Introduction to Literary Criticism ENG4U

Learning Goals By the of the class I will: Understand the basics of 5 literary criticisms Be able to apply the criticisms to a given text and explore the intention of the text Analyze and close read the text for purpose beyond just plot

Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary Says… Criticism: the art of evaluation or analyzing works of art or literature; also: writings expressing such evaluation or analysis <an anthology of literary criticism> Critical Thinking: exercising or involving careful judgment or judicious evaluation

What is literary criticism? Perspectives “A very basic way of thinking about literary theory is that these ideas act as different lenses critics use to view and talk about art, literature, and even culture. These different lenses allow critics to consider works of art based on certain assumptions within that school of theory. The different lenses also allow critics to focus on particular aspects of a work they consider important.” (Purdue Online Writing Lab, 2010)

Why literary criticism? Shirley Staton (1987) states that contemporary theory “holds that there is no such thing as an innocent, value-free reading. Instead, each of us has a viewpoint invested with presuppositions about “reality” and about ourselves, whether we are conscious of it or not. People who deny having a critical stance, who claim they are responding “naturally” or being completely “objective” do not know themselves”. (Appleman 8)

Why literary criticism? Need to read texts with an eye on the ideology that is inscribed in those texts Helps us to develop a more complex way of thinking Allows us to recognize our own reactions by providing the contexts we need to understand them Provides interpretive tools we need to recognize and “read” cultural forces Reminds us that we do not live in isolation, nor do we read and interpret in isolation (Appleman 8-9)

Timeline (most of these overlap) Moral Criticism, Dramatic Construction (~360 BC- present) Structuralism/Semiotics (1920s-present) Formalism, New Criticism, Neo-Aristotelian Criticism (1930s-present) Psychoanalytic Criticism, Jungian Criticism (1930s- present) Marxist Criticism (1930s-present) Reader-Response Criticism (1960s-present) Post-Structuralism/Deconstruction (1966-present) New Historicism/Cultural Studies (1980s-present) Post-Colonial Criticism (1990s-present) Feminist Criticism (1960s-present) Gender/Queer Studies (1970s-present) (Adapted from Purdue Online Writing Lab, 2010)

Some types of criticism we will study: Reader-response Archetypal Historical Social class/Marxist Psychological/ psychoanalytical Feminist Postcolonial

Reader-Response Focuses on the activity of reading a work of literature Turns away from traditional idea that a literary work is an artifact with meaning built into it; instead, attention is on the responses of individual readers Meaning of a text is constructed by readers as they bring their own thoughts, moods and experiences to whatever text they are reading. (Appleman 141)

Archetypal In literary criticism, archetype signifies a recognizable pattern or model. Can be used to describe story designs, character types or images found in a wide variety of works of literature. Can be applied to myths, dreams, social rituals Archetypal similarities between texts and behaviours are thought to reflect universal or primitive ways of seeing the world. E.g. themes: heroic journey, search for a father figure; images: heaven/hell, river as sign of life or movement, mountains as places of enlightenment; characters: rebel-hero, scapegoat, villain, goddess. (Appleman 141-142)

Historical Viewing a literary text in its historical context Specific historical information is key: information about the time in which an author wrote or about the time in which the text is set, about ways in which people of the period saw and thought about the world in which they lived Refers to the social, political, economic, cultural and intellectual climate of the time (Appleman 143)

Social Class/Marxist Human history, institutions and ways of thinking are determined by the ways our societies are organized Two primary factors shape our schemes of organization: economic power and social-class membership “Reveal ways our socio-economic system is ultimate source of our experience “ (Purdue Online Writing Lab, 2010) Class determines our degree of economic, political and social advantage; thus, classes invariably conflict with one another Membership in a social class impacts our beliefs, values, perceptions and ways of thinking and feeling This perspective helps us understand how people from different social classes understand the same circumstances in very different ways (Appleman 143)

Psychological/Psychoanalytical Sigmund Freud Began his work in 1880’s 3 areas of the mind: id (“location of the drives” or libido), ego (one of the major defenses against the power of the drives), superego (area of unconscious that houses judgment) Defenses: selective perception, selective memory, denial, displacement, projection, regression, fear of intimacy, fear of death, etc. Oedipus complex- anxiety vs. frustrated rage Which concepts are operating in the text in such a way as to enrich our understanding of the work and to yield a meaningful, coherent psychoanalytic interpretation? (Purdue Online Writing Lab, 2010)

Psychological/Psychoanalytical Continued Carl Jung (one of Freud’s students) Jungian criticism attempts to explore the connection between literature and what Jung called “the collective unconscious” … racial memory, through which the spirit of the human species manifests itself Assumes that all stories and symbols are based on mythic models from mankind’s past A Jungian critic looks for archetypes in creative works, e.g. the Persona, the Shadow, the Anima (feminine side of the male Self), the Animus (masculine side of the female Self), and the Spirit (Purdue Online Writing Lab, 2010)

Feminist As gender is a way of viewing the world, people of different genders see things differently. “...this critique strives to expose the explicit and implicit misogyny in male writing about women“ (Purdue Online Writing Lab, 2010) A feminist critic might see cultural and economic disparities as the products of a “patriarchal” society, shaped and dominated by men, which has prevented womyn from realizing creative possibilities, including womyn’s cultural identification as merely a passive object. Societies often tend to see the male perspective as the default one; as a result, womyn are seen as the “Other”, the deviation or the contrasting type We examine patterns of thought, behaviour, value and power in interactions between the genders. (Appleman 143, 145) Gender vs. sex; cultural constructs

Feminist continued… Though a number of different approaches exist in feminist criticism, there exist some areas of commonality. This list is excerpted from Tyson: 1. Women are oppressed by patriarchy economically, politically, socially, and psychologically; patriarchal ideology is the primary means by which they are kept so 2. In every domain where patriarchy reigns, woman is other: she is marginalized, defined only by her difference from male norms and values 3. All of western (Anglo-European) civilization is deeply rooted in patriarchal ideology, for example, in the biblical portrayal of Eve as the origin of sin and death in the world 4. While biology determines our sex (male or female), culture determines our gender (masculine or feminine) 5. All feminist activity, including feminist theory and literary criticism, has as its ultimate goal to change the world by prompting gender equality 6. Gender issues play a part in every aspect of human production and experience, including the production and experience of literature, whether we are consciously aware of these issues or not (91). (Purdue Online Writing Lab, 2010)

Feminist continued… Feminist criticism has followed the three waves of feminism: First Wave Feminism - late 1700s-early 1900's: writers like Mary Wollstonecraft (A Vindication of the Rights of Women, 1792) highlight the inequalities between the sexes. Activists like Susan B. Anthony and Victoria Woodhull contribute to the women's suffrage movement, which leads to women’s right to vote in 1920. Second Wave Feminism - early 1960s-late 1970s: building on more equal working conditions necessary in USA during WWII and movements advocating feminist political activism. Writers like Simone de Beauvoir (Le deuxième sexe, 1972) and Elaine Showalter established the groundwork for the dissemination of feminist theories dove-tailed with the American Civil Rights movement Third Wave Feminism - early 1990s-present: resisting the perceived essentialist (over-generalized, over-simplified) ideologies and a white, heterosexual, middle class focus of second wave feminism, third wave feminism borrows from post-structural and contemporary gender and race theories to expand on marginalized populations' experiences. Writers like Alice Walker work to "...reconcile [feminism] with the concerns of the black community...and for the promotion of dialog and community as well as for the valorization of women and of all the varieties of work women perform" (Tyson 97). (Purdue Online Writing Lab, 2010)

Post-colonial Colonialism is a powerful, often destructive historical force that shapes not only the political futures of the countries involved but also the identities of colonized and colonizing people. Successful colonizing depends on a process of “Other- ing” the people colonized, who are seen as dramatically different from and lesser than the colonizers. Literature written in colonizing cultures often distorts the experiences and realities of colonized people; literature written by colonized people often includes attempts to articulate more empowered identities and reclaim cultures in the face of colonization. (Appleman 151) Term is typically used inclusively, reflective of immigration/emigration experiences as well

Helpful Links http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource /722/01/ http://www.library.utoronto.ca/utel/glossary /headerindex.html http://www.criticalthinking.org/aboutCT/our ConceptCT.cfm http://www.religiousworlds.com/fondarosa/j ung03.html

Works Cited Appleman, Deborah. Critical Encounters in High School English: Teaching Literary Theory to Adolescents, Second Edition. New York: Teachers College, Columbia University, 2009. Text. Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. “Critical”. Springfield: Merriam-Webster, Inc., 2010. Web. Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. “Criticism”. Springfield: Merriam-Webster, Inc., 2010. Web. Purdue Online Writing Lab. “Literary Theory and Schools of Criticism”. USA: The Writing Lab, Purdue University, 2010. Web.