THE

PRINCIPLES OF CRITICISM

CRITICISM

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY

OF LITERATURE

illiam

BY

W. BASIL WORSFOLD, M.A.

OF UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, OXFORD

AND OF THE MIDDLE TEMPLE, BARRISTER-AT-LAW

NEW EDITION

LONDON: GEORGE ALLEN & UNWIN LTD.

RUSKIN HOUSE, 40 MUSEUM STREET, W. C. 1.

FIRST PUBLISHED 1897

NEW EDITION 1902

REPRINTED 1923

Reprinted in Saxony by the "Obral" Process from a copy
Printed in Great Britain by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & Co., EDINBURGH
At the Ballantyne Press

All Rights Reserved

SoTheran

13865

TO THE READER

THE purpose of this book is to present an account of the main principles of literary criticism, and to illustrate these principles by passages from great writers.