2. The Traditional Approach

3. The traditional approach is the type of criticism which dominated the study of literature until the 1930s and is still employed in some classrooms even today. In this approach the work of art appeared to be of secondary importance, something that merely illustrated background. Such an approach led to the study of literature as essentially biography, history, or other branch of learning, rather than as art. Scope & Nature

4. Literature is primarily art, and it is necessary to assert that art does not exist in a vacuum. It is a creation by someone at some time in history, and it is intended to speak to other human beings about some idea or issue that has human relevance. Any work of art for that matter will always be more meaningful to knowledgeable people than to uninformed ones, for the former will bring all their information, experience, and feeling to contemplate the work, and they will be moved and impressed by its beauty, by its unique kind of knowledge, and even by its nonaesthetic values. Therefore, the validity of the traditional method is asserted. Importance of the Traditional Method

5. Types of Traditional Approaches  The Historical/ biographical  The Moral/ philosophical

6. I. Historical/Biographical Approach Definition The basic tenets of this approach are clearly articulated in the writings of the 19th century French critic H.A. Taine. This approach sees a literary work chiefly, if not exclusively, as a reflection of its author's life and times or the life and times of the characters in the work. It is true that "almost every literary work is attended by a host of outside circumstances which, once we expose and explore them, suffuse it with additional meaning".

7. Advantages: This approach works well for some works-like those of Alexander Pope, John Dryden, and Milton-- which are obviously political in nature. One must know Milton was blind, for instance, for "On His Blindness" to have any meaning. And one must know something about the Exclusion Bill Crisis to appreciate John Dryden's "Absalom and Acidophil." It also is necessary to take a historical approach in order to place allusions in there proper classical, political, or biblical background.

8. Cont’d One of the most important reasons that history and biography are helpful is that knowledge of the past gives readers a way to understand the language, ideas, and purposes of literature more deeply and clearly. For example, such knowledge can make a reader aware of social trends and convictions that would have influenced a writer's attitudes and tastes. It can clarify allusions to local and historical events and explain special uses of individual words and expressions. In short, it can show us why certain artists wrote as they did. It can even identify differences between contemporaries.

9. Disadvantages: New Critics refer to the historical / biographical critic's belief that the meaning or value of a work may be determined by the author's intention as "the intentional fallacy." They believe that this approach tends to reduce art to the level of biography and make it relative (to the times) rather than universal.

10. Historical Approach  examines the work of literature in its sociological context  critic must consider both the intellectual as well as the social environment at the time the work was written  who wrote it, why, and when  literary work as a reflection of its author’s life and times or the life and times of the characters in the work  sociological context can be subdivided into two categories:  biographical context –reflection of author’s life –it is believed that the critic gains further insight into a work by understanding how a writer’s life affects his/her work  historical context –critics analyze influence of historical situation on writing  historical novel is better understood when either its milieu or that of its author is understood – these books are in a real sense about these historic events  * satire ridicules contemporary situations and persons

11. Historical events help shape a work Central Historical Questions:  What specific historical events were happening when the work was being composed? (See timelines in history or literature texts.)  What historical events does the work deal with?  In what ways did history affect the writer's outlook?  In what ways did history affect the style? language? content?  In what ways and for what reasons did the writer alter historical events?

12. Geographical: Settings limit and define what writers can produce Central Geographical Questions:  Which geographical features in the text are actual?  What aspects of the geography are essential to the story? And which are nonessential?  To what extent has the geography limited the kind of story that can happen?  In what ways has the writer altered the geography to suit his or her purposes? Has the writer made any geographical errors?

13. Cont’d  Political: Prevailing Political conditions often modify a literary work Central Political Questions:  What political events are significant in the text?  What political events were occurring at the time the text was written? (See timelines in history or literature texts.)  What political events were occurring at the time the text was written?  What political beliefs does the author seem to have? And how are those beliefs shown?  What political beliefs does the author seem to dislike? How can you tell?

14. Philosophical and Religious: The religious and ethical climate influences writers and their texts. Central Philosophical/Religious Questions:  What religious or ethical beliefs does the text deal with directly? Are any religions or philosophies mentioned specifically in the text?  What religious or ethical beliefs or philosophies does the author seem to favor? How can you tell?  What religious or ethical beliefs or philosophies does the author seem to disfavor? How can you tell?  What behaviors do the characters display that the author wants us to think are “right”? How can you tell?  What behavior is “wrong”? How can you tell?

15. Social conditions and notions of the origins and cultures of humanity affect literature. Central Sociological/Anthropological Questions:  What sort of society does the author describe? (How is it set up? What rules are there? What happens to people who break them? Who enforces the rules?)  What does the writer seem to like or dislike about this society?  What changes do you think the writer would like to make in the society? And how can you tell?  What sorts of pressures does the society put on its members? How do the members respond to this pressure?

16. Opposition to the Traditional Approach: The enemies to the traditional approach to literary analysis have argued that it has tended to be somewhat deficient in imagination and has neglected the newer sciences, such as psychology and anthropology and that it has been too content with a commonsense interpretation of material.

17. To sum up The traditional approach has performed one valuable service : it has preserved scholarly discipline and balance in literary criticism. This does not mean to favor traditional criticism over predominantly aesthetic interpretive approaches. But any knowledge or insight (with special reference to scholarly disciplines like history, philosophy, theology, sociology, art, and music) that can help to explain or clarify a literary work ought to be given the fullest possible chance to do so. Indeed, in some sense, these approaches represent a necessary first step that precedes most other approaches.

18. Cont’d However, for many reasons, the social approach, as it has been traditionally practiced, has waned in importance over the past few years. Certainly the influence of the new critics diminished its role. The reluctance of readers to judge the worth of a work by its social relevance, their desire to value it for its aesthetic qualities, and their aversion to studying society rather than literature caused people to turn away from this perspective to others that serve them in different ways.

19. Recommended Web Sites  When you are interested in doing historical- biographical research, you will find research quickly by doing an Internet search on the literary time period and/ or the author's name. In addition, the following Web sites are particularly helpful for this kind of study.  http://www.ipl.org/ref/litcrit/ http://www.ipl.org/ref/litcrit/  The Internet Public Library online literary criticism site. An excellent source for all types of criticism, but especially for the historical-biographical study.  http://www.ipl.org/ref/litcrit/guide.html http://www.ipl.org/ref/litcrit/guide.html  Another part of the Internet Public Library site.