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Literary
criticism |
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Literary criticism goes back to the Greeks,
the T'ang
Dynasty and the early
Hindu kingdoms. It was part of the human desire to know
how things work, and is required even
more today, given our overabundance of choice. What
does critiquing do? Criticism is not
reviewing, nor is it independent of cultural
context. To critique a poem is to apply literary criticism,
and literary criticism has several ends: to understand what's
been written, to say how good it is, and to choose between
possible renderings. All are needed by the poet, and there
is the added complication of very
different aims and methods. Criticism frays into literary
theory,
therefore, and thence into aesthetics
— neither of which is easy reading. |
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Critiquing your work |
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Most poets want to be published, but not
necessarily critiqued, which is often viewed as invasive
and disputable.
Literary criticism is indeed as varied as the genres it
attempts to cover, and tutors often resort to aide-memoires,
guidelines
or tips.
Nonetheless, poetry needs to be written
well, and much advice is simple commonsense.
But where to find it? Bulletin boards
will provide immediate feedback, but are not
for everyone. Try therefore the listings under Criticism
panel. Also these examples of literary criticism/ critiquing:
Scott
Reid, critiquing
model, plagiarist,
crossroads
online, electronic
poetry review, atlantic
online, criticism
& theory section of interviews with poets, contemporary
poetry review, hamiltonious,
voice of the
shuttle, and poetymagic.
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Critiquing: some suggestions |
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Find
existing services unhelpful? No
local writing group? Perhaps you should start your own
circle, adopting sensible guidelines,
and remembering that criticism has to be objective
and incorporate both positive
and negative appraisals. You may even devise a mission
statement, or join
a union if you hope to be paid for your efforts. Many
hosting companies
allow you to protect directories, ensuring that only invited
members participate, or supply a bulletin
board for mediated participation. Possibilities are endless,
but don't underestimate the time involved: the internet is
littered with failed poetry ventures. |
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Literary criticism: resources |
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The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
(1993), provides excellent introductions to literary criticism
and theory, plus bibilographies. You may also want to consult:
C. Belsey's Critical Practice (1980), C. Bendient's
Eight Contemporary Poets (1974), C. Brook's The
Well-Wrought Urn (1947), C. Butler and A. Fowler's Topics
in Criticism (1971), O.Hanfling's Philosophical Aesthetics:
An Introduction (1992), D. Gioia's Can Poetry Matter?
(1992), C. Rick's The Force of Poetry (1987), R.
Selden's The Cambridge History of Literary Criticism:
Volume 8 (1995), L. Tyson's Critical Theory Today:
A User-Friendly Guide (1998), B. Wallace's Writing
Poems (1987) and G. Watson's The Literary Critics
(1986). The
Criticism panel lists bulletin boards, critiquing
services, literary reviews and some general sites for literary
theory and criticism.
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