I. A. Richards’s Practical Criticism offers new insights into ideas he had presented in his two previous critical works. In the third book, he expands on material contained in the earlier books, Principles of Literary Criticism and Science and Poetry, and addresses other critics’ reactions to those published views.
One basic component that Richards stresses is the essential, even spiritual quality of literary works. He proposes that the perspectives found in literature are as valid as or superior to religious tenets. Another significant element is the need for the reader to respond immediately and directly to a given work. He strongly advocates this type of reaction as preferable to contextual and biographical information. The reaction constitutes a revelation of the poet’s intentions and knowledge.
Focusing on poetry, Richards also stresses the reader’s sincerity in conjunction with their independence in reacting to or evaluating the work. He states that one should set aside their own suppositions as well as the “critical preconceptions” one may have gained from reading others’ commentary.
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