One of the things one learns studying Literary Criticism is that objectivity in the classic sense is an impossibility. A theatrical review, for example, does not come out of nowhere, and is always deeply influenced by the values and life experience of the reviewer. The best he can do is be aware of his biases as he writes.
For people outside the academe, literary and art criticism is not only unfamiliar, but also difficult to read, let alone understand. This stems from the notion that all critical essays on fiction, poetry and other forms of art are barely comprehensible, due to the opacity and density of the language of criticism.
From the tombstone of Edgar Allan Poe, one can reach the street by taking a narrow dirt path between two tall stone mausoleums and crouching for a few steps underneath a portion of Westminster Hall.
