ENLIGHTENMENT AND LITERARY CRITICISM

Abstract

Abstract: This article provides a comprehensive overview of the development 
of  European  literary  criticism  from  the  Renaissance  to  the  Enlightenment  and 
Neoclassicism. The study focuses on key figures and theoretical models that shaped 
the evolution of critical thought, ranging from P. Sidney and his defense of poetry as a 
morally significant art form to J. Dryden, A. Pope, and S. Johnson, who established the 
foundations of Neoclassical aesthetics and criticism. The analysis addresses the main 
aesthetic principles of the classical tradition, including mimesis, catharsis, the three 
unities, and the concept of “art as imitation.”