1. Literary criticism is the analysis, interpretation, and evaluation of literary works. It examines the form and content of works to determine their artistic and intellectual merits.
2. Critics have two main functions: to interpret works and evaluate their meaning and significance, and to justify their evaluation by relating the work to conceptual frameworks.
3. New Criticism is a formalist approach that focuses on close reading of texts, considering their structure, literary devices, and internal consistency rather than external contexts. It aims for an objective interpretation of meaning from the work itself.