Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions based on the passage:
In schools, studying literature often means closely reading a novel, play, or poem without relying much on outside sources. This approach, known as practical criticism, was developed by I.A. Richards (1893-1979) in the 1920s. He believed that focusing on the words themselves and how the writing creates effects would help people judge if a poem was truly 'good' or just had a good reputation. Practical criticism seeks connections among images, themes, and language patterns. Richards and his colleagues saw this method as scientific and thought it led to objective judgments about value. He was part of a group of Cambridge University lecturers who helped shape English Literature as a discipline. Their ideas influenced the New Critics, like John Crowe Ransom (1888-1974) and Cleanth Brooks (1906-94), and their peers in the United States. By examining literature in this way, they created a hierarchy of texts: some were seen as having universal meaning and artistic value, while others were considered too formulaic for serious study. The group of texts seen as most important is often called the literary canon.
How did the New Critics expand upon Richards's theories?
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Correct answer: D
Explanation
The passage states that I.A. Richards developed 'practical criticism,' which focuses on 'closely reading a novel, play, or poem without relying much on outside sources.' It then notes that these ideas 'influenced the New Critics,' such as John Crowe Ransom and Cleanth Brooks.
The New Critics took Richards’s foundation of 'the words themselves' and 'language patterns' and turned it into a formal, rigorous method of close reading that looked at the internal structure (images, themes, and language) to make objective judgments about a text's value, independent of the author's biography or historical context.