| Summary: | The thesis covers the critical theories of eight
English critics of the nineteenth century: Wordsworth,
Coleridge, Lamb, Hazlitt, De Quincey, Arnold, Pater, and
Wilde. I have first defined the personal estimate as
"that estimate of art in which the nature of the critic
as an individual man has influenced his judgment.” I
recognize that all criticism mast have something of the
personal estimate in it, hut the true critic will, as
much as possible, cleanse his criticism of it in order to
reveal the nature of the work of art as in itself it really
is. I have then analyzed the theories of Wordsworth and
Coleridge in order to indicate that the basis on which
they established Romantic criticism is one of personal
emotion-first in the poet, and then in the reader and personal pleasure. In the theories of Lamb, Hazlitt,
and De Quincey I have traced the development of impressionism
in Romantic criticism, and the degree to which
that impressionism leads these three men to a personal
estimate of literature. In Arnold's theories I have
analyzed his concept of poetry as a criticism of life,
and indicated the way in which that concept leads Arnold
to a recognition that although the critic must first feel
the emotional effects of poetry, his ultimate aim must be
to see the object as in itself it really is. I have then
turned to the theories of Pater and suggested that although he bases his theories on impressions he recognizes that
the experiencing of impressions alone is not the critic's
sole aim: the critic must contemplate his impressions in
order to arrive at a perception of the essence of a work,
and, in the case of a great work of art, a perception of
the ideals of life which it embodies. And I have last
considered the theories of Wilde who also builds on impressions,
but believes the end of criticism to be like
poetry itself the communication of one man's emotional
response, in this case the critic's response to a work of
art: whether or not that response represents a balanced
appreciation of the work itself does not matter.
From the survey of the theories of these eight men I
have arrived at the conclusion that all follow the right
path when they recognize the importance of the personal
response in criticism. Some, however, lose sight of
their duty as critics when they allow their own experience
of life to colour their response and offer a purely personal
estimate of a work as criticism. The greatest of
the eight - Wordsworth, Coleridge, and Arnold - recognize
that in criticism we must see the poet's poem and not
our own. Only by doing so can we arrive at a real estimate. === Arts, Faculty of === English, Department of === Graduate
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