Literary Criticism

1. Literary Criticism II
ENG- 332
Lecture No: 08
“Walter Pater’s Concept of Style”
Course: Literary Criticism II- ENG- 332 – Instructor: Siraj Khan, Lecturer in English, Department of English KUST- Email: siraj.khan@kust.edu.pk
By: Siraj Khan
Lecturer in English
KUST

2. Outlines
Poet’s Biography
Poetry and Prose
Selection of Words
Pater on Style
The Mind in Style
The Soul in Style
From the Preface
Conclusion
Topic: Walter Pater’s Concept of Style
Course: Literary Criticism II ENG- 332 – Instructor: Siraj Khan, Lecturer in English, Department of English KUST- Email: siraj.khan@kust.edu.pk

3. Walter Horatio Pater
(August 04, 1839– July 30, 1894 )
 English Victorian Poet
 Art for Art’s Sake
 Essayist, Critic, Humanist
 Chief Theorist of the Aesthetic Movement
 All art constantly aspires towards the condition of music
 Studied Greek Philosophy
 Religion and Aestheticism
Topic: Walter Pater’s Concept of Style
Course: Literary Criticism II ENG- 332 – Instructor: Siraj Khan, Lecturer in English, Department of English KUST- Email: siraj.khan@kust.edu.pk

4. Prose and Poetry
 Prose and Poetry Are the same
 Imaginative & Unimaginative
 Aesthetic Pleasure
 Literature of Facts
 Future Prospects of P&P
Topic: Walter Pater’s Concept of Style
Course: Literary Criticism II ENG- 332 – Instructor: Siraj Khan, Lecturer in English, Department of English KUST- Email: siraj.khan@kust.edu.pk

5. Selection of Words
• Artistic
• The Use of Vocabulary
• Requires Labour
• Knowledge of Art, Science and Philosophy
• Sonority of Words
• Figures of Speech
Topic: Walter Pater’s Concept of Style
Course: Literary Criticism II ENG- 332 – Instructor: Siraj Khan, Lecturer in English, Department of English KUST- Email: siraj.khan@kust.edu.pk

6. Pater On Style
• Logical Coherence is the Mind in Style
• Echoed Longinus
• Careful Construction of Words
• Subject Matters
• Words are the Body
Topic: Walter Pater’s Concept of Style
Course: Literary Criticism II ENG- 332 – Instructor: Siraj Khan, Lecturer in English, Department of English KUST- Email: siraj.khan@kust.edu.pk

7. The Mind in Style
 Construction of Sentences
 Logical Bridges
 Coherence
 Meaningful
 Syntactical & Semantically Correct
 Combined Thoughts
Topic: Walter Pater’s Concept of Style
Course: Literary Criticism II ENG- 332 – Instructor: Siraj Khan, Lecturer in English, Department of English KUST- Email: siraj.khan@kust.edu.pk

8. From the Preface
• Quotes but undermines Matthew Arnold:
“To see the object as in itself it really is,” has
been justly said to be the aim of all true criticism
whatever; and in aesthetic criticism the first step
towards seeing one’s object as it really is, is to
know one’s own impression as it really is, to
discriminate it, to realize it distinctly. What is
this song or picture, this engaging personality
presented in life or in a book, to me?”
Topic: Walter Pater’s Concept of Style
Course: Literary Criticism II ENG- 332 – Instructor: Siraj Khan, Lecturer in English, Department of English KUST- Email: siraj.khan@kust.edu.pk

9.  The Element of Personality
 Style is the Man
 Poetic Pursuit
 The outer Beauty
 Realistic
Course: Literary Criticism II ENG- 332 – Instructor: Siraj Khan, Lecturer in English, Department of English KUST- Email: siraj.khan@kust.edu.pk
Topic: Walter Pater’s Concept of Style
The Soul in Style

10. • Pater’s essay on Style is not merely a treatment of
the qualities of good prose; it is also an exposition
of his aesthetic creed and his canons and
principles of criticism. In this essay, while
discussing diction, form and style, he is also
discussing the central problems of literary art.
This is clearly brought out by a brief
consideration of the essay.
Topic: Walter Pater’s Concept of Style
Course: Literary Criticism II ENG- 332 – Instructor: Siraj Khan, Lecturer in English, Department of English KUST- Email: siraj.khan@kust.edu.pk
Conclusion

11. Remarks
 Oscar Wilde called this collection of essays the
"holy writ of beauty." Published to great
acclaim in 1837, it examines the work of
Renaissance artists such as Winckelmann and
the then neglected Botticelli, and includes a
celebrated discussion of the Mona Lisa in a
study of Da Vinci. The book strongly
influenced art students and aesthetes of the day
and is still valuable for the insights it offers and
the beauty of the writing
Topic: Walter Pater’s Concept of Style
Course: Literary Criticism II ENG- 332 – Instructor: Siraj Khan, Lecturer in English, Department of English KUST- Email: siraj.khan@kust.edu.pk

12. GOOD LUCK
Course: Literary Criticism II ENG- 332 – Instructor: Siraj Khan, Lecturer in English, Department of English KUST- Email: siraj.khan@kust.edu.pk
Topic: Walter Pater’s Concept of Style