ISSN: 2456-8104 JRSP-ELT, Issue 17, Vol. 4, 2020, Impact Factor: 1.025 (IIFS) www.jrspelt.com _____________________________________________________________________________________ A Brief Study of Criticism and Its Forms Dr. V. Chandra Sekhar Rao 1 A Brief Study of Criticism and Its Forms Dr. V. Chandra Sekhar Rao (csrao46@gmail.com) Professor of English, Hyderabad, India ______________________________________________________________________________ Abstract Criticism is a critical study of some subject or theme which seems as: an interpretation, assessment, analysis, judging merits, unfavorable opinions and systematic inquiry. It also gives the opportunity for context setting. Literary criticism may have a positive or a negative inclination as well as an investigation of someone’s work of literature. Critical theory is the philosophical appraisal and analysis of society and culture and it keeps up that philosophy is the main snag to human freedom. There are various forms of criticism occurring in the day-to-day life. Keywords: Criticism, Critical theory, Forms of Criticism, Literary Criticism Introduction The word, criticism, is gotten from the French word, critique; it was long, thinking back to the fourteenth century. Criticism is a word utilized in two identifies; at first, it implied "an academic investigation and adjusted judgment". The words "critic" and "critical" existed in the English language from the middle of sixteenth century. The word "criticism" first showed up in English in the middle of seventeenth century. A while later in mid-twentieth century, it came to connote "an unfriendly assault" pointing out the terrible features of the topic. The following are the definitions of criticism taken from the contemporary dictionaries: 1. the act of criticizing usually unfavorably; the art of evaluating or analyzing works of art or literature also : writings expressing such evaluation or analysis; the scientific investigation of literary documents (such as the Bible) in regard to such matters as origin, text, composition, or history. (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ ) 2. an opinion given about something or someone, esp. a negative opinion, or the activity of making such judgments; Criticism is also a careful discussion of something in order to judge its quality or explain its meaning. (https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/ ) 3. the act or an instance of making an unfavourable or severe judgment, comment, etc; the analysis or evaluation of a work of art, literature, etc. (https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/ )