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Qualities of an Ideal Critic

A critic must be mentally alert, insightful, and able to see things objectively without bias. They should not let their own preferences influence their judgment. A critic needs specialized knowledge and disciplined thinking to properly interpret works. Their analysis is most trustworthy when focused on illuminating an author's excellencies rather than faults, and communicating the work's meaningful and lasting qualities to readers. Effective criticism requires a critic to deeply engage with a work and support their perspectives using evidence from the text.

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1K views8 pages

Qualities of an Ideal Critic

A critic must be mentally alert, insightful, and able to see things objectively without bias. They should not let their own preferences influence their judgment. A critic needs specialized knowledge and disciplined thinking to properly interpret works. Their analysis is most trustworthy when focused on illuminating an author's excellencies rather than faults, and communicating the work's meaningful and lasting qualities to readers. Effective criticism requires a critic to deeply engage with a work and support their perspectives using evidence from the text.

Uploaded by

Ali haider
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Qualifications of a Critic

Dr Farida Panhwar
Institute of English Language & Literature
University of Sindh, Pakistan
Qualifications of a Critic
 The true critic must be mentally alert and
flexible, keen in insight, quick in response to
all impressions, strong in grasp of essentials ;
he must be able to see a thing as it really is,
and not as it should be.
 He should not consider his own
idiosyncracies (‫ )انفرادی مزاج‬and prepossessions
(‫ ;)دلکش‬which means that he must be entirely
disinterested and free from bias of all kinds—
bias of individual tastes, bias of education,
bias of creed, sect, party, class, nation.
Qualifications of a Critic
A critic’s attitude to his author
will often rendered wholly untrust­
worthy & prejudice.
 A striking illustration is afforded

by  Coleridge, for his ‘subjective’


treatment of Shakespeare where
he is giving us his [Coleridge’s]
philosophy, not Shakespeare’s.
Qualifications of a Critic
 For the critic a special education of acquisition
of knowledge and discipline of minds important
.
 The critic needs knowledge to provide a proper

basis for his judgment.


 He needs discipline of mind to make that

knowledge serviceable.
 Other things being equal, his competence as

interpreter and judge will be in proportion to his


knowledge and discipline ; and if these are
lacking, his opinions, however interesting and
suggestive, will carry little weight.
Qualifications of a Critic
A critic may write with an honest
desire to understand author, to
interpret & do justice; or critic may
be exhibiting his own learning at
his author’s expense; he may be
sympathetic or determined to hunt
out faults and dwell on failings, he
must at least acknowledge that its
tone is admirable.  
Qualifications of a Critic
A true critic ought to seek rather excellencies
than imperfections.
 He regarded it as his principal duty to discover

the concealed beauties of a writer, and


communicate to the world such things as are
worth their observation.
 His purpose is to penetrate into the heart of the

book; to disengage the qualities of power and


beauty; to distinguish what is temporary and
what is permanent in it.
Qualifications of a Critic
 Furthermore, to analyse and formulate its
meaning & examine the moral principles in it
and observe whether author was conscious
about it or not.
 Thus what is merely implicit in author’s work

he makes explicit.
 For that a critic must fix his attention to the

book and elucidate his points by systematic


references to the other work of the same
writer.
Qualifications of a Critic
 He may go further and compare it with other
writers and seeks his clue in the principles of
historical interpretations.

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