Abstract
This paper relates that many critics believe that, to understand the meaning of Shakespeare's "Hamlet", one must first examine the play for clues relating to each unclear occurrence; however, critic Claude Williamson stresses that the text should only looked at from the perspective of its external origins and its historical context or legacy. Next, the author partially rejects Williamson's position by arguing that the psychological processes of Hamlet's mind is what makes the play so dramatic. Nonetheless, the paper concludes that Williamson is correct that looking at the originality of the play and character is one of the simplest and most profound ways in which to begin an examination of "Hamlet" or any other text.

From the Paper
"Williamson is talking about the dramatic structure of the narrative, which Shakespeare, it is true, altered only slightly--except for the ending. Williamson fails to note that the Hamlet or Amleth of Scandinavian legend was ultimately victorious and ascended to the throne to live through several more years of violence and court-based intrigue before dying in battle. The fact is, Willaimson's initial assertion that the history or legend behind Shakespeare's Hamlet does not matter; neither does the earlier tragedy upon which Shakespeare's play was based."

Tags:revenge, psychological realism, legacy word originality

Abstract
The author states the late Victorian period in England was a unique time in that country's literary history. Both literature and the political culture supported one another by different notions of England's future. Matthew Arnold addressed directly issues of the purpose of English culture and the English nation.

From the Paper
"Matthew Arnold was a conservative writer in the sense that he was not egalitarian. He feared an intrusion of "vulgarity" into the culture and of "Philistine populism." (Wilson xvii; xvii) But his ideas were more complex than that. Arnold did believe that the essential thrust of English development should not be so much to expand its physical boundaries, but to create a culture of, as he termed it, "Sweetness and Light." "

Tags:literary, analysis, dover, beach, culture, anarchy, william, wordsworth, romantics, british, empire, hellenism, hebraism

Abstract
This paper analyzes Alexander Pope's statements on the quality of criticism in reference to "An Essay on Criticism." It examines Pope's doubts of the expertise of other critics as well as the quality of their criticisms. The paper also breaks down Pope's definition of a good and fair critic.

From the Paper
"There was no doubt that the use of wit and reason required very intensive learning. Pope used nature, a spring of water, as an illustration which could help clear the critic's brains from their shallow judgment. The inexperienced and immature critics tended to take a short view. Therefore, they missed the entire point of the work they were reviewing. Pope's concrete example was to climb the Alps. This climbing required intensive labor, however, when one had reached the top, one could see all the surroundings below."

Tags:expertise, critics, poems, knowledge

Abstract
This paper explores the relationship between aesthetics and philosophy in criticism. The paper critiques a couple of performance pieces through the "reader response" model and declares the importance of the audience in criticism.

From the paper:

"In the reader-response critical approach, the primary focus falls on the reader and the process of reading rather than on the author or the text. This reader may be the critic, she may be a member of the audience, or she may be the critic serving as a proxy for members of the audience."

Tags:audience, asthetic, performance, culture

Abstract
Pope's concept of Nature is outlined first. Then, the manner in which that concept relates to Pope's perception of the ideal character of the critic is examined. He emphasis on the divinity of Nature and the models provided by the classics is also emphasized.

Abstract
In this paper, the writer looks at the approaches Emerson and Thoreau take to social criticism. The writer shows that they share a common dislike of a large society that dwarfs and silences the individual. It then shows that the two authors have many differences in their style of criticism. Whereas Emerson writes to inspire the masses to change and create a better society, Thoreau writes in a less optimistic style, aiming to affect individual readers, so that they might rise above their flawed society rather than be a part of an improved one.

From the Paper
"The two American literary pioneers Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau gave voice to a philosophy of individualism and a mode of life striving to reach something beyond ordinary existence. In fact, the two were close friends, sharing very similar thoughts concerning American life in the 19th century. Thoreau was a neighbor of Emerson's, and for a short time was actually employed by Emerson as a handyman. Emerson played a key role in having Thoreau's early work published both in the Transcendentalist newspaper The Dial (of which Emerson was the editor), as well as to a wider audience."

Tags:critic, critique, cultural, culture, individual, individualism, masses, society, transcendentalism

Abstract
Assessing the critical reception of a literary text, and particularly its initial critical reception, can be valuable in understanding how the reputation of a work is shaped. As this essay will argue, this is especially the case with respect to Beatrice Culleton Mosionier's In Search of April Raintree because the initial critical reception of the text likely played a role in a radical and controversial revision of the text by the author. In this analysis, the critical reception of Mosionier's text represents a sort of feedback process through which we may better understand not only the text itself, but also the critical and cultural context in which it was produced and which shaped its production and revision.

From the Paper
2: The Critical Reception of In Search of April Raintree Assessing the critical reception of a literary text, and particularly its initial critical reception, can be valuable in understanding how the reputation of a work is shaped. As this essay will argue, this is especially the case with respect to Beatrice Culleton Mosionier's In Search of April Raintree because the initial critical reception of the text likely played a role in a radical and controversial revision of the text by the author. In this analysis, the critical reception of Mosionier's text represents a sort of feedback process through which we

Tags:critical, reception, literature

Abstract
The paper states that there is no practical definition of "critical psychology" and then offers a suggestion. The paper states that critical psychology should contain certain components and the paper highlights them and addresses them. The paper explains that the field of critical psychology takes a critical look at mainstream psychology, and in the process, embraces several disciplines within the field of psychology that practitioners of critical psychology feel have been ignored by mainstream psychology.

From the Paper
"Parker wrote that critical psychology should include these important components: one, a "systematic examination" of how some aspects of mainstream psychological dynamics operate "ideologically and in the service of power" (in other words, mainstream psychology supports the status quo which is not always on the right side of social change); two, critical psychology should include a study of the ways in which "all varieties of psychology are culturally historically constructed," and how alternative versions of psychology may "confirm or resist ideological assumptions in mainstream models"; three, critical psychology should be a study of "forms of surveillance and self-regulation" in daily life patterns; and four, critical psychology should be an "Exploration of the way 'ordinary psychology' structures academic and professional work in psychology," and how everyday actions might offer the substance of a strategy for resisting "contemporary disciplinary practices."

Tags:mainstream, models, critical, psychology

Abstract
This paper analyzes the superfund literature within an eco-critical theoretical context. While mainstream criminology tends to focus on individual explanations for why people commit crimes, the paper explains, this research examines a neglected dimension of the field. The paper notes that although environmental issues have received heightened attention in criminological literature, particularly over the past decade, little attention has been devoted to the development of a theoretical framework and appropriate propositions that define environmental crime, describe its possible causes and implications, and provide testable hypotheses from which the theory's effectiveness may be assessed.
The paper concludes that specific examinations of its failures within historical, political, and economic contexts reveal how the players involved in superfund contribute not only to its failure, but also to the further commission of environmental crimes.

Outline:
Introduction
Description and History of Superfund
Eco-Critical Theory and Criticisms of Superfund
Political Analysis of Superfund within the Framework of Eco-Critical Theory
Conclusion
References

From the Paper
"First, it is the only way to determine its effectiveness, consistent with the notion of a successful criminological theory. Second, it will raise the consciousness criminologists with respect to environmental crime. More generally, the theory challenges conventional notions of crime and victimization, moving toward a non-speciest criminology. In light of the extent to which humans have damaged the Earth and harmed its inhabitants through their counter-ecological practices, environmental crime and victimization resulting from it should receive more attention within the discipline. Criminologists, particularly ones who are concerned with activist agendas, are effective in bringing their concerns to the mainstream media and the general public and even, on occasion, affecting policies. More rigorous research within an eco-critical perspective will lend credibility to the perspective and have a better chance of being accepted and influential outside the discipline."

Tags:criminology, theory, critical

Abstract
The author looks at literary criticism, its definition, specific function and the contradictions that arise from its use. The author then looks at how different literarcy critics have attempted to pin Baudelaire's poetry down to something concrete, like knowledge, and in the process destroy the very notions he was portraying. By looking at the dependence of literary criticism on Aristotelian philosophy of art, in analyzing Baudelaire's poetry, the author illustrates how the intended meaning, and therefore, by extension, it's beauty has been destroyed.

From the Paper
"From the arguments above, it becomes obvious that criticism is applicable to Baudelaire's poetry as long as it is constrained within the limits of internal and semiprivate analysis. These approaches do not harm the beauty of the works, on the contrary. They are the means for explication of modernity, which is one of the elements of beauty according to Baudelaire - the element of particular. External evidence, in contrast, not only is inappropriate, being tangent to criticism, but also contradicts the second essential element of beauty - the element of absolute."

Tags:baudelaire, beauty, criticism, critics, fallacy, poetry, modernity