Principles of Literary Criticism by I.A. Richards

Overview

• Title: Principles of Literary Criticism
• Author: I.A. Richards
• Publication Year: 1924
• Significance: This work is foundational to the development of literary criticism as a discipline.
• Companion Work: Practical Criticism (1929)

I.A. Richards: Background

• Full Name: Ivor Armstrong Richards
• Birth: February 26, 1893, Sandbach, Cheshire, England
• Death: September 7, 1979, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire
• Education: Magdalene College, Cambridge
• Profession: English critic, poet, and teacher
• Contributions:
  • Pioneered new methods of reading poetry.
  • Contributed significantly to New Criticism.
  • Developed pedagogy that emphasized close reading.

Key Works by I.A. Richards

• The Meaning of Meaning (1923, with C.K. Ogden)
• Principles of Literary Criticism (1924)
• Practical Criticism (1929)
• Other Works:
  • Science and Poetry (1926; revised as Poetries and Sciences, 1970)
  • Mencius on the Mind (1932)
  • The Philosophy of Rhetoric (1936)
  • Beyond (1974)

Principles of Literary Criticism

• Core Idea: Richards explores the psychological response to rhythm and metre in poetry.
• Theory: He proposes an organic and contextual understanding of prosody, emphasizing its role in conjunction with other literary elements.

Practical Criticism

• Methodology: Based on experimental pedagogy where students critically analyze poems without knowing their authors or titles.
• Objective: Develop students' close reading skills and enhance analytic capability.

Influence and Legacy

• Interdisciplinary Approach: Combined insights from psychology, philosophy, and literary forms.
• Poetry as Therapy: Viewed poetry as a means to coordinate human impulses into an aesthetic whole.
• Basic English: Developed with C.K. Ogden, aimed at promoting international understanding.
• Academic Career:
  • Lecturer at Cambridge (1922-1929)
  • Visiting professor in China (1929-1930)
  • Professor at Harvard University (1939-1963)

Impact on Literary Criticism

• New Criticism: Richards’ work laid the groundwork for this movement.
• Reader-Response Criticism: Influenced some aspects of this criticism.

Summary

• I.A. Richards' "Principles of Literary Criticism" is a seminal work exploring the relationship between literary form and human psychology, setting the stage for modern approaches in literary criticism. His pedagogical innovations and interdisciplinary insights continue to influence the study of literature.