Information taken from Purdue Owl/Survival Guide—p. 118-119; 130-131 Literary Criticism Information taken from Purdue Owl/Survival Guide—p. 118-119; 130-131

What is literary criticism? Put simply, literary criticism is a way to talk about literature through a specific viewpoint. This viewpoint is often referred to as a “literary lens.” There are many different literary lenses because there are many different philosophies found in literature. Remember, this is something that a reader uses to help him understand literature. It is not a literary technique used by authors.

The Psychonalytic Lens

The Psychoanalytic Lens This lens builds on Freud’s theories of psychology. Some major Freudian beliefs: Our unconscious is influenced by childhood events Relationship with parents a desire to experience pleasure a fear of loss/death

The Psychoanalytic Lens The desires and the unconscious conflicts lead to a battle in the brain between the id, ego, and superego Id: unorganized part of the personality structure that contains a human's basic, instinctual drives Ego: seeks to please the id's drive in realistic ways that will benefit in the long term rather than bring grief Superego: reflects the internalization of cultural rules, mainly taught by parents applying their guidance and influence Oedipus complex: the conflict that occurs as children mature and begin to realize that they are not the focus of their mother’s attention

How to Apply This Lens Typical questions: How do the operations of repression structure or inform the work? Are there any oedipal dynamics - or any other family dynamics - are work here? How can characters' behavior, narrative events, and/or images be explained in terms of psychoanalytic concepts of any kind (for example...fear or fascination with death, sexuality - which includes love and romance as well as sexual behavior - as a primary indicator of psychological identity or the operations of ego-id-superego)? What does the work suggest about the psychological being of its author? What might a given interpretation of a literary work suggest about the psychological motives of the reader? Are there prominent words in the piece that could have different or hidden meanings? Could there be a subconscious reason for the author using these "problem words"?

The Feminist Lens

The Feminist Lens is concerned with "...the ways in which literature (and other cultural productions) reinforce or undermine the economic, political, social, and psychological oppression of women" (Tyson). looks at how aspects of our culture are inherently patriarchal (male dominated) and "...this critique strives to expose the explicit and implicit misogyny in male writing about women" (Richter 1346). is also concerned with less obvious forms of marginalization such as the exclusion of women writers from the traditional literary canon: "...unless the critical or historical point of view is feminist, there is a tendency to under-represent the contribution of women writers" (Tyson 82-83).

How to Apply This Lens Typical questions: How is the relationship between men and women portrayed? What are the power relationships between men and women (or characters assuming male/female roles)? How are male and female roles defined? What constitutes masculinity and femininity? How do characters embody these traits? Do characters take on traits from opposite genders? How so? How does this change others’ reactions to them? What does the work imply about the possibilities of sisterhood as a mode of resisting patriarchy? (Tyson)

Your Task Analyze your character using the psycho-analytical lens. In your groups of 3-4, you will be assigned one of the following characters: Hamlet Laertes Ophelia Analyze your character using the psycho-analytical lens. Pay attention to the Id, Ego, and Superego, and the Oedipus complex. Find 2 people who studied the characters you did not and form a new group. Share out.

Now. . . Back in your original groups. . . Analyze the following characters using the feminist lens: Ophelia Gertrude Discuss.