Literary criticism
In the 4th century BC, Aristotle wrote a treatise called Poetics that changed how people understood stories. This work introduced concepts like mimesis and catharsis to explain why audiences felt certain ways when watching plays or reading poems. The text examined specific forms of art while offering general rules for what made literature effective. Later thinkers built upon these ideas but shifted focus toward religious texts during medieval times. Scholars in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions developed hermeneutics as a method for interpreting sacred writings. These long-standing religious interpretive practices eventually influenced how secular literature was studied centuries later. In 9th-century Arabic poetry, critics like Al-Jahiz used similar methods to analyze literary works. His books al-Bayan wa-'l-tabyin and al-Haywan explored the structure and meaning of verse. Another critic named Abdullah ibn al-Mu'tazz wrote Kitab al-Badi to discuss poetic devices. These early efforts laid groundwork for future critical traditions across different cultures.
The year 1498 marked a turning point when Giorgio Valla published his Latin translation of Aristotle's Poetics. This recovery of classical texts sparked a new movement known as Renaissance criticism. Writers began viewing literature as central to culture rather than merely entertainment or instruction. Lodovico Castelvetro became one of the most influential figures by writing commentaries on Aristotle's work in 1570. For over three hundred years until the late eighteenth century, Aristotle remained the primary influence on Western literary thought. The seventeenth century brought challenges to these established principles through the rise of Baroque aesthetics. Critics started favoring transgressive ideas over traditional notions of proportion and harmony. Emanuele Tesauro published Il Cannocchiale aristotelico in 1654 to develop theories about metaphor and wit. This treatise described conceit and wonder as intellectual acts that provided access to truth. The Baroque movement rejected the unity and decorum that had previously governed artistic judgment. Instead it embraced extreme forms and complex imagery that defied simple classification.
During the 1700s and 1800s literacy rates rose among the general public for the first time. Reading was no longer restricted to wealthy scholars or religious elites who controlled knowledge. Printing technology advanced quickly while commercial markets expanded rapidly across Europe. Literary criticism emerged alongside this mass production of books and periodicals. Samuel Johnson stood out as one of the most influential writers and critics of the eighteenth century. His reviews appeared in magazines and newspapers that reached broad audiences beyond academic circles. Jonathan Swift faced harsh criticism from some reviewers who called his book Gulliver's Travels "the detestable story of the Yahoos." The Enlightenment ideal of using literature to educate the public diverged sharply from business realities. Critics struggled to balance educational goals with entertainment demands in a growing market. By the early nineteenth century British Romanticism introduced new aesthetic values into literary studies. Writers began accepting that literature need not always be beautiful or noble to have value. German Romanticism emphasized fragmentation and wit over serious Anglophone traditions. Matthew Arnold gained renown late in the nineteenth century primarily through his critical essays rather than original poetry. These shifts reflected changing attitudes toward what counted as worthy subject matter.
Early twentieth-century critics revolutionized how literature was studied by focusing exclusively on text itself. Russian Formalism arrived first followed shortly after by New Criticism in Britain and the United States. Both schools elevated close reading above all other methods including speculation about authorial intent. They dismissed discussions of an author's psychology or biography as taboo subjects entirely. Wimsatt and Beardsley coined terms like intentional fallacy and affective fallacy to describe these rejections. Their emphasis on precise attention to words themselves persisted even after their doctrines declined. Northrop Frye published Anatomy of Criticism in 1957 which became highly influential among modern conservative thinkers. This work argued against critics who judged pieces based solely on ideological adherence. E. Michael Jones later claimed Stanley Fish rejected classic literature due to personal adulterous affairs. Jürgen Habermas described literary theory as hermeneutics meaning knowledge gained through interpretation. By the late 1960s Anglo-American university departments began shifting away from New Criticism dominance. Philosophical approaches influenced by structuralism started gaining ground within academic institutions.
Around the late 1960s university literature departments witnessed a dramatic rise in philosophical literary theory. Structuralism then post-structuralism replaced practical criticism as the dominant framework for analysis. Continental philosophy heavily influenced this shift toward explicit methodology over direct text interpretation. Interest in concept peaked during the 1990s before declining slightly afterward. Many contemporary critics now feel comfortable interpreting literature without writing extensively about theoretical frameworks. Jacques Derrida published Structure, Sign, and Play in the Discourse of the Human Sciences during this period. Roland Barthes wrote The Death of the Author while Michel Foucault explored Truth and Power. These figures challenged traditional assumptions about authorship and meaning production. Ferdinand de Saussure's theories of linguistics provided foundational tools for developing structuralist approaches. Claude Lévi-Strauss applied similar methods to myth studies in his Structural Study of Myth. Virginia Woolf contributed A Room of One's Own which examined gender dynamics within literary creation. Sigmund Freud's Creative Writers and Daydreaming offered psychological perspectives on artistic motivation. By the end of the twentieth century disagreements between opposing sides had largely subsided despite earlier tensions.
Today academic literature departments host multiple coexisting approaches ranging from continental philosophy to conventional New Critical methods. Critics work with both theoretical texts and traditional literature depending on their specific interests. Some journals like Contemporary Women's Writing focus exclusively on nontraditional texts and women's literature. Others read popular culture materials such as comic books or pulp fiction alongside canonical works. Ecocritics draw connections between literature and natural sciences to examine environmental themes. Darwinian literary studies analyze how evolutionary influences shape human nature within narratives. Postcritique seeks new ways of responding to texts that move beyond standard interpretive critique. Many critics now also engage in film criticism or media studies alongside traditional book analysis. Marxist literary criticism examines class structures while postcolonialism addresses colonial impacts on writing. Feminist theory continues exploring gender representation through diverse lenses including queer theory and critical race theory. Disability studies adds another dimension by analyzing how physical differences appear in stories. These overlapping fields demonstrate how modern criticism adapts to changing cultural contexts without abandoning core analytical practices.
Common questions
What did Aristotle write in the 4th century BC that changed how people understood stories?
Aristotle wrote a treatise called Poetics in the 4th century BC. This work introduced concepts like mimesis and catharsis to explain why audiences felt certain ways when watching plays or reading poems.
When did Giorgio Valla publish his Latin translation of Aristotle's Poetics?
Giorgio Valla published his Latin translation of Aristotle's Poetics in the year 1498. This recovery of classical texts sparked a new movement known as Renaissance criticism.
Who became one of the most influential figures by writing commentaries on Aristotle's work in 1570?
Lodovico Castelvetro became one of the most influential figures by writing commentaries on Aristotle's work in 1570. For over three hundred years until the late eighteenth century, Aristotle remained the primary influence on Western literary thought.
Which critic published Il Cannocchiale aristotelico in 1654 to develop theories about metaphor and wit?
Emanuele Tesauro published Il Cannocchiale aristotelico in 1654 to develop theories about metaphor and wit. This treatise described conceit and wonder as intellectual acts that provided access to truth.
What did Northrop Frye argue against in Anatomy of Criticism published in 1957?
Northrop Frye published Anatomy of Criticism in 1957 which argued against critics who judged pieces based solely on ideological adherence. This work became highly influential among modern conservative thinkers.