IA Richards The Two Uses of.ppt
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I.A. Richards examines the shortcomings of old criticism, emphasizing the importance of psychology in understanding poetry and its value. He differentiates between symbolic and emotive language, highlighting how poetry reflects human experiences and emotions rather than merely providing factual statements. Richards argues that effective poetic communication relies on the alignment of the poet's experiences with those of the reader, establishing a deep psychological connection.
IA Richards The Two Uses of.ppt
- 1. I.A.Richard
- 2. •I.A. Richards, in this essay examines the lapses of old criticism or discusses what old criticism missed. •‘what kind of activity is poetry and what is its value’ almost untouched. This is due to the absence of the availability of psychological information for the critic. Psychology is ‘the indispensable instrument’ for any inquiry concerning art, because of its influence and impact on the reader and society.
- 3. Richards explains the psychological component in criticism. He writes on the various forms of distinction between the symbolic and the emotive language, as well as that one between statements (conveyed by science), and pseudo-statements (conveyed by poetry, which impresses not through the “truth” it contains, but through its structural coherence).
- 4. Richards’ emphasis on metaphor as a constitutive element of language, and on the determining role of irony and tension in poetry was also extremely influential with the New Criticism. High poetry is characterized, according to him, by a balanced poise - an equilibrium of opposite factors always in a state of tension; irony, for instance, brings them into the poem as contending, complementary impulses.
- 5. Human psychology and poetry •Richard examines the working of human mind to explain the nature of poetry. •There are moments in a man’s life when mind has a life’s experience. •Poetry is a representation of this uniquely ordered state of mind. Poetry is not only verse but all imaginative literature, which is also the product of the same state of mind. •A poet is not conscious of embodying any thought in his work. He records the happy play of impulses on a particular occasion.
- 6. Communication and poetry •A poet makes something which is beautiful in it or satisfying to him personally-something expressive of his emotions or of himself - personal and individual. •The extent to which a work accords with a poet’s experience can be known only by the extent to which it arouses the same experience in reader. If it fails to do so, the experience has not been accurately embodied in the work. •Thus communication becomes inseparable from poetic experience.
- 7. The two uses of language (kind of language poetry uses) Referential or scientific: the way of science in using words. It is the usage of words for the sake of the references. e.g. Using the word ‘fire’ in this way is no more than a reference to a corresponding object in life. Emotive: using words for the sake of attitudes and emotions which ensue. e.g. Word fire may denote ‘with heart on fire’, where ‘on fire’ means ‘in an excited state’. The word stands to evoke an emotion.
- 8. ‘statements’ (in science) A statement says something and ‘is justified by its truth’. It can always be verified by a reference to its original, outside it. ‘pseudo-statements’ (in poetry) The statement is not literally true. Therefore, in the normal sense of a word, a pseudo-statement says nothing at all. Poetry speaks not to the mind but to the impulses. Experience results from the play of impulses The mind unconsciously decides which impulses are valuable for it should therefore be satisfied to the full, and which are not valuable and should therefore be suppressed.
- 9. Two Kind of Impulses Appetencies: Hunger. e.g. Eating, drinking etc Aversions: desires and dislikes. The normal satisfaction of the impulses therefore is involved in almost all the greatest goods of life.
- 10. The language of criticism •Criticism uses the language of science. The making of literature is a scientifically analyzable activity. •There is a clearly definable reason for every aspects of literature. •Through a serious scientific exploration, ‘mysteries’ of literary art will be mysteries no more. •Psychology can unearth the secrets of literature is psychology.