Critical theory always seems to be in semi-conscious alliance with the contemporary—thus deconstructive criticism, so perversely applied to a poem by Shelley, will work very well for Robbe-Grillet or American experimental fiction. (p. 197)

Richards's underlying values are worth looking at precisely because they are in such sharp contrast to current preoccupations. His aim was to show that literature could resolve conflict, bring the whole soul of man (however differently conceived in different periods) into activity, and produce a harmonious reconciliation. Literature is thus good for us, and criticism, as equally concerned with the 'health of the mind', is its ally. The New Critics too could hope that they were making better men and women of us…. But critics nowadays are immensely suspicious of any such 'idealising' function, which assumes and seeks for unity in literature. The old equation between unified work and unified response has been turned...