Contributions of I.A. Richards, Cleanth Brooks, and John Crowe Ransom

 

I.A. Richards, Cleanth Brooks, and John Crowe Ransom were pivotal figures in 20th-century literary criticism, each contributes unique methods and approaches that reshaped the field. Their insights largely laid the groundwork for what came to be known as “New Criticism,” which emphasizes a close and careful reading of texts, isolating them from extraneous influences, and considering them as self-contained works of art. 

 

I.A. Richards

 

I.A. Richards is widely regarded as one of the founding figures of modern literary criticism. His work emphasized the importance of how readers respond to texts and introduced several critical concepts:

 

The Concept of Practical Criticism: Richards is perhaps best known for his book Practical Criticism (1929), in which he developed an experimental approach. He gave students a series of poems without the author’s name or context and asked them to analyze the texts purely on their own terms. This method exposed biases and unexamined assumptions readers bring to texts, which promotes a purely objective interpretation.

 

Psychological Approach: In Principles of Literary Criticism (1924) and Science and Poetry (1926), Richards explored how literature affects the reader psychologically. He proposed that poetry fulfills psychological needs by balancing conflicting impulses, a theory based on his belief in the integration of emotion and intellect within the literary experience. This perspective made literary study a way to understand human psychology, not just aesthetics.

 

Close Reading: Richards advocated for close, analytical reading as a means to uncover the nuanced structure of a text, especially its language and imagery. This focus on the text’s internal logic and form laid the foundation for the close reading techniques central to New Criticism, shaping an entire generation of literary study.

 

 

Cleanth Brooks

 

Cleanth Brooks, a key figure in the development of New Criticism, emphasized the organic unity of a text and argued against reading literature as a reflection of historical or biographical factors. His work, alongside Robert Penn Warren, established a distinctive method for interpreting literature:

 

The Well-Wrought Urn: In his influential work The Well-Wrought Urn (1947), Brooks argues that a poem should be seen as a self-contained structure of meaning. He critiques “paraphrase” as a way of simplifying poems into mere summaries of content. Instead, he proposed that poems communicate through an intricate web of language, irony and paradox.

 

Paradox and Irony: Brooks introduced the idea that paradox and irony are central to understanding poetic language. He argued that poetry often holds opposing ideasby producing a rich and complex meaning that reflects the ambiguities and contradictions inherent in life. This approach encouraged readers to focus on how literary techniques (such as metaphor and symbolism) contribute to the poem’s deeper significance.

 

Organic Unity: Brooks believed that all elements of a literary work – themes, symbols, structure, and language – interact harmoniously to create a unified whole. This concept of organic unity suggested that every element of the text contributes to its overarching meaning, an idea that profoundly shaped the way literary analysis approached poems and other literary forms.

 

 

John Crowe Ransom

 

John Crowe Ransom, often considered the father of New Criticism, played a significant role in promoting an objective and formalist approach to literature. His theoretical framework placed him at the heart of this movement:

 

Criticism, Inc.: In his influential essay Criticism, Inc. (1937), Ransom argued for a more scientific and methodical approach to literary criticism. He criticized academic criticism for being overly historical or biographical, advocating instead for a focus on the structure, language, and intrinsic beauty of the work. Ransom’s push for an academically rigorous, objective approach influenced subsequent generations to approach texts as independent, self-sufficient artifacts.

 

The Concept of Structure and Texture: Ransom introduced the distinction between "structure" (the underlying ideas and themes in a text) and "texture" (the specific language, tone, and imagery). He believed that the true richness of literature lies in the texture – the details of its language and style – which gives a text its aesthetic beauty. This approach underscored his commitment to a close reading that paid careful attention to a text’s language.

 

The New Criticism Anthology: Ransom edited The New Criticism (1941), which brought together essays that defined this movement. The anthology established New Criticism as a formal school of thought and provided a framework for analyzing literature in a way that could be widely taught and adopted.