Literary Criticism An Introduction

What is literary criticism? Think of it as a lens through which one views a text. Depending on the lens one uses, and the way in which that lens is focused, our attention is drawn to a particular aspect of the text more so than others. Different schools of literary criticism offer different ways of seeing and interpreting a text.

Archetypal Literary Criticism

Historical Context Based on works of Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell (and myth itself) Popular in 1950s and ‘60s due to Canadian, Northrop Frye

Definition Archetypal critics believe that literature is based on recurring images, characters, narrative designs and themes. Origins of western literature in Judeo-Christian scripture and Greco-Roman mythology

What is an archetype? Arche “first” and typos “form” An original model or pattern from which copies are made

Fundamental Plot Archetype THE JOURNEY Protagonist moves from innocence to experience Begins in familiar environment Descent into danger Battle “monsters” in underworld (task) Return home (reunion, marriage)

Key Terms Anima Animus Collective Unconscious Persona Shadow Anima - feminine aspect - the inner feminine part of the male personality or a man's image of a woman. Animus - male aspect - an inner masculine part of the female personality or a woman's image of a man. Collective Unconscious - "a set of primal memories common to the human race, existing below each person's conscious mind" (Jung) Persona - the image we present to the world Shadow - darker, sometimes hidden (deliberately or unconsciously), elements of a person's psyche

Common Archetypal Figures The Child The Hero The Great Mother The Wise old man The Trickster or Fox

Frye vs Jung Frye sees archetypes as recurring patterns in literature; in contrast, Jung views archetypes as primal, ancient images/experience that we have inherited.

Objections Limits personal interpretation Only analyses one aspect of literature (archetypes

Story time In the fairy tale, Hansel and Gretel are loved by their father but resented by their step-mother, who insists on a journey into the woods with the intent of losing them. In the woods, the children meet evil in the guise of a witch who tries to kill them. But they outwit her, kill her, and return to their father. Their step-mother in some versions dies mysteriously at the same time as the witch. Familiar order is restored.

Re-write In groups of 3-4, write a modern version of this fairy tale. Make sure your modern tale does not alter the original theme or message. Note how you used the archetypes within this tale. Be prepared to present to the rest of the class.

Formalist Literary Criticism

History 1920s and 1930s one school of Formalist literary criticism developed called “New Criticism.” It is still the major form of literary criticism applied to analysing texts in secondary schools.

Definition a form of literary criticism in which the text is viewed as a complete, isolated unit. Meaning is found by studying one or more key elements.

Explanation It focuses on the elements of fiction and emphasizes how these elements work together to create, in a work of quality, a coherent whole: unity of plot, theme, and character, through use of tone, point of view, imagery, purposeful action, dialogue, and description.

Key Elements Language Imagery Point of View Plot Structure Character Development and Motivation

Strengths Reader does not need any additional knowledge other than what’s provided in the text for interpreting the work.

Weaknesses It ignores the author’s intentions It assumes that “good” literature is “coherent” and that a text that is not coherent by its standards is not “good” literature. it divorces literature from its larger cultural context it assumes that readers can refrain from investing emotionally in their reading and can/should respond objectively to texts

Feminist Literary Criticism

History Launched in the twentieth century with Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own (1929) 1969 Kate Millett examined how women are represented in text by famous men in Sexual Politics

Feminist critics examine How women write their own experiences and representations How women read about themselves How to make feminist readings visible to readers How women writers have fared in given eras How traditional texts by women are subversive of the social order

Key terms Ecriture Feminine: “women’s writing” Patriarchy: male dominated power structures

Strengths For centuries, women in literature, the roles of men and women, and how they were represented was not a focus in literary criticism

Weaknesses If this is the only theory applied to a text, it can be very limiting

Archetypal Literary Criticism