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1、DAVIDSIMPSONRomanticism,criticismandtheory1HEtermsofmytitlewillprobablyseemtosomereadersratherbland,toothersinevitablycontentious.Romanticismhasfunctionedasaperiodterm,withsomewhatdifferentlimitsindifferentcountries,anditsusehasledtoatraditionofattemptsatdefiningwhatitis,orwhatismostcentralt
2、oit.Criticismtendstopassusbyasanunassumingdescriptionofwhatwedoifweteachorstudyliteratureinuniversities,whiletheoryisoneofthosetermsthathascausedargumentsinseminarsandtantrumsatdinnerparties.Butcriticismisbynomeansaninnocentterm,norneedtheoryalwaysbiteinthewaythatitsbarkhasseemedtopromise,if
3、indeeditbiteatall.Soitmaybeaswelltobeginwithsomeworkingdefinitions-nottrench-antspecificationsofexclusiveorexactdefinitionsoftheseterms,butlooseexplanationsofwhatImeanbythem,andofhowtheywillfunctioninthefollowingpages.ByRomanticismImean,veryroughly,thewritingsofthelateeighteenthandearlyninet
4、eenthcenturies,sharingageneralhistoricalsitua-tionbutnotnecessarilyheldtogetherbyanyessentialorprescriptivecharac-teristics.Literarycriticsandhistorianshavetraditionallypositedsuchcharacteristicsinamannerallowingthemtodistinguishbetweenwhatismoreorless"romantic,"earlyandlateromantic,pre-andp
5、ostromantic,highlyorantiromantic.Suchusagesareseldomconsistent,andhavemostlybeenemployedtojustifyonesetofpreferencesoverothersaccordingtosomestandardorotherofexemplaryhistoricality.BycriticismImeanthepracticeofwritingaboutliterature,whichbecamegraduallyprofessionalized,andprofessionalizedind
6、ifferentways,betweenthepublicationofTheSpectatorandthatofPMLA.Eighteenth-centurycriticslikeAddisonandJohnsonwerecommonlymenoflettersorjournal-ists.Theirmodernsuccessorstendtoholdjobsasuniversityandcollegeteachers.But"criticism"hasneverlostitsassociationsofgiftedamateurismandspontaneity,sotha
7、titsexponentshavelargelynotadheredtoexplicitorself-imposedstandardsoflogicalandphilosophicalcoherenceormethodologicalself-consciousness.Somecriticismdoesindeeddothis,andCambridgeCompanionsOnline©CambridgeUniversityPress,20062DAVIDSIMPSONwhenitdoes,
