so nice,
Th’ increasing prospect tires our wand’ring Produc’d his play, and begg’d the Knights
eyes, advice;
Hills peep o’er hills, and alps on alps arise! Made him observe the subject, and the plot,
A perfect judge will read each work of The manners, passions, unities; what not?
wit All which, exact to rule, were brought about,
With the same spirit that its author writ; Were but a combat in the lists left out.
Survey the whole, nor seek slight faults to find “What! Leave the combat out?” exclaims the
Where Nature moves, and rapture warms the Knight.
mind; “Yes, or we must renounce the Stagyrite.”
Nor lose for that malignant dull delight, “Not so, by Heav’n!” (he answer in a rage)
The gen’rous pleasure to be charm’d with wit. “Knights, squires, and steeds, must enter on
But in such lays as neither ebb nor flow, the stage.”
Correctly cold, and regularly low, “So vast a throng, the stage can ne’er contain.”
That, shunning faults, one quiet tenour keep, “Then build a new, or act it in a plain.”

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Thus critics of less judgment than caprice, All which exact to rule, were brought about,
Curious, not knowing, not exact but nice, Were but a combat in the lists left out.
Form short ideas, and offend in arts “What! Leave the combat out?” exclaims the
(As most in manners) by a love to parts. Knight.
Some to Conceit alone their taste confine, “Yes, or we must renounce the Stagyrite.”
And glitt’ring thoughts struck out at ev’ry line; “Not so, by Heav’n!” (he answers in a rage)
Pleas’d with a work where nothing’s just or “Knights, squires, and steeds, must enter on
fit; the stage.”
One glaring chaos and wild heap of wit. “So vast a throng, the stage can ne’er contain.”
Poets, like painters, thus unskill’d to trace “Then build a new, or act it in a plain.”
The naked nature, and the living grace, Thus critics of less judgments than caprice,
With golds and jewels cover ev’ry part, Curious, not knowing, not exact but nice,
And hide with ornaments their want of art. Form short ideas, and offend in arts
True wit is Nature to advantage dress’d; (As most in manners) by a love to parts.
What oft’ was thought, but ne’re so well Some to Conceit alone their taste confine,
express’d; And glitt’ring thoughts struck out at ev’ry line;
Something, whose truth convinc’d at sight we Pleas’d with a work where nothing’s just or
find, fit;
That gives us back the image of our mind. One glaring chaos and wild heap of wit.
As shades more sweetly recommend the light, Poets, like painters, thus unskill’d to trace
So modest plainness sets off sprightly wit: The naked nature, and the living grace,
For works may have more wit than does them With golds and jewels cover ev’ry part,
good, And hide with ornaments their want of art.
As bodies perish thro’ excess of blood. True wit is Nature to advantage dress’d;
Others for Language all their care What oft’ was thought, but ne’er so well
express, express’d;
And value books, as women men, for dress: Something, whose truth convinc’d at sight we
find,
7
John Dennis (1657-1734), a well-known That gives us back the images of our mind.
English critic whom Pope frequently attacked. As shades more sweetly recommend the light,
8
Figurative language. Pope is here disparaging So modest plainness sets off sprightly wit:
the sort of critic who looks merely for the For works may have more wit than does them
isolated happy image or metaphor, neglecting good,
the whole for the part. As bodies perish thro’ excess of blood.
9
See Johnson’s discussion of this definition of Others for Language all their care
wit in his Life of Cowly, below, p. 218. express,
And value books, as women men, for dress:
They talk of principles, but notions prize,
7
And all to one lov’d folly sacrifice. John Dennis (1657-1734), a well-known
Once on a time, La Mancha’s Knight, English critic whom Pope frequently attacked.
they say,
8
A certain bard encount’ring on the way, Figurative language. Pope is here disparaging
Discours’d in terms as just, with look as sage, the sort of critic who looks merely for the
As er’er could Dennis, of the Grecian stage; isolated happy image or metaphor, neglecting
Concluding all were desp-rate sots and fools, the whole for the part.
9
Who durst depart from Aristotle’s rules. See Johnson’s discussion of this definition of
Our author, happy in a judge so nice, wit in his Life of Cowley, below, p. 218.
Produc’d his play, and begg’d the Knight’s
advice; Their praises is still, -- the style is excellent;
Made him observe the subject, and the plot, The sense, they humbly take upon content.
The manners, passions, unities; what not?

16
Words are like leaves, and where they most Where’er you find “the cooling western
abound, breeze,”
Much fruit of sense beneath is rarely found. In the next line, it “whispers thro’ the trees:”
False eloquence, like the prismatic glass,
Its gaudy colours spreads on ev’ry place; 10 In Ben Jonson’s Every man out of his
The face Nature we no more survey, Humour.
11
All glares alike, without distinction gay; Versification. Pope uses this theme as an
But true expression, like th’ unchanging sun, excuse to show his own skill in versification,
Clears and improves whate’er it shines upon, particularly (11. 356-373) in what the
It gilds all objects, but it alters none. eighteenth century called “representative
Expression is the dress of thought, and still meter,” or “suiting the sound to the sense” (see
Appears more decent, as more suitable: Johnson’s Life Pope, below, pp. 231-32).
A vile conceit in pompous words express’d
Is like a clown in regal purple dress’d:
For diff’rent styles with diff’rent subjects sort,
As several garbs with country, town, and If crystal streams “with pleasing murmurs
court. creep,”
Some by old words to fame have made The reader’s threaten’d (not in vain) with
pretence, “sleep:”
Ancients in praise, more Moderns in their Then, at the last and only couplet, fraught
sense; With some unmeaning thing they call a
Such labour’d nothings, in so strange a style, thought,
Amaze th’ unlearn’d, and make the learned A needles Alexandrine ends the song,
smile. That, like a wounded snake, drags its slow
Unlucky, as Fungoso in the play, length along.
These sparks with aukward vanity display Leave such to tune their own dull rhymse, and
What the fine gentleman wore yesterday; know
And but so mimic ancient wits at best, What’s roundly smooth, or languishingly
As apes our grandsires, in their doublets drest. slow;
In words, as fashions, the same rule will hold; And praise the easy vigour of a line
Alike fantastic, if too new, or old: Where Denham’s strength, and Waller’s
Be not the first by whom the new are try’d, sweetness join.
Nor yet the last to lay the old aside. True ease in writing comes from art, not
But most by Numbers judge a poet’s chance,
song, As those move easiest who have learn’d to
And smooth or rough, with them, is right or dance.
wrong: ‘Tis not enough no harshness gives offence;
In the bright Muse, tho’ thousand charms The sound must seem an echo to the sense.
conspire, Soft is the strain when zephyr gently blows,
Her voice is all these tuneful fools admire; Ad the smooth stream in smoother numbers
Who haunt Parnassus but to please their ear, flows;
Not mend their minds; as some to church But when loud surges lash the sounding shore,
repair The hoarse, rough verse should like the torrent
Not for the doctrine, but the music there. roar:
These equal syllabus alone require, When Ajax strives some rock’s vast weight to
Tho’ oft’ the ear the open vowels tire; throw,
While expletives their feeble aid do join, The line too labours, and the words move
And ten low words oft’ creep in one dull line: slow:
While they ring round the same unvary’d Not so when swift Camilla scours the plain,
chimes, Flies o’er th’ unbending corn, and skims along
With sure returns of still expected rhymes; the main.

17
Hear how timotheus’ vary’d lays surprise, That in proud dullness joins with quality;
And bid alternate passions fall and rise, A constant critic at the great man’s board,
While at each change, the son of Libyan Jove To fetch and carry nonsense for my Lord.
Now burns with glory, and then melys with What woful stuff this madrigal would be,
love; In some starv’d hackney sonneteer, or me!
How his fierce eyes with sparkling fury glow, But let a lord once own the happy lines,
Now sighs steal out, and tears begin to flow: How the wit brightens1 how the style refines!
Persians and Greeks like turns of Nature Before his sacred name flies ev’ry faults,
found, And each exalted stanza teems with thought!
And the world’s victor stood subdu’d by The vulgar thus thro’ imitation err,
sound! As oft the learn’d by being singular;
The pow’r of music all our hearts allow, So much they scorn the crows, that if the
And what Timotheus was, is Dryden now. throng
Avoid extremes, and shun the fault of By chance go right, they purposely go wrong:
such So schismatics the plain believers quit,
Who still are pleas’ too little or too much. And are but damn’d for having too much wit.
At ev’ry trifle scorn to take offence, Some praise at morning what they blame at
That always shews great pride, or little sense: night,
Those heads, as stomachs, are not sure the But always think the last opinion right.
best, A muse by these is like a mistress us’d,
Which nauseate all, and nothing can digest. This hour she’s idoliz’d, the next abus’d;
Yet let not each gay turn thy rapture move; While their weak heads, like towns
For fools admire, but men of sense approve: unfortify’d,
As things seem large which we thro’ mists ‘Twixt sense and nonsense daily change their
descry, side.
Dullness is ever apt to magnify. Ask them the cause; they’re wiser still they
Some foreign writers, some our own say;
despise; And still to-morrow’s wiser than to-day.
The Ancients only, or the modern prize. We think our fathers fools, so wise we grow;
Thus wit, like faith, by each man is apply’d Our wiser sons, no doubt, will think us so.
To one small sect, and all are demn’d beside. Once school-divines this zealous isle
Meanly they seek the blessing to confine, o’erspread;
And force that sun but on a part to shine, Who knew most Sentences, was deepest read:
Which not alone the southern wit sublimes, Faith, gospel, all, seem’d made to be disputed,
But ripens spirits in cold northern climes; And none had sense enough to be confuted.
Which, from the first has shone on ages past, Scotistists and Thomists, now in peace remain,
Enlights the present, and shall warm the last; Amidst their kindred cobwebs in Duck Lane.
Tho’ each may feel increases and decays,
12
And see now clearer and now darker days; The Book of Sentences of Peter Lombard.
13
Regard not then if wit be old or new, Followers of the two medieval philosophers,
But blame the false, and value still the true. Duns scouts and St. Thomas Aquinas.
14
Some ne’er advance a judgement of their own, Where old and secondhand books were sold.
But catch the spreading notion of the town;
They reason and conclude by precedent, If faith itself has diff’rent dresses worn,
And own stale nonsense which they ne’er What wonder modes in wit should take their
invent. turn?
Some judge of authors’ names, not works, and Oft’ leaving what is natural and fit,
then The current folly proves the ready wit;
Nor praise nor blame the writings, but the And authors think their reputation safe,
men. Which lives as long as fools are pleas’d laugh.
Of all this servile herd, the worst is he

18
 Some, valuing those of their own side plays as immoral (see Dryden’s Preface to the
or mind, Fables, above, p. 170).
16
Still make themselves the measure of an ancient critic who attacked Homer.
mankind:
Fondly we think we honour merit then,
When we but praise ourselves in other men. The treach’rous colours the fair art betray,
Parties in wit attend on those of state, And all the bright creation fades away!
And public faction doubles private hate. Unhappy wit, like most mistaken things,
Pride, malice , folly, against Dryden rose, Atones not for that envy which it brings;
In various shapes of parsons, critics, beaus; In youth alone its empty praise we boast,
But sense surviv’d when merry jests were But soon the short-liv’d vanity is lost;
past; Like some fair flow’r the early spring
For rising merit will buoy up at last. supplies,
Might he return, and bless once more our eyes, That gaily blooms, but ev’n in blooming dies.
New Blackmores and new milbourns must What is this wit, which must our ares employ?
arise: 500
Nay, should great Homer lift his awful head, The owner’s wife, that other men enjoy;
Zoilus again as would start up from the dead. Then most our trouble still when most
Envy will merit, as its shade, pursue; admir’d,
But like a shadow, proves the substance true: And still the more we give, the more requir’d;
For envy’d wit,, like Sol eclipes, makes Whose fame with pains we guard, but lose
known with ease,
Th’ opposing body’s grossness, not its own. Sure some to vex, but never all to please;
When first that sun too pow-rful beams ‘Tis what the vicious fear, the virtuous shun,
displays, By fools ‘tis hated, and by knives undone!
It draws up vapours which obscure its rays; If wit so much from ign’rance undergo,
But ev’n those clouds at last adorn its way, Ah let not learning too commence its foe!
Reflect new glories, and augment the day. Of old, those met rewards who could excel,
Be thou the first true merit to befriend; And such were prais’d who but endeavour’d
His praise is lost, who stays till all commend. well:
Short is the date, alas! Of modern rhymes, Tho’ triumps were to gen’rals only due,
And ‘tis but just to let them live betimes. Crowns were reserv’d to grace the soldiers
No longer now that golden age appears, too.
When patriarch wits surviv’d a thousand Now, they who reach Parnassus’ lofty crown,
years; Employ their pains to spurn some others
Now length of fame 9our second life) is lost, down;
And bare threescore is al ev’n that can boast; And while self-love each jealous writer rules,
Our sons their fathers’ failing language see, Contending wits become the sport of fools;
And such as Chaucer is, shall Dryden be. But still the worst with most regret commend,
So when the faithful pencil has design’d For each ill author is as bad a friend.
Some bright idea of the master’s mind, To what base ends, and by what objects ways,
Where a new world leaps out at his command, Are mortals urg’d thro’ sacred lust of praise!
And ready Nature waits upon his hand; Ah ne’er so dire a thirst of glory boast,
When the ripe colours soften and unite, Nor in the critic let the man be lost.
And sweetly melt into just shade and light; Good nature and good sense must ever join;
When mellowing years their full perfection To err is human, to forgive, divine.
give, But if in noble minds some dregs
And each bold figure just begins to live, remain
Not yet purg’d off, of spleen and sour disdain,
15
Sir Richard Blackmore and Luke Milbourn Discharge that rage on more provoking
were among those who attacked Dryden’s crimes,

19
Nor fear a dearth in these flagitious times. In all you speak, let truth and candour shine,
No pardon vile obscenity should find, That not alone what to your sense is due
Tho’ wit and art conspire to move your mind; All may allow, but seek your friendship too.
But dullness with obscenity must prove Be silent always when you doubt your
As shameful sure as impotence in love. sense,
In the fat age of pleasure, wealth, and ease, And speak, tho’ sure, with seeming diffidence:
Sprung the rank weed, and thriv’d with large Some positive, persisting fops we know,
increase: Who, if once wrong, will needs be always so;
When love was all an easy monarch’s care; But you with pleasure own your errors past,
Seldom at council, never in a war, And make each day a critique on the last.
Jilts rul’d the state, and state, and statesmen ‘Tis not enough your counsel still be
farces writ; true;
Nay, wits had pensions, and young lords had Blunt truths more mischief than nice
wit; falsehoods do
Men must be taught as if you taught them not,
17
The reign of Charles II (1660-85) And things unknown propos’d as things
forgot.
Without good-breeding truth is dissaprov’d;
The fair sat panting at a courtier’s play, That only makes superior sense belov’d.
And not a mask went unimprov’d away; Be niggards of advice on no pretence,
The modest fan was lifted up no more, For the worst avarice is that of sense.
And virgins smil’d at what they blush’d With mean complaisance ne’er betray your
before. trust,
The foll’wing licence of a foreign reign Nor be so civil as to prove unjust.
Did all the dregs of bold Socinus drain; Fear not the anger of the wise to raise.
Then unbelieving priests reform’d the nation,
18
And taught more pleasant methods of That of William III (1689-1702).
19
salvation; Faustus and Laelius Socinus denied the
Where Heaven’s free subjects might their divinity of Christ. Pope is here speaking of
rights dispute, Deism.
Lest god himself should seem too absolute:
Pulpits their sacred satire learn’d to spare,
And Vice admir’d to find a flatt’rer there! ‘Twere well might critics still this freedom
Encourag’d thus, Wit’s Titans braved the take,
skies, But Appius reddens at each word you speak,
And the press groan’d with licens’d And stares, tremendous, with a threat’ning
blasphemies. eye,
These monsters, Critics! With your darts Like some fierce tyrant in old tapestry.
engage, Fear most to tax an Honourable fool,
Yet shun their fault, who scandalously nice, Whose right it is, uncensur’d, to be dull:
Will needs mistake an author into vice: Such, without wit, are poets when they please,
All seems infected that th’ infected spy, As without learning they can take degrees.
As all looks yellow to the jaundic’d eye. Leave dang’rous truths to unsuccessful satires,
And flattery to fulsome dedicators,
Whom, when they praise, the world believes
PART III no more,
Than when they promise to give scribbling
Learn then what morals critics ought o’er.
to show, ‘Tis best sometimes your censure to restrain,
For ‘tis but half a judge’s task, to know. And charitably let the dull be vam;
Tis not enough, taste, judgment, learning, join; Your silence there is better than your spite,

20
For who can rail so long as they can write? Tho’ learn’d, well-bred; and tho’ well-bred,
Still humming on, their drowsy course they sincere;
keep, Modestly bold, and humanly severe;
And lash’d so long, like tops, are lash’d Who to a friend his faults can freely show,
asleep. And gladly praise the merit of a foe?
False steps but help them to renew the race. Bless’d with a taste exact, yet unconfin’d;
As, after stumbling, jades will mend their A knowledge both of books and human-kind;
pace. Gen’rous converse; a soul exempt from pride;
What crowds of these, impenitently bold, And love to praise, with reason on his side?
In sounds and jingling syllables grown old, Such once were Critics; such the happy few
Still run on poets in a raging vein, Athens and Rome in better ages knew.
Ev’n to the dregs and squeezing of the brain, The mighty Stagyrite first left the shore,
Strain out the last dull droppings of their Spread all his sails, and durst the deeps
sense, explore;
And rhyme with all the rage of impotence. He steer’d securely, and discover’d far,
Such shameless bards we have; and Led by the light of the Maeonian star.
yet, ‘tis true, Poets, a race long unconfin’d and free,
There are as mad, abandon’d critics too. Still fond and proud of savage liberty,
The bookful blockhead, ignorantly read, Receiv’d his laws, and stood convinc’d ‘twas
With loads of learned lumber in his head, fit,
With his own tongue still edifies his ears, Who conquer’d Nature, should preside o’er
And always list’ning to himself appears: wit.
All books he reads, and all he reads assails, Horace still charms with graceful
From Dryden’s Fables down to Durfey’s Tales. negligence,
With him most authors steal their works, or And without method talks us into sense;
buy; Will, like a friend, familiarly convey
Garth did not write his own Dispensary. The truest notions in the easiest way.
Name a new play, and he’s the poet’s friend, He, who supreme in judgment, as in wit,
Nay, show’d his faults—but when would poets Might boldly censure, as he boldly writ,
mend? Yet judg’d with coolness, tho’ he sung with
No place so sacred from such fops is barr’d, fire;
Nor is Paul’s church more safe than Paul’s His precepts teach but what his works inspire
church yard: Our critics take a contrary extreme,
Nay,fly to altars, there they’ll talk you dead; They judge with fury, but they write with
For fools rush in where angels fear to tread. phlegm:
Distrustful sense with modest caution speaks, Nor suffers Horace more in wrong translations
It still looks home, and short excursions By wits, than critics in as wrong quotations.
makes; See Dionysius Homer’s thoughts
But rattling nonsense in full volleys breaks, refine,
And call new beauties forth from ev’ry line!
20
John Dennis. See note 7, above. Fancy and art in gay Petronius please,
21
Several booksellers were located here. The scholar’s learning, with the courtier’s
ease.
In grave quintilian’s copious work, we
And never shock’d, and never turn’d aside, find
Bursts out, resistless, with thund’ring tide. The justest rules, and clearest method join’d.
But where’s the man, who counsel can bestow, Thus useful arms in magazines we place,
Still pleas’d to teach, and yet not proud to
22
know? Dionysius of Halicarnassus (first century B.
Unbiass’d, or by favour, or by spite, C.), a Greek rhetorician.
Not dully prepossess’d, nor blindly right;

21
23
Petronius Arbiter (first century A. D.), a But soon by impious arms from Latium
Roman critic and satirist. chas’d,
24
The noted roman critic (first century A. D.), Their ancient bounds the banish’d Muses
Author of De Institutione Oratoria, which pass’d:
strongly influenced eighteenth-century of Thence arts o’er all the northern world
rhetoric and prose style. advance,
But critic learning flourish’d most in France;
The rules a nation, born to serve, obeys;
But less to please the eye, than arm the hand, And Boileau still in right of Horace sways.
Still fit for use, and ready at command. But we, brave Britons, foreign laws despis’d,
Thee, bold Longinus! All the Nine And kept unconquer’d, and unciviliz’d;
inspire, Fierce for the liberties of wit, and bold,
And bless their critic with a poet’s fire: We still defy’d the Romans, as of old.
An ardent judge, who, zealous in his trust, Yet some there were, among the sounder few
With warmth gives sentence, yet is always Of those who less presum’d, and better knew,
just;
25
Whose own example strengthens all his laws; Leo X (1475-1521).
26
And is himself that great Sublime he draws. Italian critic, author of an Art of Poetry in
Thus long succeeding critics justly verse
reign’d, (see above, p. 9).
Licence repress’d, and useful laws ordain’d.
Learning and Rome alike in empire grew, Who durst assert the juster ancient cause,
And arts still follow’d where her Eagles flew; And here restor’d Wit’s fundamental laws.
From the same foes, at last, both felt their Such was the Muse, whose rules and practice
doom, tell
And the same age saw Learning fall, and “Nature’s chief master-piece is writing well.”
Rome. Such was roscomon, not more learn’d than
With tyranny, then superstition join’d, good,
As that the body, this enslav’d the mind; With manners gen’rous as his noble blood;
Much was believ’d, but little understood, To him the wit of Greece and Rome was
And to be dull was constru’d to be good; known,
A second deluge Learning thus o’er-run, And ev’ry author’s merit, but his own.
And the monks finish’d what the Goths begun. Such late was Walsh—the Muse’s judge and
At length Erasmus, that great injur’d name, friend,
(The glory of the priesthood, and the shame!) Who justly knew to blame or to commend;
Stemm’d the wild torrent of barb’rous age,
27
And drove those holy Vandals off the stage. Wentworth Dillon, Earl of Roscommon,
But see! Each Muse, in Leo’s golden days, translated Horace’s Art of Poetry (1680) and
Starts from her trance, and trims her wither’d wrote an Essay on Translated Verse (1684).
28
bays; William Walsh, a minor poet who befriended
Rome’s ancient Genius, o’er its ruins spread, the young Pope, had recently died.
Shakes off the dust, and rears his rev’rend
head. To failings mild’s, but zealous for desert;
Then sculpture and her sister arts revive; The clearest head, ad the sincerest heart.
Stones leap’d to form, and rocks began to live; Thus humble praise, lamented Shade!
With sweeter notes each rising temple rung; Received;
A Raphael painted, and a Vida sung. This praise at least a grateful Muse may give:
Immortal Vida: on whose honour’d brow The Muse, whose early voice you taught to
The poets bays and critic’s ivy grow: sing,
Cremona now shall ever boast thy name, Prescrib’d her heights, and prun’d her tender
As next in place to mantua, next in fame! wing,

22
(Her guide now lost) no more attempts to rise, Still pleas’d to praise, yet not afraid to blame;
But in low numbers short excursions tries; Averse alike to flatter, or offend;
Content, if hence th’ unlearned their wants Not free from faults, nor yet too vain to mend.
may view,
The learn’d reflect on what before they knew:
Careless of censure, nor too fond of fame;

23
 NAME ________________________________________ DATE ______ SCORE _____

Learning Activities

From Pope’s Essay on Criticism, supply the following information and indicate (in
parentheses) the line number where the information is found.

1. General qualities needed by a critic

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2. Particular laws for the critic

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3. The ideal character of the critic

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24
Lesson 3. Writing a Critique of a Critique

Questions for Focused Reading:

1. Distinguish normative from non-normative statement.

2. What questions are to be asked about a literary critic?
3. Discuss some tips in writing a critique of a critique

Bases:

1. Normative and non-normative statements/ questions that the critic gives

2. Freedom
3. Fairness
4. Knowledge
5. Evidence/ Support

Questions for Critics:

1. Is he an honest writer?
2. What is his world view?
3. Are these views of the world just?

Keene and Adams, 2002 provides some tips for reading about literature ( p. 202)

 What is the thesis of the piece? What question does it seek to answer? What problem
does it seek to solve? What argument does it make?
 What are the key terms in the article? Make sure that you understand how the article’s
author is using these terms.
 What evidence does the author offer for the thesis? Does it constitute sufficient
support?
 What parts of the literary work does the author discuss? What points des the author
make about them?
 What are the essay’s strongest and weakest points?

25
NAME __________________________________________ DATE ________ SCORE ____

Learning Activities:

1. Below is a poem and a critique of it. Read the poem and its criticism carefully and using
the bases of writing critiques, make your own critique of the critique given to the poem.

The Word of God

SCJ of Southern Leyte

1. The word of Go is a spring

2. In my soul’s desert place –
3. Giving me a drink
4. That I will thirst no more,
5. Giving me a bath
6. That cures me of a malady
7. That slowly consumes my humanity.

A Critique (of The Word of God)

Leoncio P. Deriada

This is a very short poem but it should have been shorter. Lines 5-7 should have been
deleted.

The first four lines comprise a complete poem. It has the unity a good poem must
have: a clear, concrete image (spring), tension (the spring is in a desert), a subordinate image
(the spring’s giving a drink an a theme (those who know God desire no higher knowledge or
good). Furthermore, the piece uses a system of symbols (the spring for the overwhelming
grace, love, forgiveness, providence, etc. of God; desert for the persona’s lack of spirituality).
If ever we have to fault “The Word of God,” it is the fact that the material borders on the
cliché. Certainly, even SCJ would agree that this topic is one of the most repeated topics in
all Christianity.

Probably thinking that the poem would have more complexity, the author added three
more lines. The result is disastrous because the poem lost unity. It is like a beautiful creature
that suddenly grew an ugly, unneeded appendage.

Everything is wrong with Lines 5-7. The phrase Giving me a bath is a parallel of
Giving me a drink only in form, not in substance. The primary purpose of drinking is to
quench the thirst whereas the primary purpose of bathing is not to cure but to cleanse the
body. This is the main reason the addition of the bath-image is at once discordant just as the
prior drink-image convinces. The bath-image is not an adequate parallel of the drink-image.
Worse, at the literal level, the idea of drinking and bathing at the same spring is incongruous.
The situation lacks propriety or appropriateness, if we are to invoke one of the old-fashioned,

26
but still reliable, norms of harmony. Finally, unlike the first four lines, the next three lines are
not specific (malady) an are abstract (humanity).

If the author insists on the bath-image , then he should redo it so that it ill be a worthy
parallel to the drink-image. It should be something like this:
Giving me a bath
That cleanses me of the dirt
That clogs my pores.

Or he should satisfy himself with the first four lines.

Your own critique of Deriada’s critique:

27
NAME __________________________________________ DATE ________ SCORE ____

Unit Evaluation

1. Quiz

 In your own words, discuss the value of criticizing literary works.

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 Discuss whether or not literary criticism is fault-finding.

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 Discuss the steps in analyzing literary texts.

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2. Writing a critique of a critique

Look for a movie/ book review. Highlight or underline the normative and non-normative
statements in it and identify the standard/s of judgment used. After that write a one-two
page critique of the review. Be guided by the principles laid down by Pope in his Essay
on Criticism.

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NAME __________________________________________ DATE ________ SCORE ____

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References:

Bennett, A. & Royle, N. 1994. An Introduction to Literature, Criticism and Theory: Key
Critical Concepts. London: Prentice Hall/ Harvester Wheatsheaf

Burris, S. H. 1999. Literary Criticism: Map. Available:

Deriada, L.P. 2003. Little Workshops, Little Critiques. Iloilo: Seguiban Printers and
Publishing House.

Gillespie, S., Fonseca, T. & Pipolo, T. 2005. World Literature: Connecting Nations and
Cultures. 4th ed. Longman: Pearson Education

Knickerbocker, K.L., Rninger, H.W., Bratton, E.W. & Leggett, B.J. 1985. Interpreting
Literature, 7th ed. New York: Rinehart & Winston)

Saymo, A.S., Igoy, JI L. & Esperon, R.M. 2004. World Literature. Bulacan: Trinitas
Publishing, Inc.

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