FOUR KINDS OF MEANING-I.A RICHARDS

FOUR KINDS OF MEANING-I.A RICHARDS

I.A. Richards was the first critic to bring to English criticism a scientific precision and objectivity. He was the first to distinguish between the two uses of language – the referential and the emotive. His well articulated theory is found in his Principles of Literary Criticism. The present extract is from his Practical Criticism which speaks about the four kinds of meaning. Richards is remembered for his modern way of teaching and studying literature. New criticism and the whole of modern tensional poetics derive their strength and inspiration from the seminal writings of Richards.

Richards begins the extract by pointing to the difficulty of all reading. The problem of making out the meaning is the starting point in criticism. The answers to ‘what is a meaning?’, ‘What are we doing when we endeavour to make it out?’ are the master keys to all the problems of criticism. The all important fact for the study of literature or any other mode of communication is that there are several kinds of meaning. Whether we speak, write, listen, read, the ‘Total meaning’ is a blend of several contributory meanings of different types. Language – and pre eminently language as it is used in poetry has several tasks to perform simultaneously. Four kinds of functions or meanings as enlisted by I.A. Richards are the following: (1) Sense, (2) Feeling, (3) Tone and (4) Intention.

(1) Sense

‘We speak to say something and when we listen we expect something to be said. We use words to direct our hearers’ attention upon some state of affairs, to present to them some items for consideration and to excite in them some thoughts about these items’. In short, what we speak to convey to our listeners for their consideration can be called ‘sense’. This is the most important thing in all scientific utterances where verification is possible.

(2) Feeling

The attitude towards what we convey is known as ‘feeling’. In other words, we have bias or accentuation of interest towards what we say. We use language to express these feelings. Similarly, we have these feelings even when we receive. This happens even if the speaker is conscious of it or not. In exceptional cases, say in mathematics, no feeling enters. The speaker’s attitude to the subject is known as ‘feeling’.

(3) Tone

The speaker has an attitude to his listener. ‘He chooses or arranges his words differently as his audience varies, in automatic or deliberate recognition of his relation to them. The tone of his utterance reflects his awareness of this relation, his sense of how he stands towards those he is addressing. Thus ‘tone’ refers to the attitude to the listener.

(4) Intention

Finally apart from what he says (sense), his attitude to what he is talking about (feeling), and his attitude to his listener (tone), there is the speaker’s intention, his aim (conscious or unconscious) - the effect he is endeavouring to promote. The speaker’s purpose modifies his speech. Frequently, the speaker’s intention operates through and satisfies itself in a combination of other functions. ‘It may govern the stress laid upon points in an argument. It controls the ‘plot’ in the larger sense of the word. It has special importance in dramatic and semi dramatic literature. Thus the influence of his intention upon the language he uses is additional to the other three influences.

If we survey the uses of language as a whole, predominance of one function over the other may be found. A man writing a scientific treatise will put the ‘sense’ of what he has to say first. For a writer popularising some of the results and hypotheses of science, the principles governing his language are not so simple; his intention will inevitably interfere with the other functions. In conversation, we get the clearest examples of the shifts of function, i.e. one function being taken over by another.

Towards the end of the essay, I.A. Richards says that it is much harder to obtain statements about poetry than expressions of feelings towards it and towards the author. Very many apparent statements turn out to be the indirect expressions of Feeling, Tone and Intention.

I.A.RICHARDS – PRACTICAL CRITICISM

I.A.RICHARDS – PRACTICAL CRITICISM

Ivor Armstrong Richards – poet, dramatist, speculative philosopher, psychologist and semanticist, is among the first of the 20th century critics to bring to English criticism a scientific precision and objectivity. He is often referred to as the ‘critical consciousness’ of the modern age. New Criticism and the whole of modern poetics derive their strength and inspiration from the seminal writings of Richards such as Principles of Literary Criticism, Practical Criticism, Coleridge on Imagination, The Foundation of Aesthetics (with C.K.Ogden and James Wood) and The Meaning of Meaning (with Ogden). Together with T.S.Eliot, Richards was instrumental in steering Anglo-American criticism along a new path of scientific enquiry and observation.

Practical Criticism

Richard’s influence rests primarily on his Practical Criticism (1929) which is based on his experiments conducted in Cambridge in which he distributed poems, stripped of all evidence of authorship and period, to his pupils and asked them to comment on them. He analyses factors responsible for misreading of poems. Even a “reputable scholar” is vulnerable to these problems.

1) First is the difficulty of making out the plain sense of poetry. A large proportion of average-to-good readers of poetry simply fail to understand it.  They fail to make out its prose sense, its plain, overt meaning. They misapprehend its feeling, its tone, and its intention.

2) Parallel to the difficulties of interpreting the meaning are the difficulties of sensuous apprehension. Words have a movement and may have a rhythm even when read silently. Many a reader of poetry cannot naturally perceive this.

3) There are difficulties presented by imagery, principally visual imagery, in poetic reading. Images aroused in one mind may not be similar to the ones stirred by the same line of poetry in another, and both may have nothing to do with the images that existed in the poet’s mind.

4) Then comes the persuasive influence of mnemonic irrelevancies ie, the intrusion of private and personal associations.

5) Another is the critical trap called stock responses, based on privately established judgments. These happen when a poem seems to involve views and emotions already fully prepared in the reader’s mind.

6) Sentimentality, ie, excessive emotions

7) inhibition , ie hardness of heart are also perils to understanding poetry.

8) Doctrinal adhesions present another troublesome problem. The views and beliefs about the world contained in poetry could become a fertile source of confusion and erratic judgment.

9) Technical presuppositions too can pose a difficulty. When something has once been done in a certain fashion we tend to expect similar things to be done in the future in the same fashion, and are disappointed or do not recognise them if they are done differently. This is to judge poetry from outside by technical details. We put means before ends.

10 )  Finally, general critical preconceptions resulting from theories about its nature and value come between the reader and the poem.

The objective of Practical Criticism was to encourage students to concentrate on ‘the words on the page’, rather than rely on preconceived or received beliefs about a text. Richards concludes that the critical reading of poetry is an arduous discipline. “The lesson of all criticism is that we have nothing to rely upon in making our choices but ourselves.” The lesson of good poetry, when we have understood it, lies in the degree to which we can order ourselves.   Through close analysis of poems and by responding to the emotion and meaning in them the students were to achieve what Richards called an ‘organized response.’ From this stems Richard’s ‘psychologism’ which is concerned not with the poem per se but with the responses to it.

Poetry and Synaesthesia.

In The Principles of Literary Criticism (1924), Richards establishes the nature and value of poetry. According to him, the science that unearths the secrets of literature is psychology. He first examines the working of the human mind itself to find out a psychological theory of value. He describes the human mind as a system of ‘impulses’, which may be defined as ‘attitudes’ or reactions motivated in us by ‘stimuli’, that culminate in an act. These impulses are conflicting instincts and desires and wants—or ‘appetencies’ as Richards calls them, as opposed to ‘aversions’ — in the human mind. They pull in different directions and cause uneasiness to the human mind which looks to achieve order or poise through the satisfaction of appetencies. The mind experiences a state of poise only when these emotions organize to follow a common course. But with each new experience, the whole system is disturbed and the human mind has to readjust the impulses in a new way to achieve the desired system or poise. To achieve this poise, some impulses are satisfied and some give way to others and are frustrated. The ideal state will be when all the impulses are fully satisfied, but since this is rarely possible, the next best state is when the maximum number of impulses are satisfied and the minimum are frustrated.

The value of art or poetry – and by poetry Richards means all imaginative literature –  is that it enables the mind to achieve this poise or system more quickly and completely than it could do otherwise. In art there is a resolution and balancing of impulses. Poetry is a representation of this uniquely ordered state of mind in which the impulses respond to a stimulus in such a manner that the mind has a life’s experience. The poet records this happy play of impulses on a particular occasion, though much that goes into the making of a poem is unconsciously done. It is to partake of this experience that the true reader reads poetry. Good poetry arouses the same experience in the reader too. Thus, poetry becomes a means by which we can gain emotional balance, mental equilibrium, peace and rest. Poetry organizes our impulses and gives our mind a certain order, renders us happy and makes our minds healthy.  What is true of the individual is also true of society. A society in which arts are freely cultivated exhibits better mental and emotional tranquillity than the societies in which arts are not valued. This moral value of art proceeds from the working of the human mind rather than from any ethical base. Art or poetry is valuable in that it integrates our activities, resolves our mental conflicts and tensions and leads us to a liberated state. Richards calls this harmonized state, this balancing of conflicting impulses “synaesthesis”. It is the simultaneous harmonious experience of diverse sensations and impulses resulting in a fusion of opposites or unification of differences. Synaesthesia is a condition in which one experiences equilibrium of harmonious elements. In the experience of synaesthesis, there is a sense of detachment that is conducive to the formation of a completely coordinated personality.

Two Uses of Language

Richards views the poem as a response to a stimulus, which is located in the reader. But this subjectivism leads him to the conclusion that all poetic language is ambiguous, plurisignant, open to different meanings and so on. In this context, as David Daiches says, Richards investigates what imaginative literature is, how it employs language, how its use of language differs from the scientific use of language and what is its special function and value. Richards in his “Principles of Literary Criticism” expounded a theory of language, and distinguished between the two uses of language – the referential or scientific, and the emotive. A statement may be used for the sake of reference, which may be verified as true or false.  This is the scientific use of language.  But it may also be used for the sake of the effects in emotions and attitudes produced by the reference. This is the emotive or poetic use of language. The poet uses words emotively for the purpose of evoking emotions and attitudes considered valuable by him. For instance, the word ‘fire’ has only one definite scientific reference to a fact in the real world. But when poetry uses it in a phrase such as ‘heart on fire’ the word evokes an emotion – that of excitement. While science makes statements, poetry makes pseudo-statements that cannot be empirically tested and proved true or false. A statement is justified by its truth or its correspondence with the fact it points to. On the other hand, the pseudo statement of poetry is justified in its effect of releasing or organizing our impulses or attitudes. Richards says, “The statements in poetry are there as a means to manipulation and expression of feelings and attitudes.”  Poetry communicates feelings and emotions. Hence, poetic truth is different from scientific truth. It is a matter of emotional belief rather than intellectual belief.  Poetry cannot be expected to provide us with knowledge, nor is there any intellectual doctrine in poetry. Poetry speaks not to the mind but to the impulses. Its speech, literal or figurative, logical or illogical is faithful to its experience as long as it evokes a similar experience in the reader.  Thus, a poem, as Richards defines it, is a class of experiences ‘composed of all experiences, occasioned by the words’ which are similar to ‘the original experience of the poet.’

Four Kinds of Meaning

In Practical Criticism, The Meaning of Meaning and The Philosophy of Rhetoric, Richards advocates a close textual and verbal analysis of poetry. Language is made up of words and hence the study of words is of paramount importance in the understanding of a work of art. Words, according to Richards, communicate four kinds of meaning. Or, the total meaning of a word is a combination of four contributory aspects —Sense, Feeling, Tone, and Intention. Poetry communicates through the interplay of these four types of meanings.

Sense is that which is communicated by the plain literal meanings of the words.  When the writer makes an utterance, he directs his hearers’ attention upon some state of affairs, some items for their thought and consideration. Feeling refers to the feelings of the writer or speaker about these items, about the state of affairs he is referring to. He has an attitude towards it, some special bias, or interest, some personal flavour or colouring of it, and he uses language to express these feelings. In poetry, sense and feeling have a mutual dependence. “The sound of a word has much to do with the feeling it evokes.” Tone means the attitude of the writer towards his readers. The writer or the speaker chooses and arranges the words differently as his audience varies, depending on his relation to them. Besides these,  the speaker’s intention or aim, conscious or unconscious, should also be taken into account. Intention refers to the effect one tries to produce, which modifies one’s expression. It controls the emphasis and shapes the arrangement. ‘It may govern the stress laid upon points in an argument. It controls the ‘plot’ in the larger sense of the word.’ The understanding of all these aspects is part of the whole business of apprehending the meaning of poetry.

Generally sense predominates in the scientific language and feeling in the poetic language. The figurative language used by poets conveys emotions effectively and forcefully. Words also acquire a rich associative value in different contexts. The meaning of words is also determined by rhythm and metre. Just as the eye reading print unconsciously expects the spelling to be as usual, the mind after reading a line or two of verse begins to anticipate the flow of poetry. This anticipation becomes precise when there is regularity of sound created through rhythm and metre.

For the purpose of communication, the use of metaphoric language is all important. “A metaphor is a shift, a carrying over of a word from its normal use to a new use”. Metaphors may be of two kinds : (I) sense-metaphors, and (2) emotive-metaphors. In a sense-metaphor the shift is due to a similarity between the original object and the new one. In an emotive metaphor the shift is due to a similarity between the feelings the new situation and the normal situation arouse. The same word in different contexts may be a sense-metaphor or an emotive one. Metaphor, says Richards, is a method by which the writer can crowd into the poem much more than would be possible otherwise. The metaphorical meaning arises from the inter-relations of sense, tone, feeling and intention. “A metaphor is a point at which many different influences may cross or unite. Hence its dangers in prose discussions and its treacherousness for careless readers of poetry, but hence, at the same time, its peculiar quasi-magical sway in the hands of a master.” In poetry,  I.A. Richards sums up,  statements turn out to be the indirect expressions of Feeling, Tone and Intention.

To sum up in the words of George Watson,  “Richards is simply the most influential theorist of the century, as Eliot is the most influential of descriptive critics.”  Richards’ claim to have pioneered Anglo- American New Criticism of the thirties and forties is unassailable. He provided the theoretical foundations on which the technique of verbal analysis was built. He turned criticism into a science, and considered  knowledge of psychology necessary for literary criticism. He inspired a host of followers, the most notable of whom is William Empson. With him, textual analysis came to dominate academic criticism. This anti-historical criticism became New Criticism. Undoubtedly, Richards is one of its primary founding fathers.

Why the Novel Matters

Why the Novel Matters Summary by D.H.Lawrence

• ·        Introduction
• ·        Why the Novel Matters Summary
• ·        Perception of ‘Being Alive’
• ·        Novelist & Man of Religion
• ·        Novelist & Philosopher
• ·        Novelist & Scientist
• ·        Importance of Novel
• ·        Conclusion

Introduction

Lawrence’s work Why the Novel Matters was published after his death in 1936. The text throws light on the ability of a novel to help human beings reach and realize their potential and fill their life with possibilities that are restricted by Science, philosophy or religion.

Perception of ‘Being Alive’

The author builds the text by highlighting the perception of ‘being alive’. He appreciates every part and particle of a living person and abrogates the excessive importance given to ideas, philosophy, spirit and mind.

Lawrence claims that a novelist is better than a man of science, religion or philosophy because he/she can create characters and their lives and thus understand the true value of life and a living person.

He says that the belief that the mind is more important than other body parts like the fingers when their fingers are as alive as the mind. He calls the assertion that the body is a mere vessel for the mind or soul or spirit as ridiculous and irrational.

According to him, the life extends from depths of the human mind to the extent of fingertips. However, the inanimate objects like pen etc are not alive and require the alive hand to infuse life into the work done by them.

He compares the freckles on the skin and the blood in the human body to the mind that controlling them and calls them equally alive.

Novelist & Man of Religion

The importance of the man alive is understood intricately and profoundly by a novelist than men of Theology. Religion depends on the theory of soul and life after death but the novelist is only thinking about the present moment and life in it.

Novelist & Philosopher

The philosopher talks about spirit and infinite knowledge contained in it but for a novelist it is the living that contains all the understandable knowledge. Everything else is conjecture and speculation.

While for a philosopher, thoughts and ideas are of paramount importance, for a novelist there are mere disturbances and ‘tremulations’ on the ether and are as dead as ether itself.

Any idea is meaningless until it is received and understood by a live person. It does not have a life of its own. Hence, the man alive is much more important than the lifeless ideas and concepts.

Novelist & Scientist

The scientist does not value living beings and wants to analyze it lying dead and motionless under a microscope. To a scientist, a human being is a sum total of its different parts or organs like heart, liver etc. However, a novelist courts the living and believes that all the parts make a greater whole i.e. a superior living being.

Importance of Novel

Now, Lawrence describes the importance of a novel. According to him, a novel is a window to life. But any novel or book is as valuable as thoughts until it is read by a human being. He says that the novel is more important than any other book because it is more impactful and influential.

He enlists the Platonic ideals or Mosaic Ten Commandments etc less significant than a novel because they only attract one part of a living being. He calls Bible a great perplexing novel just like Homeric or Shakespearean literature.

Lawrence feels that a novel is able to provide a stimulating story and diverse characters that make it fluid and dynamic. It celebrates change and discourages absolute statements. There is no ultimate formula which is the true reflection of human beings and their growth and unpredictable actions.

This unpredictability and uncertainty breed intrigue and romance. If there is constancy like found in non-living things it is very difficult to make the bond of love and care.

He believes that a man needs desire and purpose to be alive. Mere existing without a goal is as if a man is dead. Love, companionship, wealth, power etc are all reasons for a man to live and not just exist in a dead life.

Conclusion

In the end, Lawrence believes that a novel acts as a guiding post for a man alive. It mirrors the unpredictable nature of human life and the importance of change.

It foreshadows the changeability of human nature and beliefs. It never postulates absolute right or wrong and knows that they can change with surroundings and circumstances. Thus, a novel can help a man to experience a wholesome life and become a complete man alive and makes the novel important.  

Orientation of Critical Theories M.H. Abrams

Orientation of Critical Theories | M.H. Abrams | Summary and Analysis

The essay ‘Orientation of Critical Theories’ is the first chapter of the book The Mirror and the Lamp by M.H. Abrams. In the book Abrams speaks about the two ways in which literature or literary theories try to interpret the human mind – first the mind as a mirror that reflects the external objects and second as a lamp that throws light at the objects it sees. The first approach is related to the mimetic theories of criticism and the second approach is related to the romantic ideal of the power of the mind to interpret what it sees. In this essay Abrams speaks about how different critical theories tend to display an orientation towards a particular element of a work of art by dividing these theories based upon their orientations.

This essay is divided by Abrams into five parts. The first part deals with the coordinates of art criticism. Abrams says that any critical theory consists of four elements with the help of which they comprehend art. The first element is the work of art and the second element is the artist. The third element is the source of the work, the objects or situations that the work describes or reflects or has some relation to. This is commonly referred to as ‘nature’ but Abrams uses the more inclusive term ‘universe’. The fourth element is the audience. Abrams arranges these four elements in a triangular diagram with the work of art at the centre and the universe, audience and the artist as the three coordinates. He says that any critical theory while dealing with all the four elements shows a significant orientation towards only one of these elements and judges the value of the work by focusing on one element as its principal criteria. Thus all critical theories can be divided into four broad categories depending upon their orientation towards the elements. The first category deals with the importance of the universe in the work of art. The second category deals with the influence of the work on its audience. The third orients towards the artist’s role in the process of creation of the work of art and the fourth category deals with the work as a singular entity. Abrams however says that the four elements vary according to the theories in which they appear.

The second part of the essay deals with mimetic theories. The critical theories that deal with mimesis are oriented towards the universe and its role in the work of art. This theory first appeared in Plato’s Republic. Plato’s theory of mimesis operates upon three categories – the ideal world, the physical world and the world of art. This theory holds that the physical world is an imitation of the Ideal world and art is an imitation of the physical world. Thus art is twice removed from reality. This idea is famously explained by Socrates in the tenth book of the Republic where he says that there are three beds – one the idea of the bed, second a physical bed made by the carpenter who imitates the ideal bed and the third is the bed painted by the artist. The bed of the artist is twice removed from the idea of the bed. Thus according to this theory all works of judged on the basis of their relation to Ideas. Since ideas are considered true and beautiful the distance of art from ideas emphasizes its distance from beauty and truth.

Aristotle’s Poetics is the next great work of criticism with a mimetic orientation. Aristotle defines poetry as imitation. He also distinguishes between different kinds of imitation based on the objects imitated, the manner of imitation, and the medium of imitation. With the help of these distinctions Aristotle is able to separate poetry from other art forms and then make distinctions between different kinds of poetry - epic, drama, tragedy and comedy. Similarly while focusing on tragedy Aristotle breaks it into distinct individual parts - plot, characters, thought, temperament, diction etc. - which constitute the whole. Aristotle's criticism thus not only concerns about art as art but also poetry as poetry, and each kind of poetry according to its individual characteristics. Thus it is seen that Aristotle's criticism also displays a slight orientation towards the work itself. Another characteristic feature of Poetics is that it evaluates art or specifically tragedy based on its effect upon the audience. Thus Aristotle's criticism is very flexible and cannot be easily classified into one form of orientation. Nevertheless the mimetic orientation remains the most prominent in Aristotle's criticism. It is however important to note that Aristotle's criticism does not pay much attention to the role of the poet's individual feelings or emotions in the creation of a work of art. In Poetics the poet appears only to be advised about how plot is to be constructed and how diction is to be chosen. Plato on the other hand considers the poet from the political point of view.

In the third part of the essay Abrams speaks about the theories that display an orientation towards the relationship of the work of art to its audience. Abrams terms these theories as pragmatic theories. Pragmatic theories view the arts as a means of achieving an end and judges the value of art based upon its success in achieving that end. For pragmatic critics poetry is a means to achieve certain responses from its readers. Sir Philip Sidney's ‘An Apology for Poetry’ is the first text that displays pragmatic criticism. According to Sidney the purpose of poetry is to teach and delight. Sidney judges the value of poetry by analyzing its effect upon its audience. He says that poets are different from historians because they communicate what may be or should be rather than what has been or shall be. Sidney raises the poet above philosophers and historians because it is only the poet who is the most successful in communicating with his audience. This is because he combines the fact of the historian and the morals of the philosopher and disguises it in a form that not only teaches but also delights.

The classical theory of rhetoric can be viewed as the origin of pragmatic theories as rhetoric is universally regarded as a powerful instrument of persuasion among an audience. Horace discusses this theory in his work Ars Poetica. Horace advises poets to write poetry with the aim to blend usefulness with pleasure. To teach, to please and to move are the three aesthetic effects to be achieved upon a reader. Pragmatic criticism is mostly concerned with formulating rules, guidelines and methods for achieving the desired effects upon the audience. The rules are often derived from the qualities present in classical literary works which have stood the test of time or from an understanding of psychology. These rules help the artist in the process of creation and the critic in the process of evaluation. Most eighteenth century critics believed in the strength of these rules. Therefore describing and demonstrating rules and guidelines became a popular trend in the critical texts of that time. Richard Hurd's ' Dissertation of the idea of universal poetry ' is another critical text concerning pragmatic criticism. According to Hurd universal poetry is the art whose purpose is to provide the maximum amount of pleasure possible. In order to achieve this effect Hurd proposes three properties - figurative language, fiction and versification. According to Hurd, since the aim of poetry is to gratify the mind of the reader, knowledge of the mind is important while establishing these rules.

Johnson’s "Preface to Shakespeare" is one of the most important texts dealing with pragmatic criticism. Johnson combines the mimetic criteria of evaluation with the aesthetic effects upon the audience in order to judge works of art. Johnson says that Shakespeare holds before his readers a faithful mirror of manner and life. But Johnson also states that the aim of poetry is to instruct as well as please. Therefore the fact that Shakespeare has survived the test of time as a poet whose works are read for little reason other than pleasure is proof that a work of art that truly imitates nature will continue to please its audience for a long time. Shakespeare's ability to hold up a mirror of life to his audience is the major criteria upon which Johnson judges the effect of his works on the audience. Abrams notes that the pragmatic orientation has been the principal aesthetic attitude of western criticism beginning from Horace up to the eighteenth century. However with the development of science and increased knowledge of psychology particularly after the influence of the works of Hobbes and Locke in the seventeen century, the poet and his mental capacities gradually became the focal point of criticism and the orientation of critical theories turned from the audience to the artist.

The fourth part of the essay deals with the critical theories oriented towards the relation between the work and the artist which Abrams calls the expressive theory of art. The expressive orientation is found in the works of Longinus in his discussions of the sublime which according to Longinus has its sources in the poet's thoughts and emotions. However Abrams considers the year 1800 marked by the publication of Wordsworth's Preface to the Lyrical Ballads as the date when the expressive orientation begins to surface in English literary criticism. The expressive theories are a product of the Romantic Movement which emphasized on the power of the poet's mind. According to the expressive theory a work of art is an external manifestation of internal thoughts and feelings. The creative process is a result of the impulses of feeling combined with the poet's thoughts and perceptions which is the primary source of his works. The poet also converts aspects of the external world into poetry with the help of his mind. The poet’s mind therefore is the central point of attention in an expressive theory. The expressive theories evaluate poetry by trying to figure out whether the diction and figures of speech are a natural outcome of the poet's emotions or a deliberate effort. The expressive theory tries to answer the questions of sincerity and authenticity of poetry along with the poem's correspondence to the actual feeling and state of the poet's mind.  The work of art is no longer viewed as a mirror of the universe but as an insight to the poet's mind.

In the fifth and last part of the essay Abrams discusses the objective theories of criticism which isolate a work of art and evaluate it as an independent entity. The orientation of objective theories is thus towards the work of art alone irrespective of its source, artist or audience. One of the early attempts at objective criticism is seen in Aristotle's Poetics. Aristotle tries to analyze tragedy by considering it as an individual whole consisting of parts such as plot and characters. The objective orientation begins to emerge significantly in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Some critics tried to understand a poem as a 'heterocosm' i.e. a whole, independent world complete in itself. This aim of critics to consider a work or poem as a singular element without any external reference is termed by historians as ' art for art's sake'.

Thus it is seen that Abrams divides critical theories into four categories based upon their orientation - first the mimetic theories which orient towards the universe, secondly the pragmatic theories concerning the audience, thirdly the expressive theories focusing on the artist and finally the objective theories revolving around the work of art itself. However towards the end of the essay Abrams returns to Romanticism and its expressive theories. This is because it is during the Romantic period that the critical theories begin to view the mind of the poet not as a mirror of nature but as a 'lamp' which sheds light on its own creation. Abrams' return to Romanticism justifies the purpose of his book where he tries to explain the two ways in which a poet's mind is interpreted- as a mirror and as a lamp.

Technique as Discovery

Technique as Discovery

Mark Schorer believes that technique is the means by which the writer's experience, which is his subject matter, compels him to attend to it; technique is the only means he has of discovering, exploring, developing his subject, of conveying its meaning, and, finally, of evaluating it. Thus, when we speak of technique we speak of nearly everything.

Schorer is very clear from the beginning of the article that only if we apply technique to the subject matter of the novel ,only then it can be called art. Otherwise it is just social experience .“The difference between content, or experience, and achieved content, or art, is technique."
Schorer takes three novelists—H.G. Wells, D. H. Lawrence and James Joyce—as examples to prove his point.

H.G. Wells

H.G.Wells had no great opinion about the importance of technique in fiction. Wells had enormous literary energy, but he had no respect for the techniques of his medium. “I have never taken any very great pains about writing. I am outside the hierarchy of conscious and deliberate writers altogether”, Wells stated. Schorer says that this lack of respect for the medium took its revenge on the works of Wells. Wells was proud to escape from artistic preoccupations by calling himself a journalist. Schorer cryptically comments: “…he escaped—he disappeared from literature into the annals (archives) of an era”.

Modern novelists like James, Conrad and Joyce pays enormous attention to the medium. For them technique is not secondary as Wells thought it to be. The novel like Tono Bungay, which is considered as a master-piece of Wells, flounders through a series of literary imitations—of Dickens, Shaw, Conrad, and Jules Verne— to end as a failure. He gives not a novel but a hypothesis.

D. H. Lawrence

Lawrence had great belief in the therapeutic function of the novel. He said, “One sheds one’s sickness in books, repeats and presents again one’s emotions to be master of them’. “Merely repeating one’s emotions, merely to look into one’s heart and write, is merely to repeat the round of emotional bondage”, says Schorer. If a book should become an exercise in self-analysis, then technique must take the place of the absent analyst.

Lawrence’s failure in his master-piece Sons and Lovers is because of his impatience with technical resources. The novel has two themes—the crippling effects of a mother’s love on the emotional development of a son and the split between two kinds of love, physical and spiritual, which the son develops, the kind represented by two young women, Clara and Miriam. Paul is left at the end ‘drifting towards death’. Yet in the last few sentences of the novel a false note is struck when Lawrence makes Paul turn towards life. This is partly because of Lawrence’s confused ideas about characterization.

Schorer points out that Lawrence’s personal life interferes with the characterization. “Lawrence could not separate the investigating analyst, who must be objective, from Lawrence, the subject of the book; and the sickness was not healed, the emotion not mastered, the novel not perfected”.

James Joyce

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, is also an autobiographical novel like Tono Bungay and Sons and Lovers. The theme is a young artist’s alienation from his environment. The theme is explored and evaluated in three stages as Stephen moves from childhood through boyhood into maturity. A highly self-conscious use of style and method defines the quality of experience in each of these sections. The progress of Stephen’s alienation is complete at the final portion of the novel. In essence his alienation is a denial of the human environment.

Stephen in Ulysses is a little older. The environment of urban life finds a separate embodiment in the character of Bloom, and Bloom is lost as Stephen, though touchingly groping for moorings. Each of the two is weakened by the inability to reach out to the other.

Schorer says, …Ulysses is like a pattern of concentric circles, with the immediate human situation at its centre, this passing on and out to the whole dilemma of modern life, this passing on and out beyond that to a vision of the cosmos, and this to the mythical limits of our experience. If the novel is read with more satisfaction than any other novel of this century, it is because its author held an attitude towards technique and the technical scrutiny of subject matter which enabled him to order, within a single work and with superb coherence, the greatest amount of our experience.