The Mirror and the Lamp: Romantic Theory and the Critical Tradition

M.H. Abrams's The Mirror and the Lamp: Romantic Theory and the Critical Tradition (1953) is a seminal work in literary criticism that revolutionized the study of the Romantic period. The book's title uses two metaphors to characterize 18th- and 19th-century English literature: the "mirror" representing literature as a reflection of outward reality, and the "lamp" symbolizing the illumination artists shed upon their inner and outer worlds.1

Abrams also introduced four critical "orientations" for examining literary works: mimetic (imitating the world), pragmatic (achieving effects on an audience), expressive (relating to the producer), and objective (examining internal relationships within the artwork). This framework has been influential in understanding literary theory and criticism.12