What is Criticism?

Above all a moral obligation and duty is cast upon the person who uses his power of speech for criticism either as member of a ruling party or an opposition party. Hence, they should see that their criticism is confined within the borders of decency.

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3)By Writing:

Writing is another method that is used to criticize a person or the government. When your criticism through writing is directed against a private person or company, there is no problem as along as your criticism is fair and it is done and taken in a good spirit. When your criticism crosses the limit and if you run amok, certainly you will be tamed; you will invite all kinds of troubles and legal proceedings; your writing may be called as libel or slander and you may have to pay a price for it.

In democratic countries like India or US, your right to write is inviolable; press as the fourth estate or pillar uses this right freely and extensively; their right to criticize the policies and programmes of the government is a qualified privilege and they enjoy a complete immunity.

4)By Drawing pictures:

By drawing pictures of a particular person or an episode is another method used as a caricature in a democracy and this method is mostly used by the press through their newspapers and magazines. This method of criticism is mostly innocuous.

In the indirect methods of criticism, the particular person or thing is not criticized directly or referred to, but generally mentioned as third parties and not directed against any particular person. Hence, it is mostly harmless.

The direct method of criticism creates more impact, sometimes even devastating effects on the concerned persons and even provoking them to react violently.

If your criticism is fair and normal, it is well received and taken in good spirit; you are also applauded for your reasoned and well meaning criticism. But, if your criticism is devoid of truth, unfair and with ulterior motives, certainly you are inviting trouble from the person against whom your criticism is directed.

Criticism has specific names like comment and review; in the literary world it is known as literary criticism. In the writing world, we comment upon the blogs and articles we read; we write reviews on the books we read and the products we come across. We even publish our book reviews as articles and product reviews in the specific sites like ‘Ciao’ etc and earn money.

The world is alive and jumping sprightly, just because there is an element of criticism in every step or every move we embark upon. We cannot avoid or stop criticizing others and becoming a subject or victim of criticism for others.

Merits and Demerits of Criticism:

Criticism has also got its own merits and demerits.No one is omniscient; no one is impeccable.After all human is to err. Hence, whether it is your public life or a private life, you are bound to commit mistakes. Criticism, if taken in good spirit helps to refine a person, to get his mistakes corrected and learn new things and thereby progress in life.If there is no criticism in a democracy, the government will become autocratic and innocent peoples will be affected and stand lose their benefits. Hence, criticism is a must in a democracy. In your private life too criticism is an integral part of your life. If a student is not criticized for his mistakes by the teacher, if a worker is not criticized for his mistakes as a worker by his employer, if a runner or an athlete does not heed to the criticism of his coach and get them corrected, absolutely there is no scope for improvement in their life or career. Especially for a writer, whether he is a newbie or an established writer, criticism must be his life blood and part of his writing career. Only by adapting to the criticisms he faces in his life, a writer can grow into a full fledged or a perfect writer. Therefore, for every established writer, criticisms are the stepping stones of his successful writing career.

However, criticism if offered in a bad taste just to provoke a person or tarnish his image may not be cherished or well received. Such criticisms are despicable and should be avoided at all costs.  .

Hence, criticism has become an indispensable part of our life.We cannot even imagine a world that is devoid of criticism. .

That is why Elbert Hubbard summed up as follows: To avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing and be nothing.

Then, if we avoid criticism and live in a world without criticism, it means that we are living as dead persons.