The 20th century was once called the "Century of Criticism"。current，In the field of domestic foreign literature research, there have been some phenomena that deviate from the original meaning of criticism: or they are keen to paraphrase certain foreign theories (including quite a few non-literary theories)，Or apply a certain theory to conduct a check-style "interpretation" of literary works，Or based on a new point of view proposed by foreign scholars，Recklessly claiming that there has been some kind of "paradigm transformation" in foreign literary research and criticism，And calls on the domestic academic community to quickly “integrate” with it。Meanwhile，But few researchers have down-to-earth research on the rich phenomena in the development process of foreign literature (especially the works of important writers)。Ephemeral new terms continue to appear on the “theoretical frontier”、New formulation and new model，The classics of literary criticism since ancient Greece seem to be gradually fading out of people’s sight；Returning to the classics of literary criticism，Fully understand the contemporary significance of literary criticism classics，It is one of the important ways to get out of the dilemma of literary criticism。

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Why literary criticism is necessary？This is a common sense question，But it is also an issue that is often ignored。When someone criticizes literature、When the purpose and significance of literary research comes down to the construction of some new "theoretical system"，Perhaps I have inadvertently overlooked the difference between "literary theory" and "literary criticism"。Wellek pointed out，“Literary theory” is the principle of literature、Research on issues such as categories and judgment standards，“Literary criticism” is mainly the study of specific literary and artistic works。Needless to say，Literary criticism is not limited to the study of writers’ works，It also focuses on all specific literary phenomena。Therefore，Welleck believes that "literary criticism" and Bet365 app download "literary history" should not be separated。According to Wellek，It is not difficult to distinguish Aristotle、Hegel、Schopenhauer、Lukacs and others are mainly theorists (although they are all involved in literary criticism to varying degrees)，And Samuel Johnson、Saint-Beuve、Belinsky、Brandes、Auerbach and others are critics。About the purpose of criticism，Wellek writes: "Literary criticism and literary history both seek to illustrate a work、an object、The personality of a period or a country’s literature。”

This statement by Wellek，It is not an expression of his basic views as a representative of "New Criticism"，It is the consensus formed by critics throughout the ages。The 19th century Russian critic Belinsky once clearly pointed out: "Any outstanding author must be given the evaluation he deserves，It is necessary to determine the characteristics of his creation，And the place he deserves in literature..." "Start studying a poet，First of all the secret of his personality must be captured in the infinite variety of his works，That is, the uniqueness of his soul，This uniqueness belongs to him alone...captures and identifies the essence of this uniqueness，It means finding the key to discovering the poet’s personality and the secret of poetry。”American critic Harold Bloom also pointed out when discussing Shakespeare，Discovering the uniqueness of writers is the purpose of literary research。He said: "What is special about Shakespeare，Making only Dante、Cervantes、Tolstoy and a few others became his aesthetic peers？Asking this question is to explore the ultimate goal of literary research。”

Fully reveal Shakespeare's "unique greatness" in critical practice and give high praise，It is the 18th century British critic Samuel Johnson。He wrote in "Preface to Shakespeare's Dramas" (1765): "Shakespeare transcends all writers，At least beyond all modern writers，Is a unique nature poet；He is a poet who holds up to his readers a true mirror of customs and life”；"Shakespeare's plays，According to the strict meaning and the scope of literary criticism，Neither a tragedy，Not a comedy either，But a special type of creation；It expresses the true state of ordinary human nature，There is both good and evil，Either joy or sadness，And complicated，Infinite changes”。Bloom Bet365 lotto review thinks，Before Johnson，No one has expressed Shakespeare’s unique and overwhelming power of expression，Therefore，He called Johnson "unprecedented among all nations、The unparalleled critic”。

Belinsky also provides an excellent example of the study of the writer's work in his critical articles。In "On Russian Novellas and the Novels of Gogol" (1835)，He summed it up clearly at the outset: "The distinctive feature of Gogol's novels lies in the simplicity of conception，Nationality，Full reality of life，Originality and that comic excitement that is always overshadowed by a profound sense of sadness and melancholy。”After discussing these characteristics in detail one by one，Belinsky added that Gogol "has a lyrical temperament when he describes the things that the heart longs for"。In the critical work "Collected Works of Alexander Pushkin (1843-1846)" consisting of 11 long articles，Belinsky gave an incisive elucidation of Pushkin’s creative personality as a poet and novelist。Obviously，Study these critical classics carefully，Helps to understand the purpose and significance of literary criticism，Thus consciously pursuing this goal，Get criticism back on track。

　　Provide inspiration on research methods

Methodological issues in literary criticism，This is an issue that critics have long been concerned about。Methods of literary criticism，In fact, it can be divided into two levels: "methodology" and specific methods: the former refers to the basic principles on which criticism is based，The latter refers to the specific means used in the criticism process。Belinsky once made this claim in "Discourse on Criticism" (1842): "There is no need to classify criticism，It is better to admit only one criticism，Leave it to it to handle all factors and all aspects on which the reality expressed in art is formed。Criticism that does not involve the history of aesthetics，and vice versa，Aesthetic criticism that does not involve history，It will all be one-sided，Therefore also wrong。There should be only one criticism，Its multiple perspectives should originate from the same source，Same system，The same observation of art。”What is particularly noteworthy is，Engels in the article "German Socialism in Poetry and Prose" (1846-1847) and in a letter to Lassalle on May 18, 1859，They all emphasize that they evaluate different works from aesthetic and bet365 best casino games historical perspectives，Echoes Belinsky’s views。Literature as language art，It is an aesthetic way of grasping the world，Show the author’s artistic personality，Therefore，Literary criticism cannot leave the aesthetic perspective；Literary creation is always carried out in a certain historical and cultural context，Writer、Both works and readers are related to specific historical conditions，This determines that literary criticism cannot abandon the historical perspective。The combination of "aesthetic criticism" and "historical criticism"，Exactly the methodological principles that should be followed in foreign literature research。

Foreign Literary Criticism Classics，There are many writings that are excellent examples of combining "aesthetic criticism" and "historical criticism"。At the level of specific research methods，These critical classics have flexible and diverse techniques，Eclectic form，For example, the 6-volume "Mainstream of 19th-Century Literature" by the 19th-century Danish critic Brandes。This masterpiece of criticism shows the holistic principle of looking at European literature: the author does not regard the literature of a certain country as an isolated phenomenon，Rather, we think that they are just different forms of the spirit of the times at a specific historical stage reflected in the literature of various countries；Every writer’s work does not exist independently，But part of the literary whole；Ideology and culture of European countries、Spiritual Psychology、Interaction between social and political life and literary movements，The whole that constitutes the culture of a specific era，Literature is only part of this whole。The author also regards literary history as a kind of psychology，Think that literature is driven by national spirit、Produced by national sentiment and its history，You can understand all this based on literature。

Brandes was deeply influenced by the French art historian Danner’s “Three Elements Theory” (race、Environment、The influence of the times，Pay attention to both literary and historical facts，He often takes the trouble to explain the social and political background，Sometimes it seems too far off topic，In fact, it is explaining the ideological and cultural changes brought about Bet365 app download by changes in social and political life、Spiritual Psychology、Changes in fashion of the times，Exploring the reasons for changes in literature。He was also influenced by the French critic Saint-Beuve，Pay attention to the life of the writer、Restrictions on his creation by psychological and personality factors，Examine the spiritual connection between writers and their characters，Such as Goethe and Werther、Rousseau and Saint-Preux、The relationship between Chateaubriand and René，From time to time, he describes the details of the writer’s life with great interest、Relationship between writers，Aiming to discover the connection between the writer’s personality and his creation。Comparative methods are also used throughout the book，Existing laws among them、English、Comparison of German Literature and Danish Literature，There are also writers and writers、Works and Works、Comparison between characters。

Like "Mainstream of 19th Century Literature", it provides us with excellent examples of critical methods，Also "On Mimesis" (1946) by German critic Erich Auerbach、The Great Tradition (1948) by British critic Leavis、American critic Harold Bloom's "The Western Canon: Great Writers and Immortal Works" (1994) and other critical classics that appeared one after another in the 20th century。Only by studying these critical classics，Rather than just browsing those daunting "theoretical" works (especially non-literary "theoretical" works)，In order to understand and truly master the methods of literary criticism。

　Contains rich critical discourse resources

The literary criticism classics also contain rich critical discourse resources。Basic concepts often used by outstanding literary critics throughout the ages in their critical works、Technical terms、Customary formulations and expressions，It has gradually formed a discourse system with certain stability，And shows long-term academic vitality。These languages ​​that criticize the classics，Mostly accurate、Smooth and beautiful literary language，This makes them often readable as literary texts in their own right。

Russian thinker Berdyaev has this general description of the cultural atmosphere of the "Silver Age" in "Russian Thought" (1946): "This process is accompanied by great enthusiasm。Complete bet365 best casino games pieces of heaven and earth are revealed。The mental and spiritual desires are great。Permeated with a spiritual trend。There was a feeling that a new era was beginning...it was a very interesting and tense time，It opens a new world to the most cultured intellectuals，Free the soul for the creation of spiritual culture。”Berdyaev is good at using concise language to outline the basic characteristics of people’s spiritual life in a specific era，Properly conveys the ideological and cultural atmosphere of a specific era。His critical texts often show a proverbial style，His profound cultural accomplishment、Solid writing skills and poetic feelings about spiritual and cultural phenomena，And his works avoid any form of boring and difficult，Formed a unique philosophy-lyrical color。

　In the classics of literary criticism from various countries，You can also read a lot of wonderful comments about specific writers’ works，For example, Lessing's "Hamburg Theater Review" (1769) wrote 104 reviews on 52 performances of the Hamburg Volkstheater，Saint-Beuve from Rabelais、Montaigne、Cornaiyi、Racine、Molière to Stendahl、Balzac、A one-by-one interpretation of the works of almost all important writers in the history of French literature such as Flaubert，Leavis on Dickens in "The Great Tradition"、George Eliot、Henry James、Evaluation of the works of writers such as Joseph Conrad，Wait。Leavis once commented on Dickens's "Hard Times": "One of the great features of this book is that，The life it represents has a surprising and irresistible richness...a richness that is everywhere，You can see it everywhere，Natural and not artificial，Just between ordinary words。It is from here that all kinds of expressions coexist harmoniously，Realistic look。This is the unquestionable ‘truth’。This richness stems from Dickens' extraordinary perception and extraordinary power of expression... actually，structure with texture、imaginary form、In terms of symbolism and the condensation achieved，"Hard Times" gives us the feeling that it is among the works of poetry。”Similar criticism text，Can be found throughout the classics of literary criticism。

These exemplary critical words，It is not the result of critics consciously tempering their language bet365 best casino games in the practice of criticism，But its artistic sensibility、Cognitive ability、Appreciation ability、Generalization ability、External manifestations of analytical and interpretive abilities。Read these critical classics often，It can subtly enhance our sense of language；And we must have the artistic sensibility and evaluation ability that are the basis of this critical discourse，In addition to studying critical classics，You should also read the classic works that are the perceptual basis of literary criticism，More need for thinking and writing practice based on these readings。"Opening the book is beneficial" is undoubtedly correct，But the choice of "volume" is especially important。

(This article is a phased result of the National Social Science Fund’s major project “Translation and Research of “History of Russian Literature” of the Soviet Academy of Sciences” (16ZDA196)

(Author’s unit: College of Liberal Arts, Nanjing Normal University)