Understanding Practical Criticism with examples

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What is Practical Criticism?

Practical criticism is a method of analyzing and interpreting a literary text without knowing anything about the author, historical background, or context. You read the text as it is and form your opinion based only on what is written in the text.

This approach was developed by I.A. Richards in the 1920s to help students understand poetry better. He gave them anonymous poems (no author name, no background info) and asked them to analyze the poems just by reading and thinking about the words, tone, and style.

🟢 Key Features of Practical Criticism:

  • Focus only on the words in the text.
  • No need for author biography or historical knowledge.
  • Look at the language, style, imagery, tone, and structure.
  • You become a kind of detective, finding meaning in the text itself.

🟩 Example 1: A Short Poem

Let’s take a simple 2-line poem:

"So dawn goes down to day,
Nothing gold can stay."
—Robert Frost

Practical Criticism Approach:

  • Theme: The poem is about the loss of beauty or innocence.
  • Tone: It feels sad or melancholic.
  • Language: “Dawn” and “gold” are symbols of something beautiful and pure.
  • Message: Good or golden moments don’t last forever.

We are not discussing who Frost is or when he wrote it—we are only focusing on what the words say and mean.

🟩 Example 2: A Simple Line

“I wandered lonely as a cloud.”
—William Wordsworth

Practical Criticism Approach:

  • Imagery: A person wandering like a cloud creates a visual of someone drifting freely.
  • Tone: It feels calm, peaceful, a little lonely but gentle.
  • Meaning: The speaker may feel disconnected from others, but there is beauty in this wandering.

Again, we’re not talking about Wordsworth’s life or Romanticism here. Just the line and its feeling.

🟩 How is it Useful?

  • It teaches us to read carefully.
  • Helps us understand the deeper meaning hidden in the words.
  • Makes us better critics because we are not relying on outside information.

🟢 Summary:

Practical criticism is like listening to someone’s speech without knowing who they are. You just pay attention to what they say, how they say it, and what effect it has on you. It trains your mind to become a sensitive, thoughtful, and fair reader.


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