1. schools of thought, concepts, key terms, and process
Literary Criticism
schools of thought, concepts, key terms, and process

2. Comp. 12-1
Literary Theory
"Literary theory" is the body of ideas and methods used in the practical reading of literature.
Literary theories were developed as a means to understand the various way people read texts. 2

3. Literary Theory is like a pair of Glasses
Comp. 12-1
Literary Theory is like a pair of Glasses
It provides (critical) lenses designed to bring out what is already there, but what is often missed with unaided vision. 3

4. Comp. 12-1
You will learn to read texts from a range of perspectives – archetypal, feminism, reader response, marxism, psychoanalytical, & deconstruction. 4

5. Comp. 12-1
The proponents of each theory believe their theory is the theory, but most of us interpret texts according to the rules of several different theories at one time. 5

6. Archetypal/Mythological Criticism
Focus/Key Ideas
Humans have similar ways looking at the world: archetypes. Images, characters, symbols, and story patterns that all humans recognize.
Responses to archetypes deep and unconscious
Archetypes represent universal experiences: hopes, fears, expectations and values

7. Archetypal/Mythological Criticism
Terms/Concepts
universal
the persona
the shadow
the anima
the animus

8. Archetypal/Mythological Criticism
Terms/Concepts
Archetypal story patterns:
Hero/ quest
initiation/coming of age
the underworld
birth/death/rebirth
seasons
Archetypal characters:
scapegoat
trickster
wise old man/woman
paradise
father figure/earth mother

9. Archetypal/Mythological Criticism
Terms/Concepts
Archetypal images and symbols
Sun, moon
Sunset, sunrise
water, sea
Circles
Snakes, monsters
Caves
Fire

10. Archetypal/Mythological Criticism
Process
look for underlying patterns that reveal universal meanings
look at characters, images, and symbols
RESEARCH the archetypes that you think applies to your story

11. Archetypal/Mythological Criticism
Example
Hamlet archetypal coming of age story. Loses his parents, must take on an adult role. Struggles with the responsibility.
Qualities of trickster character. Wordplay, hiding body—he is the only character who knows the truth but is treated like a fool.

12. Feminist/Gender Criticism
Focus/Key Ideas
Concepts of “gender” are mostly cultural constructs, not biological
Literary canon controlled by men—we also need to pay attention to women’s perspectives. Leaving them out limits our understanding of the world.
Men are also affected by gender stereotypes.
Women are NOT “better” or “worse” than men—their experiences and interpretations are different and equally valuable
Women have different ways of speaking and writing than men do—they use different symbols, metaphors, etc.

13. Feminist/Gender Criticism
Terms
matriarchy/matriarchal
patriarchy/patriarchal
stereotype
gender role
outsider/insider
masculine or feminine discourse
dominant/subordinate

14. Feminist/Gender Criticism
Process
Focus on the roles of men and women
Pay attention to who has power and voice
Look for characters who try to defy stereotypes or who represent them
Look for the author’s attitudes about gender—are there assumptions that shape the story?
Look for diction or other elements that indicate masculine or feminine discourse and how that shapes the story

15. Feminist/Gender Criticism
Example
Patriarchal structure forces women into very restrictive roles leading to Gertrude’s and Ophelia’s betrayals.
Male characters have controlling and limited understanding of female sexuality—women can be mothers or chaste virgins, but are suspect if they are sexual.

16. Marxist Criticism Similar to feminist criticism
Focus/Key Ideas
Similar to feminist criticism
Points out that socioeconomic forces affect people characters, authors, readers
Exposes inequalities in power and access caused by social and economic class

17. Marxist Criticism Class Class struggle
Terms
Class
Class struggle
Proletariat/bourgeois/capitalist
Repression
Materialism
Upper class/working class/lowER class

18. Marxist Criticism
Process
Identify the socioeconomic class of characters (and the author)
Look for struggles between characters of different classes, or of characters trying to move between classes
Look for assumptions about class and power made by the author or characters
Look at themes/conflicts rather than structure/techniques
Look for good guys/bad guys—who is oppressing whom?

19. Marxist Criticism
Example
The socioeconomic structure of Denmark leads to Hamlet’s downfall and death.
Characters like Claudius and Polonius will do anything to move up in position. This leads to their corruption.
Only working class characters like the gravediggers, outside of the social system, can speak the truth.

20. Psychological / Psychoanalytical Criticism
Focus/Key Ideas
Heavily influenced by Freudian theory
Reading a literary work is a way of experiencing the consciousness of the author
Examines the internal mental states, desires, and motivations of characters

21. Psychological / Psychoanalytical Criticism
Terms
Motivation
Unconscious/subconscious
Oedipal complex / Electra complex
Psyche
Id/ego/super ego
Stages of development: oral/anal/phallic
Repression
Latent vs. manifest

22. Psychological / Psychoanalytical Criticism
Process
Pay attention to symbols and dreams
Look for what is unsaid—subtle clues to unconscious motivations or feelings
Research the particular complex or stage you think you see

23. Psychological / Psychoanalytical Criticism
Example
Suffering from an Oedipal Complex. Subconsciously in love with his mother and wants to eliminate his mother’s sexual partner.
Unable to have a meaningful adult relationship with Ophelia because of this.
Confused about his role as a son and prince.
Exhibits signs of latent homosexuality in his friendship with Horatio and rejection of Ophelia

24. Reader-Response Criticism
Focus/Key Ideas
A piece of literature is an interaction between the reader and the text. (If no one is reading it, it doesn’t exist!)
The reader constructs the meaning of the text as she reads
The reader brings his own unique insights to the text, and the text is influenced by the reader’s individual values and expectations
This does NOT mean that ALL interpretations are correct—they still need to be plausible 

25. Reader-Response Criticism
Terms
Expectations
Assumptions
Actual reader/ideal reader
Gaps
Process
Ambiguity

26. Reader-Response Criticism
Process
Consider your expectations before reading.
How does who you are affect your reading of the text—your social class, world experience, age, gender, etc.?
Pay attention to thought process as you read—what did you notice right away? What questions did you have? Why did you have them?
Look for “gaps”—things the text doesn’t tell us—and how you were able to fill them in
Did your ideas and perceptions change as you read? What adjustments did you make in your understanding?

27. Reader-Response Criticism
Example
The reader begins by expecting Hamlet to be a classic tragic hero.
The reader begins by understanding Hamlet as a simple character motivated by grief for and loyalty to his father and the reader begins to empathize/identify with him.
As the play develops, understanding of the character becomes more complex—flaws and weaknesses emerge that make the reader doubt the purity of Hamlet’s motives and the reality of the ghost. Reader might feel impatient or frustrated –lose empathy.
At the end of the play, Hamlet’s death feels like a release of frustration, as the reader empathizes with Hamlet’s inevitable sacrifice of self for his ideals.

28. Deconstructionism Focus/Key Ideas
Assumes texts do NOT have fixed meanings
“Assumes that language is unstable and ambiguous…”
And therefore “that a literary text is usually self-contradictory”
Focuses on what the texts reveal the “authors were unaware of or thought they kept safely out of sight”
Deconstruction is NOT destruction—simply picking apart
Deconstructionists often have radical re-readings of classic texts

29. Deconstruction Key Terms
Binary opposition
Black/white
Good/evil
Male/female
Emotional/logical
Hierarchy – each binary opposition is a mini hierarchy; one concept is considered superior, even if only slightly
Subtext / Multiple narratives
Subversion

30. Deconstructionism Process
Use close reading techniques to show what the author tried to keep hidden/wasn’t aware of in text (subtext)
Look for the underlying binary opposition(s) in a text
Decide which element in the opposition(s) the author finds superior (hierarchy)
Use close reading techniques (looking at language, syntax, etc.) to show how the text does NOT really support these hierarchies

31. Deconstructionism Example
One binary opposition in Hamlet is male/female
Shakespeare (based on his character’s actions/words and based on the popular ideology of the time) considers the male element to be superior to the female
But both female characters, however, are superior to Hamlet (and the other men) in terms of his tragic flaw:
But both ARE able to act—unlike Hamlet. Gertrude gets over her husband’s death much better than Hamlet. Ophelia commits suicide immediately when she can’t bear life

32. Deconstructionism Example--continued
Other binary oppositions in Hamlet include
Man/God
Corruption/Innocence
Life/Death