Introduction to Literary Theory Week 2 Course Supplementary Slides

Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become. C.S.Lewis

What is (literary) theory? Theory is a way to approach a text to gain a better understanding of its meaning – critical lens Theory changes with time and new theories are always being added to the traditional Theory tries to explain why authors and texts exist and what messages they are sending to readers

Why literary criticism? Literary criticism helps us think about the relationships between authors, readers and books. Who has the most authority when trying to understand a text? Is there a particular way the author wants readers to read his / her book? Is there only one way to interpret the book? What happens when the reader doesn’t agree about meaning?

The history of English studies & Liberal humanism

Developments Monopoly of the Church of England 1st quarter of 19th century  Oxford & Cambridge Classics, divinity, and maths Conservatives vs. Reformists 1828  English as a subject for study First linguistics, then literature

Prof. Maurice – King’s College Middle class represents the essence of Englishness. If so educated, an identity of nation… The study of English literature is seen as a substitute for religion Until 1900s Oxford and Cambridge resisted

“We are told that the study of literature cultivates the taste, educates the sympathies and enlarges the mind. These are all excellent things, only we cannot examine tastes and sympathies. Examiners must have technical and positive information to examine.” Edward Freeman, Prof. of History / Oxford Uni.

Result? Literature as an academic subject had to be studies along with language. Included a heavy historical language study: Anglo-Saxon, Gothic, Middle English

Richards and Practical Criticism A decisive break between language and literature Practical Criticism: isolating the text from history and context. Not the Renaissance Period, but the words on the page! The precise details of the text itself are worth much closer attention.

Empson vs. Leavis Seven Types of Ambiguity (1930) by Empson Identified seven types of verbal difficulty in poetry Leavis  literature is not maths! “Lemon-squeezer” /T.S. Eliot

F.R.Leavis Cambridge scholar and critic Extended the close-reading method beyond poetry to novels and even media (BBC) Lengthy quotations with very little comment were criticized. “Analysis through paraphrasing the text” The purpose of his approach is to teach us about life, to convey humane values. Isolation from language studies, historical considerations, and philosophical questions

Liberal humanism Liberal humanism is a literary theory that was popular at the end of the 1800's and beginning 1900's. Liberal humanism understands literature/poetry to be timeless. It must reveal a constant or universal truth about humanity. It contains meaning without regard to other works. Liberal humanists analyze the text of a poem with no predetermined ideas or bias. Therefore a Marxist or Feminist could not in fairness call themselves a liberal humanist.

Cont’d Liberal humanists attempt to understand the individual's identity by excluding environmental circumstances. Liberal humanists view poetry and literature as an artistic celebration that elevates humanity.

Analysis of a poem using the liberal humanism approach 1. find the poem's universal truth 2. analyze the text with no bias 3. look for the individual's identity 4. understand that content follows form

Tenets of liberal humanism Good literature is of timeless significance. The literary text contains its own meaning within itself. To understand the text well, it must be detached from external contexts and studied in isolation. Human nature is essentially unchanging. Individuality is something securely possessed within each of us as our unique essence.

Tenets of liberal humanism 6) Purpose of literature is essentially the enhancement of life and the propagation of humane values… 7) Form and content in literature must be fused in an organic way, so that the one grows inevitably from the other. 8) Sincerity is a quality which resides within the language of literature, not hidden behind the work, in the author’s history. 9) Words should mime, demonstrate, act out, or sound out what they signify; rather than just representing it in an abstract way.

Tenets of liberal humanism 10) The job of criticism is to interpret the text, to mediate between it and the reader. “Ideas are formed when direct sense impressions from the world are imprinted on the mind” – J.Locke Traditional English studies/early literary criticism adopted such tenets.

Literary theorising: Early periods Greek & Latin works Critical theory  Aristotle’s “Poetics” Definitions of tragedy, character, plot First to develop a reader-centered approach Impressed audience  Successful drama Audience in pity, fear  Good tragedy

Sir Philip Sidney The first prestigious name in English writing ABOUT literature. (Apology for Poetry/1580) Primary aim of the literature is to give pleasure to the reader. Moral and didactic elements are just subordinates since they cannot be conveyed without literature. Took a great step by introducing this view in religious ages.

Developments Samuel Johnson started practical criticism – a detailed commentary on the work of a single author. (Except for the Bible beforehand…) Wordsworth, Coleridge, Keats, Shelley followed Wordsworth’s “Preface to Lyrical Ballads” Collaborative discussions between Coleridge and himself. Blend of high literature & popular literature Making the poetic language as much like prose as possible. Providing rationale for the critic’s own poetic work and educating the audience for it

Mid&Late Victorians: George Elliot, Matthew Arnold, Henry James Coleridge: language poetry shouldn’t be like the language of prose to create the poetic effect. Mid&Late Victorians: George Elliot, Matthew Arnold, Henry James F.R. Leavis, T.S. Eliot, William Empson, and I.A. Richards (The first half of 20th century)

Eliot’s major critical ideas Dissociation of sensibility  separation of though from feeling Poetic impersonality  poetry is not affected directly by personality Objective correlative  the best way of expressing emotions in art is to find some vehicle for it in gesture, action or concrete symbolism

F.R.Leavis recalled… Cambridge scholar and critic Extended the close-reading method beyond poetry to novels and even media (BBC) Lengthy quotations with very little comment were criticized. “Analysis through paraphrasing the text” The purpose of his approach is to teach us about life, to convey humane values. Isolation from language studies, historical considerations, and philosophical questions

F.R.Leavis The most influential British critic before the theory movement The study and appreciation of literature are vital for the health of society Combined moralism of Johnson and social vision and anti- theoretical critical practice of Arnold If the work is conducive to life (felt experience) and vitality, it has the value. Was the pioneer of the decontextualized approach to literature (Practical/New Criticism)

Liberal humanism/Leavisite approach in practice “The Oval Portrait” by E.A. Poe (Appendix 1)