Critical positions and perspectives

Abstract

The preceding sections in this book have concentrated on literary modes and the critical vocabulary conventionally employed to help us discuss them. This section, however, takes a broader view, looking at the whole activity of criticism and some of the ways in which critics, particularly twentieth-century critics, discuss literature. It should become clear that what a critic says about a book depends to a large extent upon the critical approach he or she adopts. As a student of literature you are likely, consciously or unconsciously, to be influenced by some of these critical approaches. Before dealing with such complicated matters, however, it seems logical to look at some basic questions.