Be prepared to take some IMPORTANT notes.

29 April 2013

Literary Criticism

What is Criticism?

Literary criticism is commentary on a text The focus in literary criticism is on the reader's response to the text It aims to comment in a more objective way on the themes and techniques of the text Literary criticism asks what literature is, what it does, and what it is worth

Why do we have to analyze everything??

Talking about experiences enhances our enjoyment of themTalking about experiences involves the search for meaning which increases our understanding of themBecause Socrates said so: "The life which is unexamined is not worth living."

To further explain …

Literary criticism helps us to understand what is important about the text:

Its structureIts contextcontext: social, economic, historicalWhat is writtenHow the text manipulates the reader

Literary criticism helps us to understand the relationship between authors, readers, and textsThe act of literary criticism ultimately enhances the enjoyment of our reading of the literary work

YOU'RE GOING TO STUDY FOUR THEORIES …

1.Historical/Biographical2.Marxist3.Feminist4.Psychological/Freudian

But there are many more …

Culturalism Structuralism Post-structuralism Archetypal Formalism Reader Response Deconstructionalism Moralism And so many more …

There are so many possible answers …

What does this literary work mean?Different approaches or lenses help us to discover rich and deeper meaningEach lens has its strengths and weaknessesEach lens is valuable

Try to become a pluralist rather than an inflexible supporter of one