Final answer:
The purpose of a literary critic is indeed to interpret the meaning of a piece of literature which is a true statement. Literary criticism involves close reading and analysis beyond personal opinions or judgment of literary quality, seeing literature as a reflection of objective truths and social or political ideas. The New Critics' approach emphasizes literature's role in conveying the world's best-known and thought concepts.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that one of the purposes of a literary critic is to point out what a piece of literature means is true. However, it's important to recognize that literary criticism is more than just offering subjective judgments about the quality of a literary work.
Critics conduct a close reading of texts, critique works from various theoretical perspectives or engage in debates regarding other critics' interpretations. The goal of literary criticism is to analyze and interpret literature to uncover the myriad of potential meanings within a text. This process often involves close attention to the work's structure, themes, and the social or political ideas it advances.
Focus on New Critical Strategies
The New Critics treated a literary work as an object of beauty and truth, believing that literature conveys some objective meaning through its artistry. Their approach to literary criticism was based on the notion that literature reflects "the best that is known and thought in the world," making the act of interpretation a profound activity. Thus, criticism goes beyond personal opinions to an assignment of truth value to art.