Discuss Brooks Cleanth’s understanding of practical criticism: Chekupewa Margaret, Tulinde Christine, Nantongo Esther and Nadia Farida.

Practical criticism is a method that allows a critic to arise to a single correct meaning of a literary text. Books understands practical criticism in the following ways. In order to have practical criticism, a text one must first understand in great depth, the literature to be criticized this is to be done by reading in depth and through research. Further the merits of such literature should also be taken note of. Therefore this calls for preparation before actual criticizing. According to Brooks in this essay, he resisted the authors psychologically terminology and to positivism although the essay sharpened his insight on ways of perceiving and methods of analysis. Therefore Brooks understanding of practical criticism depends firstly on the understanding of a text. Brooks urgues that one has to concentrate on the individual text. Focusing on the text is very central when reading poetry. So close analysis of a text that focuses on form and meaning is encouraged hence this approach according to him centers on a personal engagement with the text, looking on how the chosen words fit and work together, how the arrangement of words develops in patterns and bring to life the central tension in any work of art and poem. Understanding practical criticism of a given text according to Brooks needs change of perspective by the reader, in order not to cripple, pre-conception of a given text which also involves psychological machinery this in effect changes one’s views of reading because the practical and theoretical effects of a given text may be different thus calling for a change of perspective for example according to him, due to failure by other students to change their perspective in reading the thirteen poems by Richards, they continued using the jagons and mechanical application of such terms and jagons in their discussion even later in 1920 even though the terminology used has changed. Another way that Brooks understands practical criticisms is that it should not be aimed at the authors misreading rather due consideration should be on the authors analytical skills for instance to find out if the author imposes his own judgment on the reader. Brooks in this essay does not concern himself with Richards misreading in his poems but rather admires his analytical skills upon observing him and to him Richards does not impose his judgment on a reader. Practical criticism according to Brooks means a reader should be alert in reading and insensitivity to the nuances in the text because poetry in particular is not a verbal bouquet of beautiful or exalted objects and ideas one has to read carefully and closely in an active way, always trying to sort out what is going on in the poem. For example on concept it was because of being alert in reading a text that the author (Brooks) discovered Richards critical concept of notion of tension in poetry where a distinction was made between poetry of exclusion and inclusion. Practical criticism according to Brooks involves the consideration of the tone of the poem or a text this involves the adjustment of the tone for qualifying and reconciling to various statements made or implied in a poem further, tone is also an index of the poets ability to organize and unify his poem. Just like Richards the author believed that practical criticism involves distinction between communication and value urguing that the process of reading a poem, has two stages. Firstly whether what it communicates is valuable secondly whether the poem communicates to the reader. However, some authors have tended to criticize Brooks understanding of practical criticism for instance his understanding that one needs to change there perspective while reading is challenged by John Ransom who says that you do not need to change your perspective when you want to criticize a text practically. Sir Phillip Sydney also criticizes the authors differentiation of communication and value where the author distinguishes between statements that actual make references and those that he calls pseudo statements observing that the later only appears to make statements but they refer to nothing apart from satisfying our emotional needs. In conclusion therefore, Brooks understands practical criticism in the stated ways though there are some critiques who disagree with his understanding.