Principles of literary criticism

"Principles of Literary Criticism" by I. A. Richards is a deep dive into the world of literary critique from the early 1900s. This book breaks down different ideas about how we judge literature, arguing that to truly understand it, we need to look at the psychology behind it and what we value. Richards wants to make sense of how we decide if art is good, highlighting how important communication is in any kind of art. The beginning of the book kicks things off by talking about how messy and confusing literary theories are right now. Even though we can all experience art, we don't really understand why we value it. Richards takes a close look at critics from the past and present, saying they've made some good points but haven't really figured out what makes art important. Instead of just guessing, he believes we need to use psychology to create a system for understanding and judging art.