Literary Criticism 2 - Practice Flashcards

Comprehensive set of 100 question-and-answer flashcards covering Neoclassicism, John Dryden, Dr. Samuel Johnson, Romanticism, William Wordsworth, S.T. Coleridge, P.B. Shelley, and John Keats based on the lecture transcript.

What were the primary reasons for the rise of Neoclassicism?

A revolt against the excesses of the Metaphysicals in favour of order and balance, the influence of French classicism patronized by Charles II, and the rise of the scientific spirit and new philosophy (Hobbes, Royal Society) emphasizing rationalism, clarity, and simplicity.

Why was the 18th century referred to as the "Augustan Age" according to Dr. Samuel Johnson?

Because the 18th century was considered to be as brilliant and glorious as the age of Augustus Caesar in Rome.

What are the two distinct phases of Neoclassicism mentioned in the lecture notes?

The Age of Dryden (liberal and moderate) and the Age of Johnson, Pope, and Addison (narrow, slavish, and stringent).

According to Neoclassical criticism, what does it mean to "follow nature"?

To be true to reality and true to type, reflecting universal human nature as well as divine power, order, and harmony.

What is the primary function of poetry according to Neoclassical criticism?

To instruct and delight.

What was the Neoclassical view on rhyme versus blank verse?

It emphasized the comparative superiority of rhyme over blank verse.

Who is recognized as the founder of modern English prose style?

John Dryden.

Which work by John Dryden serves as a preface to his translation of Juvenal's Satires?

Essay on Satire.

To which literary work was John Dryden's Essay on Heroic Tragedy prefixed?

The Conquest of Granada.

Who referred to John Dryden as the "Father of English criticism"?

Dr. Samuel Johnson.

What did Dr. Samuel Johnson state John Dryden taught us regarding literary compositions?

He stated that Dryden "taught us to determine upon principles the merit of composition".

How did John Dryden differ from earlier critics like Ben Jonson and Sir Philip Sidney?

Dryden was anti-dogmatic and sceptical, practicing descriptive criticism; unlike Jonson and Sidney, he did not lay down rules but discovered rules.

What is considered the 1st critical analysis of a literary work in English?

John Dryden's critical analysis of Ben Jonson's play The Silent Woman.

John Dryden was a pioneer of which three specific approaches to literary criticism?

Historical criticism, comparative criticism, and liberal classicism.

What is John Dryden's Essay on Fables?

A preface to his translations of works from Ovid, Homer, Boccaccio, and Chaucer.

Which specific authors are compared in John Dryden's Essay on Fables?

Chaucer is compared to Ovid and Boccaccio, and Homer is compared to Virgil.

How does John Dryden describe Geoffrey Chaucer's wisdom in Essay on Fables?

As "a perpetual fountain of good sense; learned in all sciences, and therefore speaks properly on all subjects."

What famous phrase does John Dryden use to describe the rich variety of character in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales?

"Here's God's plenty".

How did John Dryden view Geoffrey Chaucer's language and versification?

He considered Chaucer a rough diamond that should be refined and polished.

What occasion prompted John Dryden to write Essay on Dramatic Poesy (1668)?

Unfavourable comments on the English stage and science by a Frenchman named Sorbiere, and a public debate with Sir Robert Howard over the use of rhyme in drama.

In what form is John Dryden's Essay on Dramatic Poesy written?

As a dialogue in the manner of Plato's Republic.

What three major superiorities does Essay on Dramatic Poesy seek to demonstrate?

The superiority of moderns over ancients, Restoration English dramatists over past generations and European dramatists, and rhyme over blank verse for dramatic purposes.

In Essay on Dramatic Poesy, which character represents Sir Robert Howard and what view does he expound?

Crites; he stands for the ancients, expounds the extreme classical view, and attacks rhyme violently.

In Essay on Dramatic Poesy, who does Eugenius represent, and what is his argument?

He represents Charles Sackville; he advocates for the moderns, arguing they have the advantage of experience and ancient rules, while ancient plays neither delight nor instruct.

In Essay on Dramatic Poesy, which real-life person does Lisideius represent, and what does he advocate?

He represents Charles Sedley; he advocates the superiority of French plays, upholding the three unities and the use of rhyme.

How does Lisideius define a play in Essay on Dramatic Poesy?

"A just and lively image of human nature, representing its passions and humours, and the changes of fortune to which it is subject, for the delight and instruction of mankind."

In Essay on Dramatic Poesy, which character represents John Dryden himself?

Neander.

What is Neander's stance regarding French drama versus English drama?

Neander advocates the superiority of English plays over French ones, citing that English plays display a richness of humour and variety, whereas French plots lack variety and feature long speeches unsuited to English audiences.

What is Neander's famous statement comparing Ben Jonson and William Shakespeare?

"I admire him (Jonson); but I love Shakespeare".

How does Neander characterize Shakespeare's soul and learning?

He stated that "Shakespeare had the largest and the most comprehensive soul. He was naturally learned, not through books but by the reading of nature and all her images".

How does Neander compare Shakespeare and Jonson to classical Latin poets?

Shakespeare was the Homer, or father of dramatic poets; Jonson was the Vergil, the pattern of elaborate writing.

How does John Dryden defend tragi-comedy in Essay on Dramatic Poesy?

He argues that contraries (tragic and comic) set off each other, comic scenes refresh and relieve, compassion and mirth coexist in nature, and tragi-comedy is a new way of writing unknown to the Ancients.

Why does John Dryden defend rhyme over blank verse for tragedy?

Blank verse is merely poetic prose, whereas rhymed verse made to look natural is sweet, suitable for tragedy, liked by the nobility, and serves as an aid to judgement.

According to John Dryden's defence of rhyme, whose judgment alone counts?

The nobility.

What central conflict characterized the 18th century during Dr. Samuel Johnson's era?

The conflict between Reason and Emotion.

From where did Dr. Samuel Johnson derive his principles of critical judgment?

Not from books, but from reason and his experience of life.

Name four major critical works by Dr. Samuel Johnson.

Preface to the Dictionary, Preface to Shakespeare, Lives of the Poets, and Essays and Articles.

How many critical prefaces are collected in Dr. Samuel Johnson's Lives of the Poets (1781)?

52 critical prefaces.

Lives of the Poets is considered a pioneering work in which field of criticism?

Biographical criticism.

Which specific poems and poets were criticized by Dr. Samuel Johnson in Lives of the Poets?

He criticized Lycidas, Comus, John Donne, and Thomas Gray.

Which major poem did Dr. Samuel Johnson praise in Lives of the Poets?

Paradise Lost.

How does Dr. Samuel Johnson define poetry in his Life of Milton?

"The art of uniting pleasure with truth, by calling imagination to the help of reason".

What was Dr. Samuel Johnson's view on blank verse?

He regarded blank verse as verse "only to the eye" and argued it should be avoided because it may betray feeble minds into excess.

Why did Dr. Samuel Johnson consider rhyme essential for poetry?

Rhyme gives pleasure through melody and pattern, imparts emphasis, and prevents feeble minds from falling into excess.

According to Dr. Johnson's Preface to Shakespeare (1765), what is Shakespeare's greatest merit?

His just representation of general human nature.

What does Dr. Johnson mean when he states that "Shakespeare has no heroes"?

He means Shakespeare's characters are not exaggerated heroic figures, but faithful representations of common humanity.

How does Dr. Johnson describe William Shakespeare's works regarding practical wisdom?

He describes Shakespeare's works as "a storehouse of practical axioms and domestic wisdom".

How does Dr. Samuel Johnson defend Shakespeare's use of tragi-comedy?

He states it is true to nature because real life is a mingling of good and evil, joys and sorrows; thus tragi-comedy is nearer to life and combines pleasure with instruction without weakening dramatic effect.

According to Dr. Johnson, what is the only Unity required in Shakespeare's historical plays?

Consistency and naturalness in Character.

Which classical Unity did William Shakespeare maintain according to Dr. Samuel Johnson?

Unity of Action.

Why did Dr. Samuel Johnson reject the Unities of Time and Place in drama?

He argued that drama is a delusion; if the audience can imagine one place or time on stage, they can just as easily imagine several.

What was Dr. Samuel Johnson's ultimate conclusion regarding classical Unities in drama?

Unities are not essential to drama, and their violation often results in variety and instruction.

What were the original meanings of the term Romanticism before its literary movement?

Medieval romance and tales of adventure, as well as fictitious, fantastic elements, folklore, legend, and sights of nature.

Romanticism emerged as a complex response to which historical and philosophical paradigms?

The Enlightenment, Neoclassical ideals, French revolutionary ideals, and bourgeois world views.

Who is considered the first major figure of English Romanticism?

William Blake (1757-1827).

What defining features characterized William Blake's Romantic vision?

Mysticism, a mythical view of history, harmonizing a world of contradictions, and a vision of an urban world plagued by social injustice.

Which three critical texts comprise William Wordsworth's critical output?

Advertisement to the Lyrical Ballads (1798), Preface to the Lyrical Ballads (1800, revised 1802), and Essay Supplementary to Preface (1815).

What was the main goal of the experimental poems published in Lyrical Ballads?

To overturn the priggish, learned, and highly sculpted forms of 18th-century poetry and ascertain how far conversational language of lower/middle classes fits poetic pleasure.

What central theory of poetic language does Wordsworth defend in Preface to the Lyrical Ballads?

That poetry must be written in the real language of men when in a state of vivid sensation.

How does William Wordsworth define poetry's relation to knowledge and science?

"Poetry is the breath and finer spirit of all knowledge; it is the impassioned expression which is in the countenance of all science."

How does William Wordsworth define the role of the poet in human society?

"The poet is the rock of defence for human nature; an upholder and preserver, carrying everywhere with him relationship and love."

Why does William Wordsworth prefer humble and rustic life for poetic subjects?

In rustic life, feelings are freely and frankly expressed, simpler, and more forceful, manners are unsophisticated, and human passions are connected with the grand and noble objects of nature.

What is William Wordsworth's view on the difference between the language of prose and verse?

There is no essential difference between the language of prose and verse; the only difference is that poetry uses metre.

What stylistic elements does William Wordsworth insist poets should avoid?

Artificial poetic diction and the unnecessary use of figures, metaphors, and similes.

What is William Wordsworth's famous definition of poetry regarding emotion?

"Spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings that take their origin from emotions recollected in tranquility."

In William Wordsworth's theory, which element is more important: feeling or action?

Feelings (romantic) are more important than action (classical).

How does William Wordsworth define a poet in simple terms?

"A poet is a man speaking to men."

What is the primary function of poetry according to William Wordsworth?

To give pleasure to the readers.

Name four qualifications of a poet specified by William Wordsworth.

Greater organic sensibility, greater power of imagination, greater knowledge of human nature, a comprehensive soul, greater zest for life, and greater power of communication.

Why does William Wordsworth consider poetry superior to philosophy and science?

Poetry is the most philosophical of all writing, giving universal truths through particular examples, imparting pleasure, and conveying essential truth about human life.

What functions does metre serve in poetry according to William Wordsworth?

It provides an additional source of pleasure, imparts richness to simple diction, exerts a restraining/tempering effect on emotion, increases intensity, and provides contrast.

What are the six stages in William Wordsworth's poetic process?

Observation, Spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings, Recollection, Emotions recollected in tranquility, Renewal (recrudescence) of original emotion, and Contemplation.

Name the two primary critical works written by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

Biographia Literaria and Lectures on Shakespeare and Other Poets.

How does Associationist psychology view the human mind according to David Hartley?

It reduces the human mind to a passive and inactive recipient of external impressions and sensations, like a "salad bowl" where ingredients do not change.

How did German Romanticism alter S.T. Coleridge's view of the mind compared to Associationism?

It led him to view the mind as active (like a "pressure cooker"), transforming and recreating external reality rather than passively receiving sensations.

What Kantian concept of imagination did Samuel Taylor Coleridge adopt?

The view of imagination as an "esemplastic power" that fuses the soul of the artist with external reality to re-create it.

Which literary movement in Germany preceded German Romanticism?

Storm and Stress (Sturm und Drang).

What critical approach does S.T. Coleridge take in Lectures on Shakespeare?

Practical criticism with an impressionistic approach.

What was the originally intended title of S.T. Coleridge's Biographia Literaria?

Autobiographia Literaria.

In which chapter of Biographia Literaria does Coleridge first state that Fancy and Imagination are two distinct faculties?

Chapter 4.

In which chapter of Biographia Literaria does Coleridge elaborate on his theory of Imagination?

Chapter 13 ("On the Imagination").

How does S.T. Coleridge define Primary Imagination in Biographia Literaria?

"The living Power and prime Agent of all human Perception, and as a repetition in the finite mind of the eternal act of creation in the infinite I AM."

How does S.T. Coleridge define Secondary Imagination in Biographia Literaria?

An echo of primary imagination co-existing with conscious will, which dissolves, diffuses, and dissipates in order to re-create, idealize, and unify.

How does S.T. Coleridge define Fancy in Biographia Literaria?

A mode of memory emancipated from time and space, modified by choice, having no other counters to play with but fixities and definites.

What are the two cardinal points of poetry outlined in Chapter 14 of Biographia Literaria?

(a) Exciting sympathy by faithful adherence to the truth of nature (supernaturalizing the natural), and (b) giving the interest of novelty by modifying with the colours of imagination (naturalising the supernatural).

According to Coleridge, which type of imagination is universal and involuntary?

Primary imagination.

According to Coleridge, which faculty is the peculiar and distinctive attribute of the artist?

Secondary imagination.

How does Coleridge metaphorically contrast Imagination and Fancy in poetic genius?

Imagination is the very soul, while Fancy is the drapery of poetic genius.

How does S.T. Coleridge distinguish between a 'poem' and 'poetry'?

Poetry is the activity of the poet's mind, whereas a poem is one of its forms of expression, specifically a verbal expression of that mental activity.

What was S.T. Coleridge's critique of Wordsworth's preference for rustic language?

He argued that language arises from reflection and education rather than mere communication with nature, and rustic solitude alone does not benefit a person without natural sensibility and education.

How does S.T. Coleridge define prose versus poetry regarding word arrangement?

Prose is "words in their best order", while poetry is "the best words in the best order."

What does S.T. Coleridge mean by the phrase "willing suspension of disbelief"?

The willingness of a reader or viewer to accept fictional premises and overlook medium limitations, which constitutes poetic faith.

Why is S.T. Coleridge called the "Father of Impressionistic Criticism"?

Because he evaluated authors based on illuminating practical criticism and impressionistic insight rather than judging them on the rigid rules of Neoclassical critics.

What is the title of P.B. Shelley's major Romantic manifesto?

A Defence of Poetry.

How does P.B. Shelley distinguish between Reason and Imagination?

Reason is logical, passive, enumerates known quantities, and respects differences; Imagination acts on thoughts, creates, perceives value and similitudes, and serves as the agent/spirit to reason's instrument/body.

How does P.B. Shelley describe a poet using the bird metaphor in A Defence of Poetry?

"A Poet is a nightingale who sits in darkness, and sings to cheer its own solitude with sweet sounds".

What is P.B. Shelley's famous concluding statement about poets in A Defence of Poetry?

"Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world".

Which key critical concept defined by John Keats appears throughout his letters?

Negative Capability.

How does John Keats define Negative Capability in his 1817 letter to his brothers?

"When a man is capable of being in uncertainties, mysteries and doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason".

Which dramatist possessed Negative Capability enormously according to John Keats?

William Shakespeare.