This paper reports the results of an investigation of the effects of a course in general semantics on the ability of college students to respond appropriately to the demands of a poem. While previous studies by Livingston and Berger have indicated the salutary effect of instruction in general semantics on the critical reading and writing of expository materials, several educators in the language arts field have suggested that instruction in general semantics may have deleterious effects on a student's ability to respond appropriately to fictional literature in general and to poetry in particular. l>2 These educators point out that I. A. Richards, in Practical criticism, demonstrates how particular behavioral tendencies