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Literary Theories The Basics of Criticism

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Page 1: Literary theories

Literary TheoriesThe Basics of Criticism

Page 2: Literary theories

The point of criticism is to argue your point of view on a work of literature.

You don’t have to “criticize” a text (but you can)

You do have to analyze a text and support your assertions with specific evidence from experts and the text.

The Basic Idea

Page 3: Literary theories

A critical analysis is an in-depth examination of some aspect of the literary work

you may examine any element of the text: character development, conflicts, narrative point of view, etc.

Even though it’s an examination of a literary work, it’s still a persuasive essay

The Basic Idea

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The goal is to prove something about the work

There must be a point to the discussion. You must answer the questions Why? or So

what? For example, why is a recurring symbol

important? Or, why is the development of the female characters significant?

The Basic Idea

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There are many different approaches we can take to critical analysis

Literary theories provide a framework for our discussion of a text

We don’t have to identify the theory we’re using, though.

We use it as a starting point for our own ideas and opinions

The Basic Idea

Page 6: Literary theories

The Basic Idea

Literary criticism has two main functions:1. To analyze, study, and evaluate works of

literature.2. To form general principles for the

examination of works of literature.

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New Criticism*

Meaning resides in the text—not in reader, author, or world

Texts may contain numerous messages, but must have a unifying central theme created by the perfect union of all artistic elements.

Texts are artistic creations Close reading is the basis of new

critical analysis The methodology for finding meaning

is clear-cut; the tools are unique to literary analysis

Mantra: “The text itself”

*one type of formalism

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Formalist Approach

Attempts to discover meaning by close reading of a work of literature. Focus is on: Form, organization, and structure Word choice and language Multiple meanings analyzing irony, paradox, imagery, and metaphor setting, characters, symbols, and point of view.

Considers the work in isolation, disregarding author’s intent, author’s background, context, and anything else outside of the work itself.

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Formalist Approach

Two Major Principles of Formalism1. A literary text exists independent of any

particular reader and, in a sense, has a fixed meaning.

2. The greatest literary texts are “timeless” and “universal.”

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intentional fallacy - the false belief that the meaning or value of a work may be determined by the author's intention

affective fallacy - the false belief that the meaning or value of a work may be determined by its affect on the reader

external form - rhyme scheme, meter, stanza form, etc.

Formalist Approach

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Advantages: can be performed without much research emphasizes the value of literature apart from its

context virtually all critical approaches must begin hereDisadvantages: text is seen in isolation ignores the context of the work cannot account for allusions Very difficult to perform on longer works

Formalist Approach

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Two important ideas:1.An individual reader’s interpretation usually changes over time.2.Readers from different generations and different time periods interpret texts differently.

Reader Response Approach

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Reader-Response Approach

asserts that a great deal of meaning in a text lies with how the reader responds to it. Focuses on the act of reading and how it affects our

perception of meaning in a text (how we feel at the beginning vs. the end)

Deals more with the process of creating meaning and experiencing a text as we read. A text is an experience, not an object.

The text is a living thing that lives in the reader’s imagination.

READER + READING SITUATION + TEXT = MEANING

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Advantages: recognizes that different people view works

differently and that people's interpretations change over time.

Disadvantages: tends to make interpretation too subjective does not provide adequate criteria for

evaluating one reading in comparison to another

Reader Response Approach

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New Historicism Approach

New historicist critics view literature as part of history, and furthermore, as an expression of forces on history.

New historicism compares literary analysis to a dynamic circle: The work tells us something about the

surrounding ideology (slavery, rights of women, etc.)

Study of the ideology tells us something about the work.

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New Historicism Approach

New historicism takes two forms: Analysis of the work in the context in

which it was created Analysis of the work in the context in

which it was critically evaluated. New historicists assert that literature

“does not exist outside time and place and cannot be interpreted without reference to the era in which it was written” (Kirszner and Mandell 2038).

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New Historicism Approach

Readers are influenced by their culture, so no objective reading of a work is possible.

Critics should consider how their own culture affects their interpretation of the historical influence on a work.

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Karl Marx perceived human history to have consisted of a series of struggles between classes--between the oppressed and the oppressing Bourgeoisie - “the haves” Proletariat - “the have-nots”

Marx thought that materialism was the ultimate driving force in history

Marxist Approach

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Marxist BeliefsValue is based on laborThe working class will eventually overthrow the capitalist middle classIn the meantime, the middle class exploits the working classMost institutions—religious, legal, educational, and governmental—are corrupted by middle-class capitalists

“Religion is the opiate of the masses”

Marxist Approach

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The successful working class will then establish a communist society

In this ideal the labor, the means of production, and the profits are shared by all

This system is an attempt at complete social and economic equality

It’s a great theory but doesn’t work in reality

Marxist Approach

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Marxist Approach

Examines literature to see how it reflects1. The way in which dominant groups (typically,

the majority) exploit the subordinate groups (typically, the minority)

2. The way in which people become alienated from one another through power, money, and politics

Look for evidence of oppressive ideologies of the dominant social group; look for uses

and abuses of power

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commodities: possessions that give power land and money social position knowledge, or even a person Texts are commodities, not timeless works of art Truths are socially constructed

Look for what commodities bring power and why within a work of literature

Marxist Approach

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Psychoanalytic Approach

Freudian

Sigmund Freud

Lacanian

Joseph Lacan (French)

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views works through the lens of psychology looks either at the psychological motivations

of the characters or of the authors themselves

most frequently applies Freudian psychology to works, but other approaches also exist.

Psychoanalytic Approach

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Psychoanalytic ApproachFreudian

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Model of the Psyche the id: the instinctual, pleasure seeking part

of the mind the superego: the part of the mind that

represses the id's impulses the ego: the part of the mind that controls

but does not repress the id's impulses, releasing them in a healthy way

Psychoanalytic ApproachFreudian

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Psychoanalytic ApproachFreudian

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Basic ConceptsAll actions are influenced by the unconscious.Human beings must repress many of their desires to live peacefully with others.Repressed desires often surface in the unconscious, motivating actions.

Psychoanalytic ApproachFreudian

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Recognizes symbols that are linked to sexual pleasure

Female (Yonic): concave images, such as ponds, flowers, cups, and caves, images of sustenance, fertility or fecundity (gardens, food)

Male (Phallic): if it stands up or goes off, objects that are longer than they are wide

dancing, riding, and flying are associated with sexual pleasure

water is usually associated with birth, the female principle, the maternal, the womb, and the death wish.

Psychoanalytic ApproachFreudian

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Psychoanalytic ApproachFreudian

The Core IssuesFear of intimacyFear of abandonmentFear of betrayalLow self-esteemInsecure or unstable sense of selfOedipal fixation or Oedipal complex

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Oedipus complex: a boy's unconscious rivalry with his father for the love of his mother

Electra complex: a girl’s unconscious rivalry with her mother for the love of her father (a.k.a. “daddy issues”)

Psychoanalytic ApproachFreudian

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Psychoanalytic ApproachLacanian

Model of the PsycheImaginary - a preverbal/verbal stage in which a child (around 6-18 months of age) begins to develop a sense of separateness from her mother as well as other people and objects; however, the child's sense of sense is still incomplete.Symbolic - the stage marking a child's entrance into language (the ability to understand and generate symbols); in contrast to the imaginary stage, largely focused on the mother, the symbolic stage shifts attention to the father who, in Lacanian theory, represents cultural norms, laws, language, and power (the symbol of power is the phallus--an arguably "gender-neutral" term). Real - an unattainable stage representing all that a person is not and does not have. Both Lacan and his critics argue whether the real order represents the period before the imaginary order when a child is completely fulfilled--without need or lack, or if the real order follows the symbolic order and represents our "perennial lack" (because we cannot return to the state of wholeness that existed before language).

We know only what we have words for.

Based on Language

Development

Based on Language

Development

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based on the theories of psychologist Carl Jung, a disciple of Freud

Collective Unconscious: there are certain basic and central images and experiences that are inherent in the human psyche

Archetypal Approach

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assumes that there is a collection of symbols, images, characters, and motifs (i.e. archetypes) that evokes basically the same response in all people regardless of culture

Concerned with enduring patterns and how they are reflected in literature

asserts that these archetypes are the source of much of literature's power.

Archetypal Approach

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archetypal women - the Good Wife/Mother, the Terrible Mother, the Virgin (often a Damsel in Distress), and the Fallen Woman.

water - creation, birth-death-resurrection, purification, redemption, fertility, growth

garden - paradise (Eden), innocence, fertility desert - spiritual emptiness, death, hopelessness red - blood, sacrifice, passion, disorder green - growth, fertility black - chaos, death, evil serpent - evil, sensuality, mystery, wisdom, destruction seven - perfection hero archetype -  The hero is involved in a quest (in which he overcomes

obstacles). He experiences initiation (involving a separation, transformation, and return), and finally he serves as a scapegoat, that is, he dies to atone.

Some Archetypes

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Advantages: provides a universalistic approach to literature

and identifies a reason why certain literature may survive the test of time

it works well with works that are highly symbolic

Disadvantages: literature may become a vehicle for

archetypes can easily become a list of symbols without

much analysis

Archetypal Approach

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Feminist Approach

Context and Terminologyfemale (biological) ≠ feminine (socio-cultural) ≠ Feminist (political) feminism ≠ gender studies- political vs academic context and terminology- focus on women vs focus on gendered experience of being human

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Feminist Approach

Concerned with the role, position, and influence of women in a literary text.

Asserts that most “literature” throughout time has been written by men, for men. The male experience is the “norm” against which the

woman or “other” experience is measured – the woman is “otherized” thus women assume male values and ways of perceiving, feeling, and acting.

Examines the way that the female consciousness is depicted by both male and female writers.

may argue that gender determines everything, or just the opposite: that all gender differences are imposed by society, and gender determines nothing

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4 Basic Principles of Feminist Criticism1. Western civilization is patriarchal.2. The concepts of gender are mainly cultural

ideas created by patriarchal societies.3. Patriarchal ideals pervade “literature.”4. Most “literature” through time has been

gender-biased.

Feminist Approach

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Feminine: the female accepts the definitions and roles male authorities have created for her

Feminist: rebels against male authority and intentionally challenges all male definitions and roles

Female: no longer concerned with male definitions or restrictions; defines her own voice and values

Stages of Female Identity

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asserts that the larger purpose of literature is to teach morality and to probe philosophical issues

authors intend to instruct the audience in some way

Moral / Philosophical Approach

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Existentialism involves the attempt to make meaning in a chaotic world.

Sartre argued, "man makes himself." As a form of literary criticism, existentialism

seeks to analyze literary works, with special emphasis on the struggle to define meaning and identity in the face of alienation and isolation.

Moral / Philosophical Approach

Existentialism

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Absurd - a term used to describe existence--a world without inherent meaning or truth.

Authenticity - to make choices based on an individual code of ethics (commitment) rather than because of societal pressures. A choice made just because "it's what people do" would be considered inauthentic.

"Leap of faith" - although Kierkegaard acknowledged that religion was inherently unknowable and filled with risks, faith required an act of commitment (the "leap of faith"); the commitment to Christianity would also lessen the despair of an absurd world.

Moral / Philosophical Approach

Existentialism

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views each person as an isolated being who is cast into an alien universe, and conceives the world as possessing no inherent human truth, value, or meaning.

A person's life, then, as it moves from the nothingness from which it came toward the nothingness where it must end, defines an existence which is both anguished and absurd

In a world without sense, all choices are possible, a situation which Sartre viewed as human beings central dilemma: "Man [woman] is condemned to be free.“

In contrast to atheist existentialism, Søren Kierkegaard theorized that belief in God (given that we are provided with no proof or assurance) required a conscious choice or "leap of faith."

Moral / Philosophical Approach

Existentialism

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Advantages: useful for works which do present an obvious moral

philosophy useful when considering the themes of works does not view literature merely as "art" isolated from all

moral implications recognizes that literature can affect readers and that

the message of a work is important. Disadvantages: such an approach can be too "judgmental"  Some believe literature should be judged primarily (if

not solely) on its artistic merits, not its moral or philosophical content.

Moral / Philosophical Approach:

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POSTCOLONIALISM

Meaning resides in text, history, and ideology Literature is a political tool—those in power

decide what is “art” Truth is relative Study the author’s (and reader’s) life & times; locate

tensions between conflicting cultures; explore the “double consciousness” of colonized & postcolonized writers; observe how colonizers “refashion” the colonized;

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Territorialism

Possessions (objects of desire) are metaphors for who we are or how we wish to be perceived—aspects of the “self.”

Possessions may be tangible or intangible (my car or my idea, e.g.)

They occupy mental space: cognitive, affective, and conative.

These spaces strongly resemble territories—with rights of ownership, markers, boundaries, rules of “in” and “out,” defensive strategies, etc.

Look for territorial behaviors; determine the “object(s) of desire”; what aspect of self is in play? Who owns the object? Who wants it? Why? Identify the territorial act: acquisition, management, or defense? How does this information improve our understanding of the text?