Literary criticism analyzes, studies, and evaluates works of literature using various theoretical approaches such as formalism, reader response theory, biographical criticism, sociological theories like feminism and Marxism, psychoanalytic theory, and archetypal criticism. Common elements examined include the work itself, the artist, the context or nature being imitated, and the audience. Studying literature through different critical lenses provides deeper understanding and appreciation of works.
Literary criticism analyzes, studies, and evaluates works of literature using various theoretical approaches such as formalism, reader response theory, biographical criticism, sociological theories like feminism and Marxism, psychoanalytic theory, and archetypal criticism. Common elements examined include the work itself, the artist, the context or nature being imitated, and the audience. Studying literature through different critical lenses provides deeper understanding and appreciation of works.
Literary criticism analyzes, studies, and evaluates works of literature using various theoretical approaches such as formalism, reader response theory, biographical criticism, sociological theories like feminism and Marxism, psychoanalytic theory, and archetypal criticism. Common elements examined include the work itself, the artist, the context or nature being imitated, and the audience. Studying literature through different critical lenses provides deeper understanding and appreciation of works.
Literary criticism analyzes, studies, and evaluates works of literature using various theoretical approaches such as formalism, reader response theory, biographical criticism, sociological theories like feminism and Marxism, psychoanalytic theory, and archetypal criticism. Common elements examined include the work itself, the artist, the context or nature being imitated, and the audience. Studying literature through different critical lenses provides deeper understanding and appreciation of works.
Download as PPSX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
Download as ppsx, pdf, or txt
You are on page 1of 26
Theories of Literary
Criticism
Modified from presentations by Suzann Ledford and
Prestwick House, Inc. Introduction to Literary Criticism The terms “literary criticism,” “literary theory” and “critical theory” refer to essentially the same fields of study. They address ways of looking at literature beyond the typical plot- theme-character-setting studies. Functions of Literary Criticism Literary criticism has two main functions: 1. To analyze, study, and evaluate works of literature. 2. To form general principles for the examination of works of literature. Common Characteristics M.H. Abrams points out in The Mirror and the Lamp that “any reasonably adequate theory takes some account of . . . four elements” (6). These elements are 1. The work itself 2. The artist who creates the work 3. The universe or the nature that is being imitated by the work 4. The audience of the work Benefit of Using Literary Criticism • One of the views is likely to affirm your perspective and speak to what you see in the literature you are studying. • Studying a view different from yours—not to disagree with it, but to understand it—helps you understand those who hold that view. • Studying a work from more than one view gives you a deeper understanding ofthe author’s work and a better appreciation for the richness of it. What are the most common or popular critical theories? Formalism (later, New Criticism) Reader Response (later, Reception Theory) Biographical Sociological: Feminist Sociological: Marxist New Historicism Psychoanalytic or Freudian Archetypal or Mythological Formalism • Evaluate a work on its own terms rather than relying on “accepted” notions of the writer’s work • Works best when applied to poetry and short fiction. • Attempts to discover meaning by close reading of a work of literature. Focus is on: – Form, organization, and structure – Word choice and language – Multiple meanings • Considers the work in isolation, disregarding author’s intent, author’s background, context, and anything else outside of the work itself. Formalism/New Criticism • The formalist movement began in England with the publication of I.A. Richards’ Practical Criticism (1929). • American critics (such as John Crowe Ransom, Robert Penn Warren, and Cleanth Brooks) adapted formalism and termed their adaptation “New Criticism.” • New Criticism varied from formalism in that New Criticism focuses on image, symbol, and meaning. Traditional formalists often attacked New Critics for their lack of attention to the form of the work. Impact of Formalism Today, few critics adhere only to the formalist or New Criticism theory. However, its back-to-the-basics approach pervades many other critical theories. Reader-Response/ Reception Theory • Sees the reader as essential to interpretation of a work. ->Each reader is unique, with different educations, experiences, moral values, opinions, tastes, etc. ->Therefore, each reader’s interaction with a work is unique. • Analyzes features of text that shape/guide a reader’s reading. • Emphasizes recursive reading—rereading for new interpretations. • Has sometimes been criticized as not intellectual enough gave rise to new form called Reception Theory • Reception theory is applied to the general reading public rather than an individual reader. Each generation has different experiences, values, issues, etc. Therefore, each generation will read a work differently. Biographical Criticism • Analyzes an author’s life in regard to their work • Can enhance the understanding of a work • Must be used carefully as parallels and connections are potentially easy to fabricate Sociological Criticism Maintains that the literary work cannot be separated from the social context in which it was created. Sociological theory is so broad that it can be subdivided in many different categories. Two dominant theories we’ll look at are • Feminist criticism • Marxist criticism Feminist Criticism • Feminist criticism grew out of the women’s movement that followed World War II. • Feminist critics analyze the role of gender in works of literature. • Two purposes of feminist criticism: – Feminist critique: The analysis of works by male authors, especially in the depiction of women’s writing. – Gynocriticism: The study of women’s writing
Three main areas of study:
1. differences between men and women 2. women in positions of power and power dynamics between men and women 3. the female experience Feminist Criticism Feminist critics have been responsible for recovering neglected works by women authors through the ages and creating a canon of women’s writing. A case in point is Kate Chopin. She was fairly widely published in the 1890s, but her work was largely neglected by literary critics until the 1960s, when Chopin was “rediscovered” by feminist critics. Soooo…Examining “Cinderella” from a Feminist Perspective • Consider the potentially misogynist theme of abused-girl-waiting-to-be- rescued-by-prince. • Consider the values conveyed in the portrayal of the “good girl” as physically beautiful and the “wicked girls” as physically ugly. Great TEDtalk: Why women should tell the stories of humanity Marxist Criticism • Based on social/economic theories of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Their beliefs include the following: – Value is based on labor. – Working class will eventually overthrow the capitalist middle class. – In the meantime, middle class exploits the working class. – Most institutions—religious, legal, educational, and governmental—are corrupted by middle-class capitalists Intro. to • Marxist critics apply these economic and social Marxis theories to literature by analyzing: m – Ideologies that support the elite and place the working class at a disadvantage – Class conflict – Materialism vs. spirituality • Marxism strongly influenced fiction, particularly American fiction, in the 1930s. Soooo…Examining “Cinderella” from a Marxist Perspective • Consider Cinderella as a representative of the proletariat: • oppressed by her bourgeoisie stepmother and stepsisters, who have stolen her rightful inheritance and turned her into a servant in her own home; • desiring to join the ranks of the bourgeoisie by marrying the prince. New Historicism • New historicist critics view literature as part of history and, furthermore, as an expression of forces on history. • Presents a dynamic circle: – The work tells us something about the surrounding ideology (slavery, rights of women, etc.) – Study of the ideology tells us something about the work. • New historicists assert that literature “does not exist outside time and place and cannot be interpreted without reference to the era in which it was written” (Kirszner and Mandell 2038). New Historicism • Readers are influenced by their culture, so no objective reading of a work is possible. • Critics should consider how their own culture affects their interpretation of the historical influence on a work. Psychoanalytic Criticism • Analyzes literature to reveal insights about the way the human mind works. • Is based on the work of Sigmund Freud and his disciples. • Works well as a method of analyzing characters’ actions and motivations. Basic Freudian Concepts • All actions are influenced by the unconscious. • Human beings must repress many of their desires to live peacefully with others. • Repressed desires often surface in the unconscious, motivating actions. Basic Freudian Concepts • The mind has three major areas of activity: – Id: Area in the unconscious that works for gratification through the pleasure principle – Superego: An internal censor bringing social pressures to bear on the id. – Ego: Area in the consciousness that mediates among demands of social pressure, the id, and the superego. Mythological Approach • Largely attributed to Carl Jung, a disciple of Sigmund Freud • Archetype: a model or pattern from which all other things of a similar nature are made • Collective Unconscious--there are certain basic and central images and experiences that are inherent in the human psyche • Analyzes what in a work evokes a similar response in people, regardless of culture • Concerned with enduring patterns and how they are reflected in literature Examples of Archetypes Common Topics/Themes: Characters:
Stories of quest and Scapegoat
initiation Descents into the Hero/Villian underworld Ascents into heaven Outcast
Search for father/mother Temptress
Fall from innocence Mentor
An excellent resource for ALL things writing and literature is:
Purdue’s Online Writing Lab (O
WL) With specific reference to literary criticism, check out OWL’s Literary Theory and Schools of Criticism page. Works Consulted Abrams, M.H. The Mirror and the Lamp. London: Oxford UP, 1953. Arnold, Matthew. “The Function of Criticism at the Present Time.” Selected Prose. Ed. P.J. Keating. London: Penguin, 1970. 130-157. Holman, C. Hugh and William Harmon. A Handbook to Literature. 6th ed. New York: Macmillan, 1992. Keating, P.J. Introduction. Selected Prose. By Matthew Arnold. Ed. Keating. London: Penguin, 1970. 9-36. Kirszner, Laurie G. and Stephen R. Mandell. Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing. 3rd ed. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace, 1997. Pope, Alexander. An Essay on Criticism. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 7th Major Authors ed. Ed. M.H. Abrams and Stephen Greenblatt. New York: Norton, 2001. 1123-1134.