Critical Approaches for
Interpreting Literature
How many ways can you analyze a story?
Evaluations of Literature:
 Quantitative arguments: rely on criteria that
can be measured, counted, or demonstrated
in some mechanical, scientific, mathematical,
or technological way (something is taller,
faster, etc…)
 Qualitative arguments: rely on criteria that
must be explained through words, relying on
such matters as values, traditions, and
emotions (something is more ethical, more
beneficial, more noble than something else.)
Which evaluation of literature is
the best?
 Quantitative arguments are used for research
papers where you’ve defined a quantitative
standard in your argument that can be
supported by measuring and counting…
Example of a quantitative standard: Who’s the smartest person in
your class?
You can answer this question quantitatively: ACT and SAT scores,
IQ tests, GPAs, student of the month, etc…BUT????????
Do these standards of measurement have their limits?
Which evaluation of literature is
best?
 Qualitative evaluations are closest to people’s
hearts and aren’t subject to quantification.
You’re very familiar with identifying a
qualitative standard to argue.
Example: Titanic is the greatest film of all time.
What makes a great movie? If you quantify it will you
get your answer?
What if you think Titanic is craptacular?
Developing an evaluative
argument about literature…
Claim: Catcher in the Rye is the finest novel
ever written by an American author.
Reason…because it revolutionizes the way we
see our world.
Warrant: Great literature changes people in a
fundamental way.
Evidence: Chapter after Chapter, Catcher
presents the life of its protagonist through
images and events the reader will never forget.
OVERVIEW OF Qualitative
APPROACHES to analyzing literature
 Formalism
 Historical
 Biographical
 Cultural
 Marxist
 Psychological
 Mythological and Archetypal
 Gender Focus
 Reader Response
 Deconstruction
FORMALISM
 The AP English Literature test is heavily
biased toward the formalist approach.
 Formalism ≠ formality (i.e., conventional,
rigid)
 The “form” in formalism refers to the form of
literature.
 MAJOR PREMISE =
 The form and content
 of a literary work
 are “deeply entwined.”
Implications of Formalism
 A piece of literature is complete within itself.
 All the features of a piece work together in a
unified, meaningful whole.
 “Features” means structure, imagery,
character development, setting, language,
and so on.
 Support for an interpretation comes from
evidence within the poem, story, or play.
More Implications
 In a poem, for example, rhythm and rhyme are
considered for the way they enhance tone and meaning.
 In “Hunters in the Snow,” the setting does more than just
advance the plot -- the setting enhances the meaning of
the story.
 EXAMPLE: The cold and ice in “Hunters” mirrors the
hostility that the characters feel toward each other.
 EXAMPLE: As the story unfolds, the shadows increase
as daylight diminishes. Simultaneously, the story’s
atmosphere becomes increasingly eerie and dangerous
as Kenny’s plight is ignored.
More Implications
 “Close reading” examines such details for the
effect on the meaning.
 When we explore the details, we inform our
understanding of the meaning of the work as a
whole.
 EXAMPLE: The details about the pick-up truck
in “Hunters” led us to the idea that Kenny was
treated like the carcasses of the shot deer.
 This suggests that the theme may relate to
dehumanizing aspects of certain relationships.
Turn it around . . .
 Sometimes the meaning – the theme – jumps
out as clear as a bell.
 Examining the details and analyzing their
effects is still important.
 The effort usually leads to refining the theme.
THEME
MEANING, MEANING, MEANING
 USE THE SCHAFER/DILLINGER APPROACH:
 A. Begin with this sentence frame:
_________________ is a story about
_____________ .
 B. Put the title of the story/novel/play/poem in
the first blank space.
The Scarlet Letter is a story about _______ .
 C. In the second blank space, put a single word that
says what the story is really about.
--Do not give plot summary, which would look like
this: The Scarlet Letter is a story about a woman who has a
baby out of wedlock.
 Instead, use a word such as “hypocrisy”:
 The Scarlet Letter is a story about hypocrisy.
Now, rewrite the sentence and fill in the second
blank as many times as you have words to put in
there. A list of possible words for the sentence
we’ve been using might look like this:
The Scarlet Letter is a story about
--hypocrisy
--sin
--redemption
--revenge
--penance
--love
--jealousy
These words each reflect a subject of this novel.
•
D. Now make phrases out of the words you’ve listed for the second
blank, such as:
--the desire for revenge
--the scourge of jealousy

E. Consider what the piece of literature says about these
words/phrases. For example:
Animal Farm by George Orwell is about the abuse of power.

What does the book say about the abuse of power? Once you can
answer that question, you have discovered a theme of the piece.

EXAMPLE: Even the most idealistic principles cannot prevail
against the corrupting influence of power.
OVERVIEW OF APPROACHES
 Formalism
 Historical
 Biographical
 Cultural
 Marxist
 Psychological
 Mythological and Archetypal
 Gender Focus
 Reader Response
 Deconstruction
HISTORICAL APPROACHES
 Biographical
 Cultural
 Marxist
HISTORICAL (Biographical)
 Investigates how an author’s life is reflected in
his or her imaginative writing.
 Example: Emily Dickinson’s life as a recluse
explains some aspects of her poems.
 Contrast that with a “strictly” formalist approach
by which we read the poem as complete within
itself.
 NOTE: the approaches are not mutually
exclusive.
 Indeed, the skills of close reading in formalism
are used in virtually all of the other approaches.
HISTORICAL (Cultural)
 Premise: an artist’s work occurs in a specific
time in history.
 Another premise: world events affect the
literature produced during the time.
 Therefore, literature is examined as the
original audience would see it.
 Example: Shakespeare’s audience would
see Macbeth as an endorsement of King
James I and an indictment of Queen
Elizabeth I (an unnatural woman).
HISTORICAL -- Cultural
 More examples:



The Crucible is criticism of McCarthyism in the
1950s, not just a play about the Salem witch
trials.
Contemporary writers will undoubtedly be
analyzed in light of 9/11.
Consider, for example, Kite Runner and A
Thousand Splendid Suns
Relationship between Historical and
Formalist Approaches
 Although the AP Literature test is biased
toward the formalist approach, please don’t
ignore what you know about history, authors,
and cultural setting.
 Why?
 Whatever you know about history or the
author will help your close reading analysis.
 EXAMPLE. Knowing about the Vietnam War
undoubtedly helped us understand the
excerpt from The Things They Carried.
Historical/Formalist Relationship
 ANOTHER EXAMPLE: If you knew about the
British Empire and colonialism, you probably
appreciated Things Fall Apart better than if
you didn’t.
 ANOTHER EXAMPLE: Knowing about the
Roaring Twenties and prohibition adds to the
understanding of The Great Gatsby.
HISTORICAL -- Marxist
 Premise: literature is an artifact of history
which is driven by economic forces and class
struggle.
 Another premise: the fine arts are a reflection
of the values of the privileged class who
endorse the status quo.
 EXAMPLE: “Eveline” reflects the limitations
imposed by the wealthy on the lower class.
PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACH
 Looks at literature through the lens of
psychological theories.
 Freud’s theories dominate much of the
discussion.
 Example: reading Hamlet as an Oedipal conflict –
i.e., son wants to kill Daddy and marry Mommy.
 WARNING – you will think you are being profound
with this approach. Adult readers, however, may
see it as psychobabble. Frequently, you will miss
the real importance if you head in this direction.
Save it for college.
MYTHOLOGICAL AND
ARCHETYPAL
 Identifies and examines common threads
between dreams, myths, legends, and
literature.
 EXAMPLE: quest or journey. Harry Potter,
Luke Skywalker, Simba, Odysseus.
 Uses theories of Carl Jung – we all share
common images and characters as part of
the collective unconscious.
READER RESPONSE
 Premise: each person bring his or her own
experiences and points of view to a piece of
literature.
 Another premise: much of what we see in the
meaning is a projection of our own feelings.
 BUT, this does not mean that far-fetched, personal
interpretations are okay –interpretations must still be
based on the text.
 Advice for AP Literature: Honor your responses, but
analyze using formalist approach.
deconstruction
 Deconstructionists look for the ways the
elements in literature contradict each other.
 Premises:


Words cannot express meaning.
Every utterance contains a lie by omitting all
other possible utterances.
 Interpretations are sometimes bizarre and
contradictory.
COMPARISON
FORMALISM
 Every feature works
together to create
meaning.
 Critics say that the
formalist approach
does not give enough
consideration to
historical and cultural
factors.
DECONSTRUCTION
Finds ways that the
features of a literary
work contradict each
other
Ignores historical
factors
May also lead to
nihilism or relativism
CRITICAL APPROACHES
 Formalism
AP EXAM Questions 1 and 2
 Historical
 Biographical
 Cultural
 Marxist
Also helpful
 Psychological
 Mythological and Archetypal
 Gender Focus
 Reader Response
 Deconstruction
MORE INFORMATION
 Check out the appendix at pages 1175-1180
in McMahan.
 Most of the information in this presentation
came from those pages AND Ms. McDaniel’s
handout on theme.