Reading & Response: An Approach to the Criticism of Literature

by R.P. Hewett

254 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1960

Reviews

[Lucas · Rating 2 out of 5]

A guide written for new A-Level students in the late 1960s, with much that one would expect from that time but which can now be discarded (for instance the expectation that students will be male, that female types of writing, such as romance novels, are pale and uninteresting, or that Mrs Henry Wood wrote the first novel with no merits at all). However, it is useful for bringing out some of the language used in teaching of literature which captures something important about the spirit of literary criticism, as well as giving form to generally held ideas about reading and its importance. Also, the sections of practical criticism were well done and well explained, so it could remain a useful guide for the student of literature today, were they suitably wary about the context for which it was originally created.