the role of a literary critic

Based on your reading on the romantic period in chapter 4, please write an essay on the role of a literary critic. You may refer to either secondary material to support your discussion. The essay should be between 4 – 5 pages in length.

1. Introduction
Before going into detail discussing about the role of literary critic, it is important for us to know about the actual meaning of the words “literary” as well as “critic”
According to Oxford Advanced Learner Dictionary of Current English,
Literary means
(1) of literature or authors (2) having to do with literature (3)things concerning with written works that are regarded as having artistic merit where as
Critic means
(1)A person who assesses literary or artistic works. (2) a person who forms and gives judgements, especially about literature, art, music and etc.
Therefore, according to the meaning derived from the dictionary, we can define Literary critic as a person who forms and give judegements about literary works or a person who assesses literature as well as written works that are regarded as having artistic merit.

2. Literary Critics paved a way for the good changes in literature
Ever since Aristotle’s Poetics was written and published, western tradition of literary criticism began. Aristotle was regarded as the first literary critic in the history of western literature world who gave significant impact to the changes of literature. Aristotle is certainly innovative in applying the tools of physical science – critical observation and the analytic method to literary studies. Aristotle
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had assured to the writers that the aim of literary critic is not to find fault but rather seeking out values and to appreciate the good side and the beauty of the literary works.
The literary critics that existed for many centuries paved a way for some changes - the writers became more alert of the weakness of their works and thus tried to change and made improvement towards their literary works from time to time

3. Literary Critics – Seeking Out Values rather than finding faults
The Romantic period however, was a great period of music and poetry and Romantic theory also revolutionized assumptions about the role of the criticism. From Aristotle through to the eighteen century, the critic had typically taken up a position with the audience, evaluating the effects produced and generalizing about the means for producing such effects. But under the dispensation, the critic proposed to take up a position with the author, sympathetically identifying with the creative act. This revolution changed not merely the way that critics went about their business, but the kind of business that they were expected to go about
Herder, one of the famous critic during the Romantic period stressed that however the critic should seek to become the servant of the author, his friend, seeking out values rather than finding faults. Thus, those in fact should be the fundamental role of literary criticism. Criticism thus also became the Appreciation in the ‘praise of beauties’ mode which was to persist throughout the nineteenth century.

4. Literary Critics - Give Rise to the Trend of Imaginative Creation.
Literary critic also gave rise to the trend of imaginative creation. Friedrich Schleegal of German, another famous critic during the Romantic Era is very favour of such theory. Friedrich Schlegal named the “imaginative creation” as
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“fantastics” . According to Friedrich, literary critic led the reader and public to pick up the habit and acquire the technique of positive appreciation and always attempting to identify with the particular goals of the particular work. Such a good habit will make the audience or reader to have self-improvement within themselves, and their criticism also gave a drive to the authors and encourage them to produce better works .Criticism, as according to Friedrich Schleegal is “is not to judge works by a general ideal, but is to search out the individual ideal of every work”. He especially promoted a genetic form of criticism, which begins by intuiting the author’s secret intention, which he pursues in silence and of which we can never assume too many in a genius.
Friedrich Schleegal also states that the literary work as a whole is something more than the sum of its part, and can never be reached by a mere addition or assembling of part to part. The reader critic must juggle between parts and whole or two different level simultaneously.

5. Schlelermacher -Theory of interpretation - an intuition of the whole beyond the parts – we must seek to bring into consciousness much that could remain unconscious for the authors
Schlelermavher’s critic had open a new horizon to the world of the literature. With the discoveries of the theory of interpretation, Schlelermacher claims that the work of art exists most truly in the mind of its creator. ‘The inner image is the work of the art proper’. However, according to him, this inner image is not something about which the creator can inform us; on the contrary, Schlelermavher claims to be able to understand authors better than they have understood themselves.
The literary critic and the audience or reader should seek to bring into consciousness much that could remain unconscious for the authors, this is another role of the literary critic according to Schlelermavher.
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6. To appreciate and to praise the beauties of the literary works
Another significant role of literary critic as we can derived from the British literary criticism is enabling the audience and the reader to appreciate and to praise the beauties of the literary works..
The poet-critics such as Wordworth, Shelley and Keats write a lot of comments and criticism about poetry and regards “poetry as self-expression”, They also believed that poetry is simply the action of imagination of the poets upon the outside world, it is a kind of the poet’s unconscious creation. They also wrote many criticism on the side of the author, this helped the author to correct themselves, made appropriate changes and produced better works!

7. Self- realization about moral values and to be wide-minded openness and be responsiveness to others
The British poet-critics are very concerned about the moral effect of the poetry. They believed that good poems can influence and change the life of the reader! The British poet-critics came up with a new moral effect which could operate in a more direct manner.
Wordworth, a famous British literary critic talked of the poet as “ carrying everywhere with him relationship and love” and as “widening the sphere of human sensibility”. Even though it is not the poet’s business to inculcate any specific moral code, it is their responsibility however, to encourage in the reader a wide-minded openness and be responsiveness to others. Wordworth saw the important of such openness and responsiveness for his own period due to the increasing urbanization and economic rationalism during the Romantic period!

8. To understand that Literature and literary production is about life – It is not distinct or separable from the rest of mankind’s character and activity Romantic theory arrived late in France, but was soon taken by a critic whose
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reputation eventually outshone all others: Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve. Sainte-Beuve.favoured form was the portrait in which he characterized the sensibility of an author with reference to both works and life. For Sainte-Beuve, the writing of the author and the life are connected, but not necessarily similar. Sainte-Beuve hold firm and tightly to his idea and had tried his best to convinced the others that “Literature is all about life”
His famous quotation which sums up his approach is:

Literature, literary production, as I see it, is not distinct or separable from the rest of the mankind’s character and activity. I may enjoy a work, but it is hard for me to judge it independently of my knowledge of the man who produced it, and I am inclined to say, let arbre, tel fruit – the fruit is like the tree.

9. Poems are produced as a result of poets self-discovery when he encounter with nature and surrounding
Emerson, however believed that The poets represents the individual soul in it encounter with the over-soul. He places comparatively little value upon the poem as a creation in language and he believed that the poet’s experience entirely determines the content, and the content entirely determines the form. “The sense dictates the rhythm,…..Ask the fact for the form” . He claims and as a same time trying to convince the others that “the world is God’s book and nature offers all her creatures to (the poet) as a picture language ….”

10. Poem should only concerned with beauty and , it is a kind of craft and should not be morally instructive
Poe, a famous France critic during the Romantic period insisted that Poem should only concerned with beauty and , and the reader and audience should regard the poems as a kind of craft and just appreciate the beauty of the poems . The poems however should not be morally instructive. Poe condemned all kinds of moral effect of the poems. Poe did
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not believed inspiration and spontaneity, and the authenticity of personal emotion.

11. Conclusion
The hard works and attempts of the literary critics especially during the Romantic period created a new horizon for the world of literature. Different literary critics had came out with their own idea about literature. Each of them represent a different school of thought. Such an influx of different perspective in literary world had given a new life to the literature’s world and it paved a way the production of many great works in literature.
For the writers and the authors in general, the present of these literary critics however made them more alert of their fault and mistakes. This provided
them opportunity to make good changes and gave them rooms for further improvements.
For the readers and audience however, the present and influx of literary criticism gave them an opportunity to widen their horizon in literature. With this , they can made some self-improvement . They could observe and appreciate literary works from different angles and would not see the works from only a sigle view. In such a way , definitely they would be able to treasure something which is hidden but very precious in literature and have the chance to appreciate the real wonders in literary world!





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REFERENCES

1 Richard Harland
Literary Theory from Plato to Barthes ,
London, Macmillan Press, 1999

2 Eliot, T. S The Use of Poetry and the Use of Criticism .London
Faber and Faber limited, 1980.

3 M. A Quayum, Rosli Talif (Eds.) Dictionary of Literary Terms
Revised Edition, Petaling Jaya: Prentice Hall, 2000.

4 X.J Kennedy, Dorothy M Kennedy, Dana Gioia,(1995) sixth Edition
Literature, An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry and Drama
Harper Collins College Publisher, New York

5 Sylvan Barnet (1996) 7th Edition
A Short Guide to Writing about Literature
Harper Collins College Publisher, New York



























CONTENT PAGE


( 1) Introduction 1
Definition - What is literary critics ?

( 2 ) Literary Critics paved a way for the good changes in literature 1


( 3) Literary Critics – Seeking Out Values rather than finding faults 2


( 4) Literary Critics - Give Rise to the Trend of Imaginative Creation. 2

(5) Schlelermacher -Theory of interpretation - an intuition of 3
the whole beyond the parts – we must seek to bring into
consciousness much that could remain unconscious for the authors
(6) To appreciate and to praise the beauties of the literary works 4

(7) Self- realization about moral values and to be wide-minded 4
openness and be responsiveness to others

(8) To understand that Literature and literary production is about life 4

(9) Poems are produced as a result of poets self-discovery when he 5
encounter with nature and surrounding

(10) Poem should only concerned with beauty and , it is a kind of 5
craft and should not be morally instructive
(11) Conclusion 6

REFERENCES 7





UNIVERSITI PUTRA MALAYSIA
INSTITUT PENDIDIKAN DAN PENDIDIKAN JARAK JAUH
INSTITUTE FOR DISTANCE EDUCATION AND LEARNING (IDEAL)


PROGRAM: BABE

SEMESTER: 7

SESI: NOV2004/2005

KOD KURSUS: BBL 3103

NAMA KURSUS: LITERARY THEORY FROM PLATO TO T.S ELIOT
(Teori Sastera dari Era Plato ke Era S. Eliot)
TAJUK TUGASAN:
Based on your reading on the romantic period in chapter 4, please write an essay on the role of a literary critic. You may refer to either secondary material to support your discussion. The essay should be between 4 – 5 pages in length.


PENSYARAH: Dr.Noritah Omar


NAMA PELAJAR: NGU SWEE YIEN ( J 19761 )

PUSAT
PEMBELAJARAN: MIRI, SARAWAK


















Dr. Noritah Omar
Office: A208 (2nd Floor)
Faculty of Modern Language and Communication
Universiti Putra Malaysia
43400UPM Serdang
03-89468695, 012-3359806