The achievement of Practical Criticism is such that it can hardly be canceled out by any subsequent defections. It was the beginning of objective criticism, the first organized attempt to stop theorizing about what people get when they read a poem and to find out. Its ultimate aim is no less lofty a one than the general improvement of reading, and as a consequence the general improvement of literary appreciation. (p. 315)

The tremendous value of Practical Criticism lies almost wholly in its data on how poetry is actually read by supposedly qualified people, counterpointed by Richards's own readings and amplified and generalized by him. He more or less recognizes the inadequacy of his recommendations at the end of the book, or in fact of any recommendations. The book proposes improvement through education: further experimentation in the universities, the teaching of interpretation as a subject…. Yet quis custodiet ipsos...