Criticism and Objectivity

by Raman Selden

Overview

First published in 1984 Criticism and Objectivity argues that literary critics should not abandon the concept of knowledge. English literary criticism has long considered ‘theory’ to be alien to the felt experience of readers and writers; the Romantic attitude towards reason and feeling has continued to inhibit the conceptual development of criticism. The similarities between the role of theory in science and in literary criticism imply the need for ‘objectivity’ to be redefined rather than abandoned.

While accepting that tests are relatively open structures defying final interpretations, Dr Selden argues that their plurality is as much the effect of historical conditions as of the nature of language or subjectivity. He calls for an historical criticism capable of ‘conducting’ the voices of the text without resorting to formalism or reducing the text to its ‘background’. This book will be of interest to students of literary theory.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781000908503
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	07/14/2023
Series:	Routledge Revivals
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	180
File size:	551 KB

About the Author

Raman Selden

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements 1. Introduction: The Edge of the Abyss 2. Objectivity and Theory in English Criticism 3. Literary Criticism and Science 4. Russian Formalism, Marxism, and ‘Relative Autonomy’ 5. The Plural Text and History 6. The Reader and the text 7. Literary Criticism and the Theory of the Subject Bibliography Index