Literary Criticism in India and Acharya Shukla's Theory of Poetry (An Old Book)

This is my humble tribute to the memory of Acharya Ramachandra Shukla in the year of his birth centenary. I did not have an opportunity to sit at his feet during my student life. But I have studied his critical works as text-books. In my professional career as a critic, he has been my model and consciously or un- consciously, I have tried to emulate him, vie with him and (pardon my audacity) sometimes even to excel him.

The present volume is divided into two parts. The first part contains two essays (i) Indian Literature—Basic concept and (ii) Literary Criticism in India—which provide a pan-Indian back- ground for the study of the great Hindi critic.

There are nine essays in the second part. Within the limited scope of these short essays, I have made a sincere effort to explain the basic concepts that constitute the distinctive features of Acharya Shukla’s Poetic Theory.

This study is limited to Acharya Shukla’s Poetic Theory only. An appraisal of his Practical Criticism will require another volume.

**Contents and Sample Pages**