Some time ago, having occasion to outline a possible scientific approach to the problem of literary criticism, the present reviewer expressed a hope that a critic might appear who, possessed of both literary and scientific equipment, would attempt this task in extenso. Mr. Richards, in his "Principles of Literary Criticism," if he does not entirely fulfil this hope, at any rate makes an extraordinarily interesting beginning. He is erudite and he is intelligent; he makes the courageous attempt to be at the same time scientific and psychological; and he has the great advantage of having at his disposal a knowledge of semantics. Many of the principles employed in "The Meaning of Meaning" (in which he collaborated with Mr. C. K. Ogden) I(vor) A(rmstrong) Richards 1893–1979 Photograph © 1983 by Jill Krementzhe is able to apply with excellent effect in his search for a scientific approach to criticism. (p...