English Literary Criticism: History and
Timeline
James Madison Gathered these Facts
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Literature and art can be enjoyed in two ways: arbitrarily, as a lay man enjoys it, and
methodically as a trained person does. While an untrained consumer of an artistic product will
derive pleasure, seldom aware of the constructs that are at play in producing the effect; a trained
individual will derive jouissance -a kind of ecstasy- in deriving the manifold meanings that are at
play in a work, delving into the possible interpretations, its origins, historical and sociological
impacts et al. It is the latter mode of reading a text that is called literary criticism.
English literary criticism per se began as late as the sixteenth century. It was only after the
Renaissance, when the Greek and Latin treatises on criticism became available to the English
scholars did they apply their critical skills to literary texts. The foundations however, had already
been laid by the Greek and the Roman writers in the fifth century B.C
Background: The Foundations and History of Literary Criticisms
The history of literary criticism can be dated back to ancient Greece approx. fifth century B.C.
The aim of criticism is to interrogate and closely scrutinize the work under discussion and thus it
required an atmosphere which allowed a free play of critical ideas. The fifth century Athens was
a period of intellectual awakening when scholars debated freely on all subjects and thus opened a
platform for literary criticism to flourish. Some of the important fonder literary critics are
Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Socrates, Aristophanes- dramatists and critics who lived during
this period.
A Brief Timeline: Influential Literary Critics and their Critical Tenets
Although literary criticism in England came into practice in the sixteenth century, the influence
of the following Greek and Roman Masters have remained overpowering ever since. When
stating a timeline of English literary criticism, it therefore becomes vital to state the influences
and work onwards to the present day English Literary criticism.
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The Greek Influence: Important Influential Literary Critics and their Critical
Tenets
Plato (427 B.C. -348 B.C.)
Theory of Ideas: “Art is twice removed from reality”
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Condemns Poetry
Mimesis
Aristotle (384 B.C- 322 B.C)
Observations on Poetry
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Poetry is more philosophical and nobler than history
Defence of Poetry with respect to Plato’s attack on Poetry
Observations on Tragedy
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Hamartia
Peripetia
Anagnorisis
Hubris
Catharsis
The Roman Influence: Important Influential Literary Critics and their Critical
Tenets
Horace (65 B.C.-8 B.C)
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Classicism
Observations on Poetry, Drama and Satire
Quintillian
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Observation on Style
Longinus (The First Romantic Critic)
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Sublimity
English Literary Criticism: Sixteenth Century to Twentieth
Century
Sixteenth Century: The Elizabethan Era
The Tudor Trio/ ‘Cambridge School’
The first regular critics to apply critical tenets to literature were three Cambridge friends, Sir
John Cheke, Roger Ascham and Thomas Wilson. Their criticism followed a dual trend as they
were devoted scholars of the Greek classics but in practice wanted to purge English from the
influence of foreign tongue. Although they wanted to model their texts on the classics but at the
same time did not want to denationalize their vernacular by excessive borrowings.
The ‘Areopagus’ (1579)
It was a literary circle of critics who were devoted classicists and wanted to ‘reform’ English
verse by substituting the Greek and Latin system of prosody for the English. The main critics
associated with the group were Sir Philip Sidney, Gabriel Harvey, Spencer and Edward Dyer.
Stephen Gosson (1555-1624)
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Attack on Poetry in the work “School of Abuse’ (1579)
Sir Philip Sidney (1554-1586)
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Apologie for Poetrie, a reply to Gosson’s School of Abuse (1580)
Dramatic Unities of Time, Place and Action
Condemnation of Tragi-comedy
Ben Jonson (1573-1637)
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Advocacy of Classical Principles and models
Concept of Humours
Observations on Style
Lays down the qualifications of a good critic “To judge poets is only the faculty of poets”
Seventeenth Century: The Neo-Classical Era
Dryden (Dr. Johnson called him The Father of English Criticism) (1631-1700)
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Defence of Roman poets and dramatists
Defence of French Poets and dramatists
Defence of English dramatists of the Elizabethan era
Views on Satire
Addison (1672-1719)
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True wit and False wit
Concept of Imagination
Appraisal of John Milton’s Paradise Lost
Alexander Pope( 1688- 1744)
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Concept of Nature
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Concept of Judgement in Literary Criticism
Concept of Wit
Dr. Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)
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Historical Approach to Criticism
Views on Drama and Art
Eighteenth Century: The Romantic Era
William Wordsworth( 1770-1850)
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Theory of Poetic Language
Condemnation of the use of Poetic diction in poetry
Views on Universality of poetry and its moral force
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Theory of Imagination
Concept of Poetic Genius
Criticism of Wordsworth’s theory of Poetic Language
Shelley( 1792-1822)
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A Defence of Poetry with respect to Thomas Love Peacock’s attack on poetry in
Four Ages of Poetry
John Keats
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Negative Capability
Nineteenth Century: The Victorian Period
Mathew Arnold (1822-1888)
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Touchstone Method of Criticism
Poetry as a ‘criticism of life’
Concept of Grand Style
Views on Creative and Critical Literature
Walter Pater (1839- 1894)
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Theory of Art : “Art for Art’s sake”
Views on Style
Twentieth Century: Modernism
Thomas. Stearns. Eliot (1888- 1965)
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Impersonal Theory of Poetry
Theory of Objective Co-relative
Dissociation of Sensibility
Views on Impressionistic School of Criticism, called it “Imperfect Criticism”
I.A.Richards (1893- 1979)
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Theory of Poetic Communication
Harmonization of Impulses
Uses of Language of Poetry: Referential and Emotive
Tenor and Vehicle
Stock Responses
Pseudo-Statements
Referent, reference and referential
Apprentices and Aversions
Resources about Literary Criticism
Online Literary Criticism Guide: Website
An Annotated List of Reference Websites: Website
Literary Criticism practice questions: Website
Internet Public Library Literary Criticism: Website
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