Indian Literary Criticism: A Journey Through the Ages

Bharata Muni is considered the father of Indian literary criticism due to his seminal work, the Natyashastra, which is a comprehensive treatise on dramaturgy and aesthetics.

The Dhvanyaloka School, founded by Anandavardhana, emphasizes the importance of rasa (aesthetic experience) and dhvani (suggestion) as the primary elements of literary appreciation.

The Vakrokti School, founded by Kuntaka, emphasizes the importance of vakrokti (figurative speech) as the primary element of literary appreciation.

The Alamkara School, founded by Bhamaha and Dandin, focuses on the analysis of figures of speech (alamkaras) as the primary element of literary appreciation.

Abhinavagupta is considered the most important critic of the Rasa School of Indian literary criticism due to his seminal work, the Abhinavabharati, which is a commentary on Bharata Muni's Natyashastra.

The Riti School, founded by Keshavdas and Matiram, emphasizes the importance of poetic structure and form as the primary element of literary appreciation.

Keshavdas is considered the founder of the Riti School of Indian literary criticism due to his seminal work, the Rasikapriya, which emphasizes the importance of poetic structure and form.

The Marxist School of Indian literary criticism, founded by C. N. Ashwatha and Harnam Singh Shan, emphasizes the importance of social and political context in literary analysis.

C. N. Ashwatha is considered the founder of the Marxist School of Indian literary criticism due to his seminal work, the Sahitya Sameeksha, which emphasizes the importance of social and political context in literary analysis.

The Reader Response School of Indian literary criticism, founded by Meenakshi Mukherjee and G. N. Devy, emphasizes the importance of reader response and interpretation in literary analysis.

Meenakshi Mukherjee is considered the founder of the Reader Response School of Indian literary criticism due to her seminal work, the Reader Response Criticism: From Formalism to Post-Structuralism, which emphasizes the importance of reader response and interpretation in literary analysis.

The Gender and Sexuality School of Indian literary criticism, founded by Rajeswari Sunder Rajan and Susie Tharu, emphasizes the importance of gender and sexuality in literary analysis.

Rajeswari Sunder Rajan is considered the founder of the Gender and Sexuality School of Indian literary criticism due to her seminal work, the Real and the Imagined: Gender, Culture, and Postcolonialism, which emphasizes the importance of gender and sexuality in literary analysis.

The Postcolonial School of Indian literary criticism, founded by Aijaz Ahmad and Gyan Prakash, emphasizes the importance of postcolonial theory in literary analysis.

Aijaz Ahmad is considered the founder of the Postcolonial School of Indian literary criticism due to his seminal work, the In Theory: Classes, Nations, Literatures, which emphasizes the importance of postcolonial theory in literary analysis.