With affinities to classical rhetoric, literary critical theory forms the second component.19 A model devised by the twentieth century American critic M. H. Abrams presents an overview of the subject.20 Four elements constitute the total situation of a literary artifact: the work, the artist, the universe, and the audience. Abrams orders them in a triangle with the work of art at the center. The particular emphasis assigned each element gives rise to four sets of theories
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