Intro to Literary Criticism

A Song… Organize your writing of stuff into three separate categories (it might be helpful to create a little chart). Observable facts about the song (techniques, sound, instrumentation) Your personal feelings about the song (do you like it? dislike it? Why?) Your interpretation about what the musicians meant to convey through the song "Paralysed" Gang of Four

“Paralysed” by Gang of Four Blinkered*, paralysed Flat on my back They say our world is built on endeavor That every man is for himself 5 Wealth is for the one that wants it Paradise, if you can earn it History is the reason I'm washed up Blinkered, paralysed 10 Flat on my back My ambitions come to nothing What I wanted now just seems a waste of time I can't make out what has gone wrong I was good at what I did 15 The crows come home to roost And I'm the dupe blinkered (1): British slang word (mostly) meaning to have blinders on Facts Feelings Interpreting the message

Your Interpretation Do you feel like you figured out the song? You probably had some frame of reference that you used, or tried to use, to understand the meaning of the song. Literature analysis uses SOAPSTone or TPCASTT These help you contextualize the text.

Framing Interpretation Having a frame to understand the literature in question can give you something to rely on. The frames they invented have, in fact, a whole discipline of study. Literary criticism (“lit crit”) or literary theory. The different theories that have been designed change how the audience interprets the novel or how one should frame or understand the work). We will look at two theories: New Historicism and Biographical Criticism.

Some Images and Perspective

New Historicism: This theory seeks to reconnect a work with the time period in which it was produced and identify it with the cultural and political movements of the time. Allows the reader to see how culture/history influenced the work in question. Plot, structure, language, themes. The texts are seen as reactions to the cultural/historical events in which they were created.

New Historicist Key Questions Some key questions that arise in reading through a New Historicist approach: How does the work interpret and present historical events that occurred during the author’s lifetime? Does the work's presentation support or condemn the events in question? How does the work interpret/present political leaders and political movements? How does the work consider traditionally marginalized populations?

Gang of Four and “Paralysed” During the late ‘70s when the Gang of Four got its start, England was in the grip of a economic downturn that left many young people jobless. Failed economic policies in the ‘70s gave rise to ultra-right (some called them fascist) movements like the National Front. The NF was openly hostile to immigrants (immigrants were seen as taking jobs away from native English) and were viewed as openly racist. A counter-culture youth movement arose at about the same time: the punk scene. The punk scene was influenced by a “do it yourself” attitude, doing things on the cheap, being anti-establishment. They tended to not discriminate against people based on their ethnicity or economic status. They were also anti-government as they blamed England’s political leaders for failing to address the high unemployment rate. They were suspicious of anyone who had a lot of money, and felt cheated by a system that did not provide for them. They felt paralyzed.

Biographical Criticism It examines the work in regards to the events of the author’s life. This approach begins with the simple but central insight that literature is written by actual people and that understanding an author’s life can help readers more thoroughly comprehend the work.

Biographical Key Questions How did the region in which the author was raised influence? How did the author’s economic status influence him? What were the author’s religious beliefs? What were the circumstances of the author’s education?

Gang of Four and Biographical Singer and main songwriter, Jon King, was not a trained musician. He grew up poor in post-war England. He was an art student who participated in an art movement called Situationalism. He studied Marxist (communist) philosophy. He was too young to participate in the hippy movement of the late ’60s (King was born in ‘55), but instead grew up in an ethnically diverse neighborhood and listened to more reggae and dub music than rock and roll.

How to Write with Literary Criticism Evaluate the text using the parameters of the theory New Historicism: Seeing how the history/context of time period directly helps create the text’s message Biographical: Seeing how the author has included personal life elements in the text

Example Approach: Malcolm X New Historicism Biographical By evaluating Malcolm X’s “Message to the Grassroots” through a New Historicist approach, it is clear that he is a product of the racial discrimination and tensions of America mid-1900s. The events alluded to or stated in Malcolm X’s “Message to the Grassroots” require a reader to acknowledge his life experiences to fully grasp the importance of his call to action.