R. S. Crane
Ronald Salmon Crane, born in 1886 in Tecumseh, Michigan, was a prominent American literary critic and scholar known for his foundational contributions to literary criticism during the 20th century. After earning degrees from the University of Michigan and the University of Pennsylvania, he began his academic career at Northwestern University before moving to the University of Chicago, where he became a key figure in what became known as the Chicago School of literary criticism. Crane's influential work, including his 1935 essay "History Versus Criticism in the Study of Literature," emphasized the primacy of literary criticism over historical approaches and led to the formation of a group of critics known as the Chicago Critics.
This group championed the importance of form and plot in literature, challenging contemporary methods like New Criticism. Crane's landmark book, "The Languages of Criticism and the Structure of Poetry," further articulated the theoretical foundations for their critical approach, which advocated for a pluralistic perspective in literary analysis. Despite not achieving the level of impact they initially envisioned, Crane and his colleagues significantly influenced modern American literary criticism, promoting a deeper understanding of the relationship between critical theory and the craft of writing. His legacy endures through the methods that later critics built upon, affirming Crane's role as a pivotal figure in the evolution of literary analysis.
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Subject Terms
R. S. Crane
Literary Critic
- Born: January 5, 1886
- Birthplace: Tecumseh, Michigan
- Died: August 27, 1967
- Place of death: Chicago, Illinois
Biography
Born in Tecumseh, Michigan, in 1886, Ronald Salmon Crane developed an early love for literature. He became an active literary critic in 1906 and earned his bachelor of arts degree in English from the University of Michigan in 1908. In 1911, he was awarded his doctorate in English from the University of Pennsylvania.
Early in his career, Crane established himself as a bibliographer, historian of ideas, and philologist. He married Julia L. Fuller in 1917. They had two children. After serving as a professor of English at Northwestern University from 1911 to 1924, he was appointed as an English professor at the University of Chicago. In 1935, Crane wrote “History Versus Criticism in the Study of Literature,” in which he took the position that criticism plays the most important role in the study of literature. He established the Chicago School of literary criticism.
In the late 1930’s, Crane organized a group of scholars and critics from various disciplines in an effort to provide a more comprehensive way for analyzing literature. Based on differences in theories of literature and literary language, Crane and his group attacked the New Criticism approach, as well as other contemporary critical schools and methods. Joined by well-known literary critics that included Richard McKeon, Bernard Weinberg, and Norman Maclean, Crane’s group became known as the Chicago Critics. Because of their emphasis on form, genre, and plot, they were also referred to as the Chicago Neo- Aristotelians. They were particularly strong in the history of criticism and in their direct, analytical attacks on individual New Critics. Crane served at the University of Chicago until 1951.
In his landmark book, The Languages of Criticism and the Structure of Poetry (1953), Crane detailed the theoretical foundations for the principles and methods employed by the Chicago Critics. Crane fervently upheld his belief in the importance of humanistic values in literature and emphasized the need for a thorough evaluation of an author’s intentions in solving the specific problems involved in constructing a text. In this and other works, he argued that the New Criticism approach detracted from the human qualities of poetry and maintained that Aristotle’s work was the most effective approach for poetic works. Depending on what was being criticized, Crane advocated the use of multiple types of criticism and interdisciplinary interpretation, a stance known as pluralism. Crane and his group tried to restore the importance of plot (as opposed to narrative) in fiction, a point originally argued by Aristotle. Crane believed that the plot is what gives the author power to unify and control the text, as well as govern the reader’s emotional responses.
Although the Chicago Critics never impacted literary criticism as dramatically as they had initially hoped, Crane and his group of pluralist literary critics did exert significant influence on the development of modern American criticism. Crane is recognized as one of the most important figures in the development of reasonable, intelligent standards of analytical criticism. He was a key figure in helping writers focus on the development of a better understanding of the relationship between critical theory and writing good fiction. Other important critics, such as Wayne C. Booth, applied and expanded the methods advocated by Crane and the Chicago Critics.