Allen Tate’s Critical Theory And Literary Practice

Though Allen Tate is not widely read, he may be regarded as one of the prominent modem critics. He managed to formulate a promising critical theory tackling some interesting areas in the field of literary criticism : New Criticism, tradition and literature as well as society and religion and their relevance to literature.Tate’s new critical principles are motivated by a faithful will to prove the validity of literature in an age dominated by science and technology. His theory of ”literature as knowledge” is the output of his efforts to demonstrate the significance of literature in curing the cultural void brought about by science and technology. In addition, it is a means to elevate the role of literature in overcoming the materialism and vulgarity resulting from the domination of industrialism..