AN INTRODUCTION TO LITERARY CRITICISM:
DEFINITION …:
DEFINITION … Literary criticism is the study, discussion, evaluation, and interpretation
of literature. (Wikipedia)
Let's try again …:
Let's try again … " Literary criticism is the evaluation of literary works. This includes the
classification by genre, analysis of structure, and judgement of value." ( Beckson & Ganz
)
And again …:
And again … Literary criticism is the method used to interpret any given work of
literature. The different schools of literary criticism provide us with lenses which
ultimately reveal important aspects of the literary work. " Literary criticism asks what
literature is, what it does, and what it is worth." (Encyclopaedia Britannica )
Why do we have to analyze everything????:
Why do we have to analyze everything ???? Talking about experiences enhances our
enjoyment of them Talking about experiences involves the search for meaning which
increases our understanding of them Because Socrates said so: " The life which is
unexamined is not worth living."
To further explain …:
To further explain … Literary criticism helps us to understand what is important about the
text its structure (genre) its context: social, economic, historical what is written (content)
how the text manipulates the reader (readers’ response)
And there's more …:
And there's more … Literary criticism helps us to understand the relationship between
authors, readers, and texts The act of literary criticism ultimately enhances the
enjoyment of our reading of the literary work
Phases of Literary Criticism (a) Hellenic Phase:
Phases of Literary Criticism (a) Hellenic Phase 4 th -5 th Century BC in Athens, Greece
Forms background to all subsequent literary inquiries Plato (427-347BC) Republic,
Symposium. Aristotle (384-322BC) 400 volumes. Politics, Poetics, On Monarchy etc
(B)Hellenistic Phase:
(B)Hellenistic Phase 3 rd Century BC, Alexandria, Egypt Decline in Athenian Culture.
Preserving old texts, classifying them. Mainly imitative work, lacked originality
Graeco-Roman Criticism:
Graeco-Roman Criticism Rome became the centre of excellence, politics and economy.
No blind imitation of the Greek but aimed at originality. Horace Quintillian Longinus
The dark Middle ages (Medieval Phase):
The dark Middle ages (Medieval Phase) Break up of The Roman Empire in 5 th C AD
Theological Interest confined literature to schoolmen and clergy. Grammar, Rhetoric and
logic were given more importance. Dante’s Inferno
Renaissance Criticism:
Renaissance Criticism Unprecedented spurt of literary and critical activity Great works of
Greece and Rome translated. Justify imaginative literature against the attacks of the
Puritans. Sir Philip Sidney Ben Jonson
Neo-Classical Criticism:
Neo-Classical Criticism Rigid and Stringent criticism Aristotle became a literary
DICTATOR. Dryden Pope Addison Dr. Johnson
The Romantic Criticism:
The Romantic Criticism Reaction against the rigidity of pseudo-classicism Individuality,
subjectivity, expression of thoughts. Emotion over logic Wordsworth’s Preface to Lyrical
Ballads Coleridge’s Biographia Literaria
Victorian Criticism:
Victorian Criticism Entire disregard of rules, principles. Too individualistic and mood
dictated Introduction of order and discipline Mathew Arnold Walter Pater
THE MODERN AGE:
THE MODERN AGE More complex and varied Two WW, Cold War, Russian Revolution,
Communism, Colonialism, Economic Depression of 1930’s T.S. Eliot Karl Marx I.A.
Richard F.R. Leavis Raymond Williams
Literary Criticism and Theory:
Literary Criticism and Theory Any piece of text can be read with a number of different
sets of “ glasses ,” meaning you are looking for different things within the text.
The Most Common Critical Stances for Literature:
The Most Common Critical Stances for Literature Formalistic
Historical/Cultural Psychological Mythological Gender Deconstructionist
Biographical
Formalist Criticism:
Formalist Criticism A formalist (aka New Criticism) reading of a text focuses on symbol,
metaphor, imagery, and so on. Formalism ignores the author’s biography and focuses
only on the interaction of literary elements within the text. It’s what you do most often in
English literature.
A Formalist Reading of “The Three Little Pigs”:
A Formalist Reading of “The Three Little Pigs” What does the wolf symbolize ? Notice
the consonance of “I’ll huff and I’ll puff…” How does the story foreshadow the final fate of
the pigs? What does the wolf’s dialogue tell us about his character?
Biographical Criticism:
Biographical Criticism As the name suggests, this type of criticism reads the text looking
for the author’s influence. By examining the author’s life, we can have a deeper
understanding of his writing.
A Biographical Reading of “The Importance of being earnest”:
A Biographical Reading of “The Importance of being earnest ” Wilde had an intimate
knowledge of “Bun burying” because he led a double-life too in his homosexual
relationship with a young Oxford student. The characters’ flippant attitude about
marriage mirrors Wilde’s own casual devotion to his wife .
Historical/Cultural Criticism:
Historical/Cultural Criticism Of course, this critical viewpoint examines a text in relation to
its historical or cultural backdrop. You may examine a text’s effect on history or culture.
A historical/cultural analysis is often very similar to a biographical analysis, and it’s
possible to view history, culture, and biography in a single essay.
Historical/Cultural Reading of ANIMAL FARM:
Historical/Cultural Reading of ANIMAL FARM How accurate is Orwell’s account of the
Russian Revolution,1917? What can Animal Farm reveal about Communism and its
failure at the hands of Stalin?
Psychological Criticism:
Psychological Criticism Psychological critical theory applies the theories of psychology to
a text to better understand its characters Based largely on Freud, this theory hinges on
the belief that an examination of people’s (characters’) unconscious desires reveals their
true intentions. Psychological criticism is a way to understand characters, not diagnose
them.
Psychological Criticism:
Psychological Criticism Drives governing human behavior Id – the animal nature that
says, “Do what feels good.” Ego – the reality-based part of your personality that makes
decisions to satisfy the Id and Superego Superego – the socialized “conscience” that
tells you what’s right or fair
Psychological Criticism:
Psychological Criticism Oedipus Complex – Every boy has the unconscious desire to
have sex with their mother; consequently, sons are deeply afraid of their fathers, and
fathers are deeply threatened by their sons. Elektra Complex – Every daughter has the
unconscious desire to have sex with their father; consequently, daughters are deeply
afraid of their mothers, and mothers are deeply threatened by their daughters.
A Psychological Reading of Macbeth:
A Psychological Reading of Macbeth Macbeth kills King Duncan because he
unconsciously recognizes the king as a father-figure. Hence, Duncan is a rival for power
and the affections of the people. In the latter acts of the play, Macbeth has indulged his
id so often that his ego has lost the ability to restrain it.
Mythological Criticism:
Mythological Criticism This stance is not about mythology. It is about the universal
elements of human life common in all cultures. Like ancient mythology, all literature is a
window to creating meaning for human life. In other words, stories make us feel like our
lives are more significant.
Mythological Criticism:
Mythological Criticism Central to the Mythological theory is the concept of archetypes .
Simply put, archetypes are those universal elements which are present in the literature
of all cultures.
Mythological Criticism:
Mythological Criticism Common Archetypes The Hero = Beowulf, Spiderman, Braveheart
The Outcast = Macbeth’s clown, Grendel , Cain The Quest = LOTR , Star Wars ,
Beowulf Sacrificial King = Jesus, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe , LOTR Evil
Personified = Wicked Witch of the West, the Devil, the pigs in Animal Farm
Mythological Criticism:
Mythological Criticism The goal of Mythological Criticism seeks to understand how the
story constructs meaning in the human existence through archetypes. For example, note
the ways texts have examined betrayal.
A Mythological Reading of Beowulf:
A Mythological Reading of Beowulf Beowulf is the archetypal hero because his bravery
and righteous behaviour embodies the ideals and hopes of Anglo-Saxon society.
Grendel, the outsider, represents both the alien invaders of neighboring, warring tribes
and the threat of supernatural monsters, which, as pagans, the Anglo-Saxons truly
believed existed.
Gender Criticism:
Gender Criticism Gender criticism analyzes literature through the lens of sociallyconstructed gender roles. The largest part of gender criticism is feminism, which
critiques and seeks to correct women’s subordination to men in society. In its purist form,
feminism is about equality.
Gender Criticism:
Gender Criticism A newer segment of gender criticism is “ queer theory ,” which looks for
the influence of homosexuality within texts. Research of this type is fairly difficult
because, as homosexuality was largely suppressed in Europe and America, and it hasn’t
been openly discussed until the last few decades.
A Feminist Reading of Goldilocks:
A Feminist Reading of Goldilocks As a single, young woman, Goldilocks finds herself
without means or opportunity because she is unattached to a father or a husband.
Perhaps, this is why she’s alone in the woods. An independent woman, then, is a threat
to the “normal” nuclear family, represented by the three bears.
Deconstructionist Criticism :
Deconstructionist Criticism Deconstructionism argues that since there is no single
meaning of any word, there can be no single meaning of a text. EVERY text, therefore,
has multiple valid meanings because the reader may interpret the words differently than
the writer intended them.
Deconstructionist Criticism:
Deconstructionist Criticism Most literary criticism is about construction of a larger
meaning from a text. De construction ism emphasizes the breakdown of any meaning
within a text because the variety of different readers. Example: “Write the author of ‘The
Tell-Tale Heart.’”
Deconstructionism:
Deconstructionism "It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is." Bill Clinton,
during his 1998 grand jury testimony on the Monica Lewinsky affair
Deconstructionism:
Deconstructionism Deconstructionism is basically a verbal Sophism; because there is no
concrete meaning of anything , there is no single truth applicable to all human beings.
Hence, everything is relative to you.
A Deconstructionist Reading of “The Tortoise and the Hare”:
A Deconstructionist Reading of “The Tortoise and the Hare” The homophone hare/hair
would make this fable incomprehensible without pictures. In Native American cultures,
the tortoise is a symbol of honor, so Indians would interpret the “race” as a contest of
honor and fair play instead of endurance.
But there are many more:
But there are many more Author intention Reader Response Biological Cognitive
scientific Moralist Queer Socio-political Sociological And so many more …
“Tradition and Individual Talent” Terry Eagleton’s “Literary Theory: An Introduction”
Practical Criticism .
http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/sidrahbb-2010870-ma-literary-criticism/