# I don't get it: Why does literary criticism exist? Why do we need it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 12, 2011, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-it-why-does-literary-criticism-exist-why-do-we-need-it/567379 "2011-01-12T19:53:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_Wikipedia_Cites)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2011, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-it-why-does-literary-criticism-exist-why-do-we-need-it/567379/1 "2011-01-12T19:53:38Z")
Example: I read the poem, _Ode on a Grecian Urn_ by Keats. Then a search found out some “[SparkNotes](http://www.sparknotes.com/poetry/keats/section4.rhtml)” that offer literary criticism (I am defining criticism as viewing something and examining it, not necessarily hostility). Or maybe this site is just analysis? Whichever, it examines the poem. _Themes: The speaker attempts three times to engage with scenes carved into the urn; each time he asks different questions of it. In the first stanza, he examines the picture of the “mad pursuit” and wonders what actual story lies behind the picture: “What men or gods are these? What maidens loth?” Of course, the urn can never tell him the whos, whats, whens, and wheres of the stories it depicts, and the speaker is forced to abandon this line of questioning._ Ok, who would not understand that anyway by reading the poem? Of course the vase doesn’t respond with language. I dont get it; why do we need commentary on poems? Why not just read them? I ain’t no literary genius but I dont get how anyone would read sparknotes and suddenly “get it” when before they were too dense to comprehend it. It’s just an ode about a piece of pottery, why write more about it now? ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2011, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-it-why-does-literary-criticism-exist-why-do-we-need-it/567379/2 "2011-01-12T19:58:54Z")
Remember that not all criticism is good criticism. Talking about complicated things with other people is fulfilling. Why do people talk about what happened in a football game? Any idiot can see the game. But through discussion, we find a fuller, more complete, more sophisticated picture. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2011, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-it-why-does-literary-criticism-exist-why-do-we-need-it/567379/3 "2011-01-12T20:01:23Z")
I’m glad that somebody does it, but when you’re in a graduate program in literature it sure seems like there are waaaaaay too many people who do it. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2011, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-it-why-does-literary-criticism-exist-why-do-we-need-it/567379/4 "2011-01-12T20:07:24Z")
I thought the purpose of literary criticism was to help people become better writers. Am I wrong? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2011, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-it-why-does-literary-criticism-exist-why-do-we-need-it/567379/5 "2011-01-12T20:25:14Z")
There are two kinds of literary criticism which I find useless: 1. That which tells me what I already see. 2. That which tells me what I do not see. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2011, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-it-why-does-literary-criticism-exist-why-do-we-need-it/567379/6 "2011-01-12T20:32:42Z")
It occurs to me that the best way to answer the OP is to provide one or more examples of really good literary criticism, examples that really do help us more deeply undertstand and appreciate the works they criticize. Anybody got any suggestions? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2011, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-it-why-does-literary-criticism-exist-why-do-we-need-it/567379/7 "2011-01-12T20:52:28Z")
I’ve seen criticism that points out flaws in the works they’re discussing (e.g., [Fenimore Cooper’s Literary Offenses](http://etext.virginia.edu/railton/projects/rissetto/offense.html)) and can think of a few college lectures that gave me a better understanding of what the author was doing (e.g., a professor’s comments on **Invisible Man** , which showed a lot of things I had missed). A good bit of literary criticism can take a poem and point out things that aren’t obvious when reading it cold. These can be literary allusions, or references to the author’s personal life, or particular rhymes or rhythms that enhance to the poem’s meaning. Sparknotes is not a good example; they do unsophisticated criticism for high school age students (who might miss the obvious). More serious criticism can be very useful, but, like anything else, there is good criticism and bad. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2011, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-it-why-does-literary-criticism-exist-why-do-we-need-it/567379/8 "2011-01-12T20:53:16Z")
I often tell people that the most important thing I learned in college was how to read. I was a voracious reader before college, but the large number of literature courses that I took in college brought my understanding to a whole new level. There were any number of books (_Moby Dick_, _Tess of the D’Urbervilles_, _The Great Gatsby_) that I had read before, either on my own or as part of a high school class, that took on a whole new meaning and richness for me after I had studied them in college with a deeper level insight into their context and meaning. My favorite example is _Tess_ – I hated it in high school, and never felt that I really understood it at all. In college I still didn’t like it, but I understood it well enough to appreciate it and to go on to become obsessed with reading all of Thomas Hardy. Before college and my exposure to literary criticism, I always enjoyed reading and felt that I was getting a lot out of the books I read. But once I had seriously studied literature, it was like my understanding and appreciation expanded exponentially. It’s hard to cite a specific example of a criticism that brought a work to life for me, I just know that all of my subsequent reading has been vastly enriched by learning how to read beyond the specific content of a book. ---
**Author:** ![Flipshod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f19dbf/32.png) [@Flipshod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flipshod)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2011, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-it-why-does-literary-criticism-exist-why-do-we-need-it/567379/9 "2011-01-12T21:21:08Z")
So much literary criticism is crap, I almost voted no, but it does show you how you can look deeper into literature, and of course, it is the vehicle by which English professors and critical theorists differentiate themselves. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2011, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-it-why-does-literary-criticism-exist-why-do-we-need-it/567379/10 "2011-01-12T21:23:51Z")
Here’s how the introduction of my book on aesthetics puts it: > [@](#): > > “That was good!” > > That’s where critical theory begins. We play a game, or read a book, or look at a painting, and we realize that the experience was superior in some way. It was more fun than other games, or more moving than other books, or more beautiful than other paintings. There was something about the design, or the execution, or the subject matter, or the … we don’t know what … that made it better, richer, more powerful … more more. > > And, for many people, that’s also where critical theory ends. They like what they like. The movie was entertaining … that’s enough! Why bother with picking it apart, and twisting it around, and stretching it into odd shapes? Why should we be interested in trying to fit an aesthetic experience into some abstract frame? Can’t we just enjoy it as pure sensation, the way we might enjoy a sunset or a cool breeze? > > Two reasons. > > The first is this: Works of art don’t appear spontaneously out of the ether. They’re crafted by human beings. While it’s possible to accidentally create a great work of art by randomly trying one thing after another, it’s a horribly inefficient way to work. Most artists focus their efforts, drawing on their own internal aesthetic frame to provide structure to their choices. When we articulate a new critical theory, we’re creating an aesthetic frame that can be used to structure the creative process in new and interesting ways. > > For example, consider the evolution of the cut in cinema. Cuts originally arose as the accidental result of early filmmakers crudely splicing together two different shots. But it didn’t take long for them to realize that cuts could be used to trigger dramatic effects that were impossible with traditional theatrical staging. Images could be juxtaposed in meaningful ways, or the flow of the narrative could be slowed down or sped up. Eventually these techniques evolved into a “grammar of cuts”, an aesthetic frame that new filmmakers can learn and work within. Now when you’re at the movies and experience a powerful cut from one scene to another, it’s almost certainly not the result of a random accident in the editing room, but a deliberate effect created by the film’s editor. > > The second reason that critical theory is important is because it expands how we personally experience art. We each have our own aesthetic frame that we’ve built up since childhood through our day-to-day interactions with nature and culture. When we say “That’s good!” we’re making that judgment within the constraints of our frame. But there are many, many possible frames. Once we’re aware of this, we can consciously swap frames the way a photographer swaps lenses. Each frame provides a different perspective. Instead of a single way of experiencing an artwork, we now have a multitude. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2011, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-it-why-does-literary-criticism-exist-why-do-we-need-it/567379/11 "2011-01-12T21:33:42Z")
Martin Gardner’s “The Annotated Alice” is probably the most immediate example of really good criticism. The book is enjoyable as a story, but you can appreciate it on a much deeper level after reading Gardner’s notes. ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2011, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-it-why-does-literary-criticism-exist-why-do-we-need-it/567379/12 "2011-01-12T23:24:25Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > It occurs to me that the best way to answer the OP is to provide one or more examples of really good literary criticism, examples that really do help us more deeply undertstand and appreciate the works they criticize. Anybody got any suggestions? [Criticism of _Pickwick Papers_](http://www.dickens-literature.com/Appreciations_and_Criticisms_by_G.K_Chesterton/2.html) [Criticism of \* Midsummer Night’s Dream\*](http://www.gkc.org.uk/gkc/books/midsummer_nights_dream.html) [Introduction to the Book of Job](http://www.gkc.org.uk/gkc/books/job.html) I do, in fact, lean towards agreement with **Sassyfras**. I find most literary criticism to be a waste of time and in some cases it can even decrease enjoyment of the word in question. But these three examples are brilliant. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2011, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-it-why-does-literary-criticism-exist-why-do-we-need-it/567379/13 "2011-01-12T23:34:42Z")
I especially like literary criticism that provides background information on the author and the place and times he lived in. Or that comments on the structure of the story, language use, or the comparison of themes in different works. I’d really like to read something about the use of hope in Going Postal. And complaining about SparkNotes stating the obvious missing the obvious thing about SparkNotes. Dispite what it may claim, it’s intended for people who aren’t going to read the poem or book in question. They’ve been assigned a report to write and they’re reading SparkNotes instead. ---
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2011, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-it-why-does-literary-criticism-exist-why-do-we-need-it/567379/14 "2011-01-12T23:49:32Z")
Not by a strict definition _literary_, but I’ve enjoyed most of the annotated information and literary criticisms of Tolkien’s work. The “silly elvish poems” or strange names and languages are a lot more interesting and fascinating when you know how much effort and linguistic skill went into presenting the illusion of different cultures through time. I still don’t really like the poems and songs, but I can appreciate them more for the workmanship, even if I don’t appreciate the art style. That said, SparkNotes and Cliff’s Notes are not my idea of actual literary criticism - they’re shorthand infodumps for high schoolers (and perhaps some undergrads) who either didn’t read the text in the first place, or didn’t care enough to pay attention to it. (One exception - a friend of mine who is French and came over in high school said that SparkNotes were the best resource for explaining the basics of all the cultural and literary background she was supposed to be getting from a text. Everything else was a little too “meta” and she simply wanted to be sure of what she was reading, and have it put into a basic cultural sense. So, there is that.) ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2011, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-it-why-does-literary-criticism-exist-why-do-we-need-it/567379/15 "2011-01-13T00:23:16Z")
Sparknotes are not serious literary criticism, sparknotes are cheat sheets for high school students. The reason the things they say are obvious to anyone who has read the work is that they are aimed at an audience who hasn’t, but wants to seem as though they had. ETA: Sorry I only read the Sparknotes version of the thread which didn’t mention **Lasciel’s** last post. ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2011, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-it-why-does-literary-criticism-exist-why-do-we-need-it/567379/16 "2011-01-13T01:05:53Z")
I do think literary criticism has gotten out of hand in some ways - in grad school I feel like we read more papers about books than actual books. But it’s interesting to read different interpretations of a single text - one of my favorite examples of literary criticism is _The Madwoman in the Attic_ - their chapter comparing Frankenstein to Paradise Lost was fascinating and something I never would have seen on my own. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2011, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-it-why-does-literary-criticism-exist-why-do-we-need-it/567379/17 "2011-01-13T01:12:24Z")
I think **Manda JO** nailed it in the first response. We do this with all sorts of things in society (Does the election of Barack Obama signal a post-racial world?), whether it be movies (Which half of Full Metal Jacket do you like more, the side the glamorizes war or the side that deconstructs it? Why?) or TV (What’s your take on the final ending of The Sopranos or LOST?) or sports (Should they have gone for it on fourth and goal with that much time left on the clock?). I don’t necessarily buy into books taking more mental faculties to ingest. There are multiple criticisms of many well-known books, and sometimes people get exposed to an odd one or one they clearly don’t/can’t/fail to see, then write the rest of literary criticism off as well. Literary criticism is a little more in depth version of a book club, except it’s a paper version and it’s you only hearing about the writer of that paper’s viewpoint of that particular work. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2011, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-it-why-does-literary-criticism-exist-why-do-we-need-it/567379/18 "2011-01-13T01:45:00Z")
In 1958, Theodore Sturgeon wrote: > [@](#): > > "I repeat Sturgeon’s Revelation, which was wrung out of me after twenty years of wearying defense of science fiction against attacks of people who used the worst examples of the field for ammunition, and whose conclusion was that ninety percent of sf is crud. > > "The Revelation: Ninety percent of everything is crud. > > "Corollary 1: The existence of immense quantities of trash in science fiction is admitted and it is regrettable; but it is no more unnatural than the existence of trash anywhere. > > “Corollary 2: The best science fiction is as good as the best fiction in any field.” It is wonderful irony to replace the words “science fiction” with “literary criticism” but it works perfectly. Literary criticism is not _a_ thing, anymore than science fiction is _a_ thing. Both include hundreds of thousands of individual examples over centuries of time, written for every possible purpose under the sun. Beats me how anyone can say anything about the whole. Literary criticism exists because people love literature. You talk about the subjects that mean most to you, the ones you invest the most time in, the ones that obsess your mind so that you have to make your thoughts known. Good literary criticism comes from the people who are the most knowledgeable about their subject, who have thought most deeply about it, who have the depth and width of experience to put an individual piece in context and perspective. As with any other subject under the sun, the words of the most knowledgeable experts are a pleasure because they deepen your understanding of and connection to that subject. And there’s also bad literary criticism. To which I say, so what? Ninety percent of everything is crud.\* - There’s been a long-standing debate over whether Sturgeon originally said “Ninety percent of everything is crap” and then bowlerized it for print. I once got the chance to ask him the question directly and he said no. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2011, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-it-why-does-literary-criticism-exist-why-do-we-need-it/567379/19 "2011-01-13T02:06:14Z")
What’s the point of reading if you’re not going to analyze it? I’m serious. I don’t find any pleasure in television, movies, or books without analysis. It’s not just figuring out what that _one piece_ is “about” or what the “themes” are. It’s about _how_ the human condition is experienced, conveyed, and interpreted. It’s about the conscious decisions that drive a work, and the unconscious ones, and our own perceptions, baggage, and fears. It’s about solving a mystery. What does Sherlock Holmes do if not analyze texts? No, he doesn’t read literature for clues, but we’re surrounded by texts (I know, a very postmodern view of the world). Why do people study the Bible? Why is there a religion? Why does anybody bother to discuss music? Why do people dissect football games? Because it’s meaning, and that’s what the human brain is programmed to find. Patterns and a purpose to this whole ridiculous existence. It’s a conversation between creator, text, and reader, and who doesn’t enjoy an interesting conversation? ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2011, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-it-why-does-literary-criticism-exist-why-do-we-need-it/567379/20 "2011-01-13T02:07:16Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > . . . It is wonderful irony to replace the words “science fiction” with “literary criticism” but it works perfectly. . . Yes it is. And I’m glad you did it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-it-why-does-literary-criticism-exist-why-do-we-need-it/567379.md?page=2)