58 pages 1 hour read

The Mirror and the Lamp: Romantic Theory and the Critical Tradition

Nonfiction | Reference/Text Book | Adult | Published in 1954

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Preface-Chapter 2Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Preface Summary

Abrams opens by providing a general overview of his goals in the book. He explains that the theory of art and poetry developed in Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s (1772-1834) time persists in contemporary critical theories. He focuses the book’s discussion on major theorists from the Romantic period, with a particular emphasis on the first 40 years of the 19th century.


To provide background for the book, Abrams explores German aesthetic theory and classical philosophy, seeking to connect Romantic theory to wider developments in science, theology, and ethics. He defines his titular metaphor and connects the Mirror, as “a reflector of external objects” (viii), to pre-Romantic thought and the neo-classical era, while the Lamp signifies the movement to Romantic critical thought. He concludes the Preface with acknowledgements of those who helped him complete the book.

Chapter 1 Summary: “Introduction: Orientation of Critical Theories”

Abrams begins by defining the critical attitude of his contemporaries and offers an overview of literary and aesthetic criticism. Abrams references critiques of aesthetic theory that treat it as a “pseudo-philosophy” (4) and begins to answer those criticisms. He offers a definition of criticism that distinguishes the practice from hard science and psychology.

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