Literature and Criticism

Northrop Frye states that the function of criticism is to mediate between the artist and his public. He also said that criticism can talk and all the arts are dumb. In my opinion, to mediate it means that criticism is how the public communicate with the artist but only in one way. If the public criticize the literary works, the artist cannot criticize them back because the artist didn’t tell the public but the text tells it. Frye also said that if we confronting some of literary works, one obvious containing form is the genre to which it belongs.

                In the art of poetry, Horace described that poet only say what ought to be said, he also must to put off his thought. What can I learn from those sentences, the poet is trying to make his poem are easier to understand by the readers or the hearers. Horace also said that the poet must cautious and delicate about his poem because he will express himself eminently as well. There is the same reason why the writers must cautious and delicate about his poem, to easier to understand by the readers or the hearers.

In the other hands, Scholes in English Apparatus said that the writer is always reading and the reader always writing. In my opinion it means that the writers must read before they write something because the writing will not be scientific or entertaining if the writers have not read and understand other works.  While reader always writing means that the readers always criticize about what he has read. However, Frye states that the reader cannot criticize the general form of the literary works because it must be containing genre to which it belongs.