I thought that our class discussion on Wednesday was quite interesting. I began to think about what new criticism means. The definition that I got from class discussion was that is asserts the importance of critical thinking. Learning should not be memorizing great poems, students should be taught how to read poetry critically and appreciably. The values of new criticism are ahistorical, radically aestheticist, formalism, and scientific. I think that each one of these values can be interpreted differently by each individual. Yes, I guess a great poem should remain great throughout time, a poem might contain morals, can be a window to history, focus on forms of literature rather than the function, and should be objective, not a matter of taste, but how can one put a standard on literature? I think that literature is an organization of ideas, emotions, and experiences. How can literature not be a matter of taste? I know that if I read literature I have an opinion on it.

Then I began thinking about our value systems. Everyone has different value systems because each one of us have different social backgrounds. We all receive language differently. Saussure tried to explain how language is reflected. In his example of Bat, Cat, and Cot, he tried to show that humans have sign systems. The word cat reflects meaning, because within bat and cot there is a recognizable difference within the language. If two words were similar, then there would be no recognizable difference, and language would not work because everyone would get confused.

I believe that the English language is a combination of many languages. I think that we have been programmed since the beginning of time to understand the system of symbols which make up English. By reading Eagleton, I found that a symbol can mean anything depending on the current state of mind of the individual. The current state of mind usually goes back to one's background, which most likely will be unique from that of any other individual. What I mean by this is that a common word can mean a completely different thing to each individual that may encounter it. In conclusion, I think that each individual using the system of symbols has had different experiences that have shaped his or her definition of a word, therefore, there should be no standard.