Criticism and Critical Practice

The text critiques contemporary literary and artistic criticism, contrasting shallow, rule-based analysis with genuine criticism that captures the soul and passion of a work, and laments the rise of sensationalist, dogmatic reviewing.

Hazlitt critiques Sir Joshua Reynolds's theory of art, arguing for the inclusion of individual details over mere general effect.

The chapter is a sustained critical argument about the nature of artistic appreciation, contrasting the amateur's view with the connoisseur's or artist's deeper understanding.

The essay examines how criticism should be grounded in feeling and imagination, not abstract rules, and uses examples from art and physiognomy.

Hazlitt defends the essay form as a legitimate mode of criticism, consisting of 'additions and corrections' to common knowledge, and rejects the demand for systematic regularity.