Literary
Criticism and Philosophy
- F. R.
Leavis
The essay ‘Literary
Criticism and Philosophy’ was first published in 1937. It was a response to
Wellek’s suggestion that Leavis should spell out the theoretical basis of his
criticism. After reviewing ‘Revaluation’ (This is the first essay written by
Leavis on Poetry) Dr. Wellek wrote,
“Allow me to
sketch your ideal of poetry, your “norm” with which you measure every poet...
Your poetry must be in serious relation to actuality, it must have a form to
grip on actual; It must be in relation to life, it must not be cut off from
‘direct vulgar living’, it should be
normally human testifying to spiritual health, it should not be personal in the
sense, personal dreams and fantasies, there should be no emotion for its own
sake in it, but a sharp concrete realization, The language of poetry should not
be cut off from speech, should not flatter, should not be merely mellifluous. I
would ask you to define this position more abstractly”
- Wellek has provided a good
summary of Leavis’s assumptions derived from his critical practices.
- In his reply Leavis expresses his view on the disciplines of the
literary criticism and pleads that by making precise discriminations, he has
advanced the theory. According to Leavis,
“Literary
criticism is a distinct and separate discipline which is quite different from
Philosophy and its abstract speculation”
- The reading demanded by poetry is of a different kind than demanded by
philosophy. The critic is the ideal reader of poetry. The critic is concerned
with evaluation but judgement is not a question of applying an external norm.
The critic’s aim should be to realize as completely and as sensitively as possible
the experience that is given in the words.
- According to him (Leavis) the business of the literary critic is to
attain a peculiar completeness of response. A critic should observe a strict
relevance in developing a response into commentary and guard against premature
generalizing.
- Leavis defends his practice by pointing out that his critical
assumptions are implicit in his work.
“If I avoided
such generalities it was because they seemed to clumsy to be of any use, I
thought I had provided something better.”
- He feels that the best way of presenting theoretical criticism through
principles is to show them at work in practical criticism.
- He believes in working in terms of concrete judgement and particular
analysis. Leavis thinks of criticism as a co-operative effort in terms of
discussing the text with fellow critic.
- His method to quote him,
“This doesn’t
it?
Bears such a
relation to that; this kind of things, don’t you find it so weird better than
that etc.”
- To reduce his principals to abstract statement would be to take away
the charm and make them clumsy and inadequate.
- Leavis wrote that he believes in demonstrating his critical principles
and not in stating them.
“I do not
argue in general terms that there should be criticism for its own sake, no mere
generous, emotionally, no luxury in pain and joy, but by choice argument and
analysis of concrete examples by given those phrases precision of meaning that
they couldn’t have in any other way....”
- This is how he tried to advance the theory, yet we can say that his
own way Leavis tries to offer a theory and assumption which guides his
judgement of poets and novelists and that it should be nearest to a frame work
even if they cannot be abstracted into a philosophical theory.
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