Research On The Communication And Value Theory Of Richards' Literature Critique

I.A.Richards, the primogenitor of 20th century's literature, his criticism theory did a profound influence on the development of literature criticism in the 20th and Anglo-American New Criticism. Basing on the particular background and theoretical resources, the theory was affected by many factors like the crisis of the tradition Victorial Criticism, the requirement of the Age, Logic Empiricism, English Experimentalism and Modern Psychology, in addition to Kelenrich's romanticism theory.Richards'literature criticism theory pointed out that the descriptions of communication and value are backbones of critique theory, and he believed that a value psychology doctrine can be built on the foundation of modern knowledge. Hence, theories of value and communication are the core parts of this criticism theory. The communication theory holds the idea that the essence of this part is communication emotion. Through cataloguing the experience boundary, Richards defined the general framework and graph of experience. He also divided experience into two kinds, one is intellectual experience, the other is positive or emotional experience, and the latter one is the purpose of poetry. Richards constructed an interactive communication system named"3R", which means"Writer, Writing and Reader". The system sets up on the research of communication possibility and necessity. Its main route is that the writer conveys his experience to the reader in the form of the writing, and the reader gets the emotional communication with the writer, knows the writer and world as well. Language symbol becomes the extrinsic form of writing's existence. Literature problem should first be language problem, Richards used semantic analysis to analyze literal language, and emphasized on the"close reading"of the text, which aimed to master the internal structure and meaning of the passage, this analysis will finally achieve the effective emotion communication. For the linguistic personality of the literature works, the unbalance and indirection between language and mind, misunderstanding, ambiguity etc. will affect the efficiency of communication, Richards put forwards some solution: distinguishing the scientific and emotional usage of language, mastering the works through the linguistic function and its meaning, which regarded as meaning, emotion, intonation and purpose. The analysis helps to get the main idea of the works and aims to achieve the emotional experience communication purpose.Richards proposed to import value judgment to the aesthetics and the criticism field, and emphasized on the importance of value theory, he also affirmed to introduce psychology into the research and the criticism, which led to set up a valuable psychology doctrine, and combine psychology to cultural value. Richards constructed a psychological criticism model by the center of impulsion. The model stressed on analyzing readers'reactions and the research on the value of these reactions to the modern life. Literature works is a impulsive systematical organization, its value consists in the satisfaction and the balance of impulsion, this balance mainly relies on the realization of imagination's synthetic function. The most efficient poem will give impulsion of all kinds a balance state in the system, which will also bring entirely balance to our hearts. Richards stressed on reader's reactions to the works, and how to evaluate these reactions, which is the purpose of the value theory. His great focus on the psychological affects of literature works on the reader, and he regarded poem as the harmony accelerant of modern life's ambiguity. What's more, he firmly believed that poetry can save us. In fact, the value theory is the essential part of Richards'solution to these social problems. The experience form these literature works can guide us to organize our life much better, and obtain success as well.There is an internal relationship between the two theories in Richards'theory. Only when the communication occurs can the under-meaning and value be transferred to the surface; and the value of the literature will not be realized until the communication happens, communication is the only way to express and carry out one's value. These two theories are coexisting, they are illustrating each other, the realization of communication aims to get a better evaluation; the improvement of evaluation hastens the communication in turn.Richards'literature theory has its great effect and significance. His theory gave a deep influence on Anglo-American New Criticism and western literature theory as well, and it provided a basic methodology for the New Criticism, which is worth to be mentioned. Besides this, Richards'theory made a great effect on Reader Criticism, Analytical Aesthetics and Structuralism. His value theory is focus on analyzing the reader on one side and studying its value to the modern life on the other. His criticism aims to express humanism. The literature criticism theory built on the communication theory and value theory, it gave us some inspiration to improve our appreciative and evaluative perceptions, to know how to analyze and appreciate the internal structure and meaning of the works scientifically, to achieve the emotional communication purpose much better, and also to our socialist literature composition and critique.