However, it is quite a wrong statement because a creative work of art requires great efforts and hard work. Such a criticism, he admits, may make readers more interested in reading critical texts rather than the primary sources, the poems and novels and plays. Eliot had begun with a favorable allusion to his earlier, celebrated essay “Tradition and the Individual Talent,” implying that the present essay would elaborate on principles first enunciated there. It is used as a vehicle to interpret or analyze various types of literature, including poetry, novels, and plays. Eliot’s Function of Criticism, Study Guides of T.S. Ironically enough, this same foundation, with its emphasis on the sacrosanct relationship between each soul and its creator, had also bred the profound respect for the individual as the court of last resort in matters of aesthetic, moral, ethical, and spritual judgments of which Eliot himself seemed to be more and more mistrustful the more his own creative and critical instincts and talents matured. Literary criticism 1. Lecturer in English PSC Solved Question Paper, Analysis of T.S. Whether one agrees with his positions or not, he enlarges on them, refining and extending them into all corners of his individual interests, the spiritual and moral as well as aesthetic and critical, without ever altering his essential belief in conforming oneself to the overriding and underlying social and cultural structures and strictures out of which human values emerge. It is important for every writer to understand literary criticism so that he can improve the way he communicates directly and indirectly. Eliot, however, was never wont to compartmentalize the purely literary from other social and even political concerns, so the unwary reader of “The Function of Criticism” may quickly wonder what is going on. Never an intellectual purist, Eliot realizes that that may often mean finding great merit in a work that flies in the face of current practices, and minimal merit in one that does little more than repeat past performances. The word criticism is derived from the Greek word meaning ” judgment”. Its Nature and Functions. Eliot’s Function of Criticism, Summary of Function of Criticism, Summary of T.S. Eliot’s Hamlet and His Problems, Analysis of T.S. Literary criticism offers a variety of perspectives for the study of the Gospels, for in the history of criticism different views of the reference, role and function of literature have guided the work of criticism. In the process, of course, Eliot also defines what he takes to be a correct critical method. I feel like that would be pretty easy to answer, if I only understood what literary criticism was. So, could someone please explain, in simple terms, what the function of literary criticism is? 2 pages, 540 words. writing book image by AGphotographer from, Literature Study Online: Matthew Arnold as a Literary Critic. The more detail and context, the … It was a response to Murry who challenged the ideas of Eliot presented in her previous work “Tradition and Individual Talent” (1919) in his work “Romanticism and Tradition”. Aristotle’s practical contribution to criticism, as opposed to his ethical defense of literature, lies in his inductive treatment of the elements and kinds of poetry. Enjoy an audio version of this article. LITERARY CRITICISM The term CRITICISM is derived from the Greek term KRITIKOS , which was used in the 4th century B.C. Learn more. 2- Helping the writer to improve his skills and … Eliot’s Function of Criticism, Analysis of T.S. Nature and Function of Literary Criticism. One of the prompts is to explain the function of criticism, and why it's significant to the study of literature. In “The Function of Criticism,” too, after everything is said and done, Eliot is ultimately asserting the primacy of tradition over individual tastes and practices, of objective judgment over subjective responses, and of the whole over the part. Eliot’s Function of Criticism, Brief Notes of T.S. Yet already here is Eliot, in the shadow of his radical modernist iconoclasm that had just the year before produced The Waste Land, attacking those who listen to the “Inner Voice” of romanticism and moral disorder, whom he caricatures as marching under the intellectual banner of “Muddle Through,” and he is doing so with the same restrained passion that he will bring to bear some 10 years and life-altering religious experiences later in After Strange Gods (1934). Now Eliot dares to modify Arnold’s original position in order to establish why he feels that those who rely on the inner voice of intuitive reactions to both the creative impulse and the critical response cannot possibly produce either an adequate critical literature or critical method. The function of literary criticism is to examine the merits and demerits or defects of a work of art and finally to evaluate its worth. Literary Criticism Defined. As regards the function of literary criticism, considering the saying of Atkins who says the chief functions of literary criticism are, evaluation, interpretation and explanation or elucidation, it may be said that literary criticism involves various aspects to examine the literary work in order to conclude good qualities and the defects in the works of literature which successively can facilitate the writer to … We read film reviews in our daily newspapers, television reviews in weekly blogs and, of course, book reviews in … Part 1 deals with Eliot’s views on critic and the critical work of art. 1. He based his moralist perspectives on this belief. Originally published in Eliot’s own literary review, the Criterion, and later collected in Selected Essays in 1932, “The Function of Criticism,” along with “The Frontiers of Criticism” (1956) and “To Criticize the Critic” (1961), provides a cogent commentary on what Eliot sees to be the purpose of literary criticism, as opposed to its … “If so large a part of creation is really criticism,” it follows that “a large part of what is called ‘critical writing’ [is] really creative.”. T. S. Eliot’s essay “The Function of Criticism” (1923) is a work of angry intelligence: it reads as if it were written under duress. The function of literary criticism is to examine the merits and demerits or defects of a work of art and finally to evaluate its worth. The true critic is the one who is equipped for his/her task by a sound knowledge of his subject. As a tool in literary studies, critic plays an important role in doing studies or analysis about literary work. Eliot’s Function of Criticism, Simple Analysis of T.S. Discover History. In school, English instructors ask students to critique literary texts, or works. Eliot’s Function of Criticism, Brief Notes of T.S. Eliot’s Function of Criticism. Filed Under: Essays Tagged With: Art, criticism. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Part 2 deals with Murry’s views on Romanticism and classicism and Eliot’s contradiction with it. What Are the Functions of Literary Criticism? The Function of CRITICISM Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Academics in the literary, political and philosophical fields assembled to discuss literature and apply the resulting ideas to their areas of interest. THE NATURE AND FUNCTION OF LITERARY CRITICISM Prof. Ketan Pandya Prof. V. I. Patel 2. The chief function of criticism is to enlighten and stimulate. In the 2nd century A.D. its place was taken by the term CRITICUS , aimed at the interpretation of texts and words and improvement of the works of writers in Greek or Latin. The more detail and context, the better. Part 3 deals with Eliot’s criticism of Murr… This essay has been divided into four parts: 1. Second, he should promote his ideas to others and make the best ideas prevail in society. To read Eliot’s position in that way, however, misses the pointed attack on some contemporary critical strategies that he had felt free enough to disparage with an intellectual vigor in the earlier pages of his essay. Thus, the objective of literary criticism is to determine the artistic values, poetic beauty, or the features being regarded as inadequate existing in the works of literature in order to 1-Helping the reader to gain a better understanding of nature and value of literature, and a better appreciation of the pleasure proper to literature, then to form an evaluation of his own. 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