A comparative study of romantic critical theory and phenomenological critical theory

Although the methods of phenomenology have been employed by criticism only in the twentieth century, the critical theory of these phenomenological critics is remarkably similar to romantic critical theory. The concepts of phenomenological philosophy that are applicable to aesthetics and to literary criticism are (l) a rejection of pure science, (2) an emphasis on pre-reflective consciousness, and (3) a rejection of Descartes's subject-object dichotomy.

Drawing on these tenets from phenomenology, this new school of phenomenological literary critics (sometimes referred to as the Geneva school or critics of consciousness) can be compared to the romantics in terms of their critical theory. Using Gaston Bachelard, Marcel Raymond, Albert Béeguin, and Jean-Pierre Richard from the phenomenological school and William Wordsworth, Percy B. Shelley, S. T. Coleridge, and John Keats in the romantic period, a point by point comparison of their critical theories demonstrates the numerous similarities.

Both the phenomenologists and the romantics view literature as creation rather than just a reflection of nature, thus rejecting the mimetic theory of art that originated with Plato. The two groups agree further in considering literature as an expression of the poet's assimilating consciousness (a distinct difference from twentieth century formalist criticism that considers the work of literature as an object independent of its author). The phenomenologists and romantics also agree on the necessity of including an analysis of the poet's consciousness in their criticism since literature is the product of that creative consciousness. Both groups are particularly interested in the creative process, and they posit similar theories of creativity to describe the act of composing poetry. The two groups consider poetry to include both thought and spontaneity--i.e., synthesizing passion and reason. The creative process also represents a synthesis of subject and object--a primary concept in phenomenology.

With its renewed emphasis on the writer of a work of literature, the phenomenological method of criticism effectively draws on a number of other disciplines and demonstrates a marked similarity to the romantic tradition.