The Four Coordinates of Literary Theory: Abrams / Adams

The four coordinates of literary theory in Meyer Abrams and in Hazard Adams' Critical Theory since Plato. Further elaborations developed from notes for a seminar with Professor Albert O. lec!e of "# $rvine. universe (mimetic) author (expressive) text text (objective) imetic: The first theoretical coordinate is the mimetic concern. How does the poem relate to a model of e%ternal reality& Terms that fit within this approach are imitation' representation' mimesis' and mirror. Pay attention to metaphors (( the term )mirror) is the sub*ect of Meyer Abrams' iThe Mirror and the Lamp. +ee also Hamlet's speech about art (( art )holds the mirror up to nature.) Paintin, is another common mimetic term. -ealism is also a mimetic theory' but it sometimes insists that art conveys universal truths' as opposed to merely temporal and particular truth. .reiser and Hemin,way may or may not render their own times and circumstances accurately' but Freud's readin, of Oedipus -e% /and 0rnest 1ones' readin, of Hamlet2 claims insi,ht into somethin, universal about the human psyche. +amuel 1ohnson ma!es the same sort of claim when he ar,ues that +ha!espeare portrays universal character traits and moral values. Aristotle's ta!e on mimetics is sophisticated(he ar,ues that the universal can be found in the concrete. +idney values art as an accurate representation of moral ideals and e%cellence. Plato' by contrast' says that poetry fails on mimetic terms(it has no access to the world of forms. !ragmatic: This second coordinate deals with the relationship between te%t and audience. The concern for the moral effects of art is often drawn from mimetic theory. Plato invo!es the flawed mimetic capacity of poetry as the source of its moral conta,iousness. )Psycholo,ical) critics li!e ordsworth and Aristotle are pra,matists3 they lay ,reat stress on art's supposed therapeutic value. Freud does the same. Another version of this psycholo,ical pra,matism is the one practiced by early aestheticians li!e 4aum,arten and 5ant' who wrote about the )aesthetic emotions.) They theorized about the effects of poetic lan,ua,e on the mind' as does 5rie,er today. Aside from moral and psycholo,ical pra,matism' there is ideolo,ical or political pra,matism6 cultural studies(oriented critics focus on ,ender' race' and class issues. They in7uire into the e%tent to which wor!s support or undermine particular ideolo,ies. This is moral criticism with a political bent. One mi,ht as!' for e%ample' what the effects of the portrayal of African(Americans were in )8one with the ind.) "xpressive: This third coordinate has to do with the relationship between poet and wor!. 0%pressive theory would be the appropriate title here. 4io,raphical criticism is e%pressive' as is romanticism and Freudian analysis. /+ee 0rnest 1ones on Hamlet's Oedipal feelin,s' which turn out to be none other than +ha!espeare's own repressed Oedipal conflicts (( he attempts' says 1ones' to deal with these conflicts by creatin, Hamlet.2 #bjective: The fourth coordinate emphasizes the inte,rity and ontolo,ically sound status of the wor! itself' without immediate reference to audience' poet' or e%ternal reality. Formalists practice this type of criticism. +ee the )9ew #riticism) of #leanth 4roo!s' 1ohn #rowe -ansom' imsatt and 4eardsley' and others. +ee also Trots!y's rebuff of the -ussian Formalists as counterrevolutionaries. audience (pragmatic)