Ronald Crane
Encyclopedia
Ronald Salmon Crane was a literary critic, historian
, bibliographer
, and professor
. He is credited with the founding of the Chicago School of Literary Criticism
.
. He received his B.A.
from the University of Michigan
in 1908 and his Ph.D.
in Philosophy
from the University of Pennsylvania
in 1911. That same year he became an instructor of English
at Northwestern University
. He was soon promoted to Assistant Professor, and then to Associate Professor in 1920. He continued to teach there until 1924, when he moved to the University of Chicago
.
began its development during the mid 1930s, around the time that Crane was named head of the University of Chicago’s English Department. During this time (from 1930 to 1952) Ronald Crane took on the role of managing editor for the University’s publication Modern Philology publication. His essay titled “History Versus Criticism in the Study of Literature,” published in 1935, is considered the first publication of the Chicago School. Other members of the early School included W. R. Keast, Richard McKeon
, Norman Maclean
, Elder Olson
, and Bernard Weinberg. The “group of friends” (as Crane called them) worked together to publish an anthology of their writings in 1952 titled Critics and Criticism: Ancient and Modern. That same year, Crane was named a Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of English at the University of Chicago.
The School has often been called “Neo-Aristotelian,” though in the introduction to Critics and Criticism (and in other works, such as “Toward a More Adequate Criticism of Poetic Structure”) Crane argued strongly against that title. Regardless, Aristotle’s
Poetics
and the method of inquiry he created played an important and obvious role in their works: Crane emphasized Form and Matter in his writings as inseparable entities within poetry
, and frequently referred to Aristotle’s distinction between imitative and non-imitative poetry. The prefix “Neo
” is applied because of the modifications Crane makes to Aristotle’s original theories in Poetics.
The Chicago Critics also emphasized a necessity of multiple theories of criticism. Ronald Crane continuously warned against “any effort to define authoritatively the frontiers and problems of our subject.” (Toward a More…). Instead of pursuing a final objective
truth through criticism
, the Chicago Critics saw criticism as a method, not an end. This created a tension between them and the New Critics
, whose approach was often to outline fallacies and incorrect criticisms in an “authoritative” way that made Crane bristle.
. He also held positions in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
and was a member of the London Bibliographical Society
.
His death was a result of a long illness. His obituary
included a retelling of the story that upon his death bed, Wayne C. Booth
, one of his former students and another leader in the Chicago School, came to visit and suggested that Crane was looking better. Crane, Booth said, replied by asking “What is your evidence?”
He died on July 12, 1967 in his home in Chicago
, Illinois
.
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
, bibliographer
Bibliographer
"A bibliographer is a person who describes and lists books and other publications, with particular attention to such characteristics as authorship, publication date, edition, typography, etc. The result of this endeavor is a bibliography...
, and professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
. He is credited with the founding of the Chicago School of Literary Criticism
Chicago school (literary criticism)
The Chicago School of literary criticism was a form of criticism of English literature begun at the University of Chicago in the 1930s, which lasted until the 1950s. It was also called Neo-Aristotelianism, due to its strong emphasis on Aristotle’s concepts of plot, character and genre...
.
Early life
Ronald Crane was born in Tecumseh, MichiganTecumseh, Michigan
Tecumseh is a small city in Lenawee County of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated where M-50 crosses the River Raisin, a few miles east of M-52. Tecumseh is about SW of Detroit, south of Ann Arbor and north of Toledo, OH....
. He received his B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
from the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
in 1908 and his Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in Philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
from the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
in 1911. That same year he became an instructor of English
English studies
English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...
at Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
. He was soon promoted to Assistant Professor, and then to Associate Professor in 1920. He continued to teach there until 1924, when he moved to the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
.
The Chicago School of Critics
The Chicago School of CriticsChicago school (literary criticism)
The Chicago School of literary criticism was a form of criticism of English literature begun at the University of Chicago in the 1930s, which lasted until the 1950s. It was also called Neo-Aristotelianism, due to its strong emphasis on Aristotle’s concepts of plot, character and genre...
began its development during the mid 1930s, around the time that Crane was named head of the University of Chicago’s English Department. During this time (from 1930 to 1952) Ronald Crane took on the role of managing editor for the University’s publication Modern Philology publication. His essay titled “History Versus Criticism in the Study of Literature,” published in 1935, is considered the first publication of the Chicago School. Other members of the early School included W. R. Keast, Richard McKeon
Richard McKeon
Richard McKeon was an American philosopher.-Life, times, and influences:McKeon obtained his undergraduate degree from Columbia University in 1920, graduating at the early age of 20 despite serving briefly in the U.S. Navy during the First World War...
, Norman Maclean
Norman Maclean
Norman Fitzroy Maclean was an American author and scholar noted for his books A River Runs Through It and Other Stories and Young Men and Fire .-Biography:...
, Elder Olson
Elder Olson
Elder James Olson was an American poet, teacher and literary critic.He was born in Chicago, Illinois and attended Carl Schurz High School. As an undergraduate at the University of Chicago, he published a volume of poetry...
, and Bernard Weinberg. The “group of friends” (as Crane called them) worked together to publish an anthology of their writings in 1952 titled Critics and Criticism: Ancient and Modern. That same year, Crane was named a Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of English at the University of Chicago.
The School has often been called “Neo-Aristotelian,” though in the introduction to Critics and Criticism (and in other works, such as “Toward a More Adequate Criticism of Poetic Structure”) Crane argued strongly against that title. Regardless, Aristotle’s
Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
Poetics
Poetics
Aristotle's Poetics is the earliest-surviving work of dramatic theory and the first extant philosophical treatise to focus on literary theory...
and the method of inquiry he created played an important and obvious role in their works: Crane emphasized Form and Matter in his writings as inseparable entities within poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
, and frequently referred to Aristotle’s distinction between imitative and non-imitative poetry. The prefix “Neo
Neo
Neo is a prefix from the ancient Greek word for young "neos" which derived from the Proto-Indo European word for new "néwos".Neo may refer to:* Neo , the protagonist of the Matrix film series...
” is applied because of the modifications Crane makes to Aristotle’s original theories in Poetics.
The Chicago Critics also emphasized a necessity of multiple theories of criticism. Ronald Crane continuously warned against “any effort to define authoritatively the frontiers and problems of our subject.” (Toward a More…). Instead of pursuing a final objective
Objectivity (philosophy)
Objectivity is a central philosophical concept which has been variously defined by sources. A proposition is generally considered to be objectively true when its truth conditions are met and are "mind-independent"—that is, not met by the judgment of a conscious entity or subject.- Objectivism...
truth through criticism
Criticism
Criticism is the judgement of the merits and faults of the work or actions of an individual or group by another . To criticize does not necessarily imply to find fault, but the word is often taken to mean the simple expression of an objection against prejudice, or a disapproval.Another meaning of...
, the Chicago Critics saw criticism as a method, not an end. This created a tension between them and the New Critics
New Criticism
New Criticism was a movement in literary theory that dominated American literary criticism in the middle decades of the 20th century. It emphasized close reading, particularly of poetry, to discover how a work of literature functioned as a self-contained, self-referential aesthetic...
, whose approach was often to outline fallacies and incorrect criticisms in an “authoritative” way that made Crane bristle.
Death
One month before Ronald Crane died he was elected a corresponding fellow of the British AcademyBritish Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national body for the humanities and the social sciences. Its purpose is to inspire, recognise and support excellence in the humanities and social sciences, throughout the UK and internationally, and to champion their role and value.It receives an annual...
. He also held positions in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
and was a member of the London Bibliographical Society
Bibliographical Society
Founded in 1892, the Bibliographical Society is the senior learned society dealing with the study of the book and its history, based in London, England....
.
His death was a result of a long illness. His obituary
Obituary
An obituary is a news article that reports the recent death of a person, typically along with an account of the person's life and information about the upcoming funeral. In large cities and larger newspapers, obituaries are written only for people considered significant...
included a retelling of the story that upon his death bed, Wayne C. Booth
Wayne C. Booth
Wayne Clayson Booth was an American literary critic. He was the George M. Pullman Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus in English Language & Literature and the College at the University of Chicago...
, one of his former students and another leader in the Chicago School, came to visit and suggested that Crane was looking better. Crane, Booth said, replied by asking “What is your evidence?”
He died on July 12, 1967 in his home in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
.
Works By Crane
- New Essays by Oliver Goldsmith editor (1927)
- A Census of British Newspapers and Periodicals, 1620-1800 (1927) co-author
- A Collection of English Poems, 1660-1800 (1932) editor
- Critical and Historical Principles of Literary History author
- Languages of Criticism and the Structure of Poetry (1953)
- Critics and Criticism: Ancient and Modern (1952) editor and contributor
- Critics and Criticism: Essays in Method (1957) editor and contributor
- The Idea of the Humanities (1967)
Secondary sources
- Critical Theory Since Plato edited by Hazard Adams. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publishers, 1971.
- Critical Understanding: The Powers and Limits of Pluralism Wayne C. Booth. University of Chicago Press, 1939.
- "R.S. Crane Dead: Founder of Chicago School Opposed New Criticism" New York Times August 29, 1967. Page 40.
- Ronald S. Crane Papers. Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library
- The Johns Hopkins guide to literary theory and criticism 2nd ed. edited by Michael Groden, Martin Kreiswirth, and Imre Szeman. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005.