The Theory of Literary Criticism: A Logical Analysis

By John Martin Ellis

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• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0520034139
• ISBN13: 9780520034136
• Release Date: January 1974
• Publisher: University of California Press
• Length: 287 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Ellis: Logic Must Rule

When John Ellis wrote THE THEORY OF LITERARY CRITICISM in 1974, he chose to avoid the practice used by most other theorists who favored one school of critical theory over another. Ellis daringly approached theory holistically in that his goal was not to ponder the intricacies of selected theories but rather he wished to apply rationality and logic to theory itself. His interest lay in setting out basic principles of responsible analysis that could be used by any theorist. As he set out what to him represented common sense tools of criticism, he described what competent theorists ought to do or should refrain from doing. In a later text, AGAINST DECONSTRUCTION, Ellis uses the ideas set out in this earlier book to denounce a wildly popular school called deconstructionism that violated more than a few of his enunciated precepts. For example, when any theorist claims that his proposed school of criticism is exempt from traditional rules demanding proof, then that school is probably ethically and linguistically bankrupt. Further, if that theorist makes an appeal to seeming vainglorious complexity of thought and structure while couched in scholarly jargonese, then that school is also suspect. He later adds that "The development of a theoretical analysis is severely inhibited if the purpose of the analysis is to justify a particular reform program (9). In 1974, deconstruction as a working theory had only just begun to work its way into academia, but its inherent flaws were well prophesized by Ellis, who has a number of pet peeves. He has little patience with those who set forth grandiose theories without first foregrounding them in unassailable logic. Ellis idolizes German philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, who when faced with a novel but untested proposition, would invariably respond with "what distinction is being made by this proposition?" (19) Only those theories that can logically show utility and purpose have value for Ellis. Much of Ellis' book is devoted to the minutia of criticism, areas that few others care to address. He continually asks the reader for definitions of terms that seem to have no ready response, and once he does so, then he asks for a series of follow up questions, most of which involve evaluating the purpose and scope of those terms. Not surprisingly, the twin terms "literature" and "theory" figure prominently in such discussions. As one reads more of Ellis, one can sense the logical mind behind his sometimes not so gentle probing. His book is not without fault. Ellis often spends far too much time setting up his straw men puppets only to later smack them down, which considering the need for such ubiquitous sackings is not necessarily a bad thing. For modern students of theory who fail to see the linguistic forests for the deceptive trees, THE THEORY OF LITERARY CRITICISM is a much needed wake up call before deciding that the newest school of theory is truly the Holy Grail literary Theory of Everything.