Portable Legacies pgs. 1201-16 English 1302: Appendix C Portable Legacies pgs. 1201-16

Critical Approaches to Literature Critical theories enable us to articulate assumptions and to devise methods for reading, analyzing, interpreting, evaluating and writing about literary works. Critical interpretation leads ultimately to an enriched vision of the text: a multifaceted one in which many meanings coexist. Bottom line: There are multiple ways to look at literature and even those “multiple” ways are open to various interpretations!

Formalism/New Criticism Began in England by I.A. Richards Picked up in USA in 1940s by a group of authors Considers formal elements of literature(organization, structure, language, etc) in order to determine meaning. Each work is independent of itself and complete, so everything else is considered less important or secondary. Ex. Formalists aren’t concerned with writer’s state of mind, biography, economics or politics of the time, etc.

Structuralism Attempts to offer objective analysis of the meaning of literature. Seeks to minimize considerations of history, economics and politics. Aspires to approach a work scientifically through inquiry of ideas and methods of the writer/work. Each work becomes a “system”, and the critic’s task becomes the discovery of the laws that pertain to the interaction of elements in the system.

Deconstruction Contends that literary works do NOT contain unified or stable meanings. They argue that any close reading of a text uncovers contradictions that inevitably “deconstruct” or dissolve the possibility of unity. Believe that language can never truly convey single, fixed messages, and thus language creates endless meanings that destabilize a text.

Psychological Criticism Applies to the insights offered by noted psychologists (mainly Freud) Critics must understand theories BEFORE attempting to apply them to a literary work. Three subtypes: biographical criticism, character oriented and structural. Biographical = assumes connection to events and forces in the author’s personal life to the work they produce

Psychological, Cont. Character oriented = assumes that since literary characters are meant to be representations of real people, they may be analyzed in the same manner as real people Structural = since a literary work or text is structured, the structural critic treats the text like one might treat a patient on a long, brown leather sofa.

Reader Response Criticism Grounded in certain assumptions about literary texts and their readers 1= texts have their existence in the reading: until a reader engages with the words on the page, we cannot speak of them as having “meaning” SO…. 2= literary texts must be understood for the effect they have on an audience or “reader”

Feminist Criticism Views the work in terms of “sexual politics” How unequal distribution of power operates in male/female relationships and how this imbalance structures many unspoken assumptions about the roles that men and women are expected to play within society Assert that throughout history, (basically women have gotten shafted in all areas of life) Current feminism has become more interested race, class and the universal “female nature/experience”

Gender Criticism Interested in how sexual difference functions socially and politically. Also interested in same sex issues

New Historicism By reading a literary work through its historical and social context, the new historicist seeks to reconnect the text with the complexity of lived experience during its own time. Emphasis is placed on issues of social power and considers how a particular text dramatizes the social and political struggles of certain groups (esp. groups that have been marginalized or silenced).

Marxist Criticism From Karl Marx Proposes that the most important aspect of material reality is the economic realm, the means of production. In other words, the means by which a society produces goods and services determines the relation of one class of people to another. Critics often focus on works that overtly treat the fate of the working class or expose the underlying economic and social motifs in texts.

Postcolonial Criticism Focuses its attention in 2 directions: 1= at literary texts currently being produced in former colonial regions to discover the ways in which they respond to the impact of colonialism and its aftermath on their cultures 2= at canonical texts to discover evidence of colonial themes

Cultural Studies Focus on the social and cultural realities revealed in literary and nonliterary texts and the meanings that people ascribe to cultural phenomena. Draws on the perspectives of various disciplines- sociology, cultural anthropology, communication and media studies, philosophy, etc. – to analyze culture Relate to matters of national identities, ethnicity, ideology, race, class, and/or gender Also examines other products and practices of cultures such as fashion, food, hairstyles, etc.

That’s a Wrap! Notes are over! Research Papers are done! Here is your final exam review and portfolio order. Final Exam: May 8 in ILC (3:45-5:45)