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CRITICAL APPROACHES IN THE STUDY OF LITERATURE

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1 CRITICAL APPROACHES IN THE STUDY OF LITERATURE

2 I. Background A. Questions for discussion 1. What is literature?
2. What does it do? 3. Is it private? 4. What is the value of literature to society? a. In the past? b. Now? 5. What can it contribute to intellectual, artistic, & social history?

3 6. How is literature used/misused?
7. To what degree is literature an art as opposed to an instrument for imparting knowledge?

4 B. Purposes of Literary Criticism
1. Establishes theoretical understanding of purpose etc. 2. Helps to comprehend & interpret stories, poems, & plays 3. Criticism is NOT rigid but eclectic or pragmatic

5 II. TYPES OF CRITICISM A. Moral/Intellectual
1. Concerned with content & values 2. Traditional mode of imparting morality, religion, & philosophy 3. Not only to discover meaning, but also to determine whether works of literature are BOTH True and Significant 4. To study literature from a moral/intellectual perspective a. Determine whether work conveys lesson or message b. Can it help readers lead a better life c. Can it help readers improve understanding of world d. What idea(s) do/does the work contain?

6 5. When writing this type of criticism
a. Don’t sermonize b. Let reader make own decision based on your writing c. Let reader decide if ideas/values are personally/morally acceptable

7 B. TOPICAL/HISTORICAL 1. T/H stresses the relationship of literature to its historical period 2. Directly reflects intellectual & social worlds of author(s) 3. Use of words & concepts reflect time period of author 4. Must relate to T/H to story not just summary of ideas or time period

8 C. New Critical/Formalist
Most dominant force in contemporary literary studies Literary text AS art Can be seen as reaction to Topical/Historical From the French: explication de texte – emphasizes detailed examination & explanation New criticism does best a. With poems & short stories b. With specifics: point of view, tone, plot, character, structure c. To provide insights needed for evaluating artistic quality of literature Content & form were originally within conscious & unconscious control of author There are NO accidents Sometimes accused of ignoring relevance of historical context of work

9 E. Feminist 1. Believes most literature presents masculine-patriarchal view in which role of women is negated or at best minimized 2. Feminist view attempts : a. To show that writers of traditional literature have ignored women & have also transmitted misguided & prejudiced views of them b. To stimulate creation of balanced view of nature & value of women c. To recover works of past women writers & to encourage publication of present women writers to expand the literary canon D. To urge transformations in language to eliminate inequities & inequalities that have resulted from historical anti-feminism

10 3. Requires evaluation of literary works from the standpoint of representation of women
a. How important are women characters b. How is individual in own right? c. Are women credited with own existence & own character d. How are they treated in relationship with men e. Are women ignored, patronized, demeaned, pedestalized

11 F. ECONOMIC DETERMINISM/MARXIST
1. Karl Max ( ) – primary influence is life is economic a. Society is opposition between capitalist and working class b. Economic determinism Literature that emerged from this kind of analysis features individuals in grips of class struggle Proletarian Literature: emphasizes persons of lower class

12 a. Poor & oppressed who spend their lives in endless drudgery & misery
b. Attempts to rise about disadvantages usually result in renewed oppression c. Related to Social Darwinism What to look for in literature for this criticism? a. What is economic status of characters? b. What happens to them as result of status?

13 c. How do they fare against economic & political odds?
d. What other conditions stemming from their class does writer emphasize? 1. Lack of/poor education 2. Poor nutrition 3. Poor health care 4. Inadequate opportunity To what extent does the work fail by overlooking economic, social & political implications of its

14 e. material f. In what other ways does economic determinism affect work? g. How should readers consider story in today’s developed/underdeveloped world?

15 G. PSYCHOLOGICAL/PSYCHOANALITICAL
1. Key to understanding of character by claiming behavior is caused by hidden & unconscious motives (Freud) 2. Way of analyzing authors & artistic process 3. Critics using this approach treat literature somewhat like information about patients in therapy

16 a. Obvious/hidden motives that cause characters behavior & speech
b. How much background does author reveal about character (repressed childhood trauma, adolescent memories) c. How purposeful is information with regard to character’s psychological condition? d. How much is important in analysis & understanding of character?

17 4. Critics often use this model to analyze author’s intent
a. What particular life experiences explain characteristic subjects or preoccupations b. What kind of life did author have? c. Does death in author’s life affect tone of piece

18 ARCHETYPAL/SYMBOLIC/ MYTHIC
1. This approach derived from Carl Jung ( ) 2. Jung proposes that human life is built up out of patterns (archetypes) that are similar throughout various cultures & historical times a. Claim best literature is grounded in archetypal patterns

19 1. Search for God? 2. Sacrifice of hero? 3. Search for paradise 4. God’s creation of humans How does story, play, poem fit into pattern What truths does correlation provide? How closely does work fit archetype? 4. This approach encourages analysis of variations on same theme

20 I. DECONSTRUCTIONIST 1. Developed by French critic Jacques Derrida ( ) 2. Stresses ambiguity & contradictions 3. Major principle of deconstructionism is based on Western philosophy saying ideas are based on central truths which are knowable; D say no central truths a. Times & circumstances are changeable & arbitrary

21 b. “All interpretation is misinterpretation”
c. There is no one correct interpretation, only interpretations each possessing its own validity 4. Related to principle that language is unstable & words’ meanings change 5. Major problem with D: Deconstructionists must recognize “privileged reading” to deconstruct it

22 J. READER-RESPONSE 1. Phenomenology deals with understanding of how things appear a. Reality is not found in external world, but in our perception of external world b. Reader is necessary third party in author-text-reader relationship that constitutes literary work Questions of theory a. What does work mean to me in my present intellectual & moral makeup?

23 b. What particular aspects of my life can help me understand & appreciate the work?
c. How can the work improve my understanding & widen my insights d. How can my increasing understanding help me understand the work more deeply? 3. By asking & answering questions leads to interest & growth so reader can assimilate works & accept them as part of our lives

24 4. Stressing response rather than interpretation poses problem about the work’s objective identity
a. Reader-Response theory is open so beginners can do this b. This is transaction between reader & literary work

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