British LiteratureBritish Literature

“It’s a weeping willow Wednesday!”

April 30, 2008

Mr. Houghteling

Agenda• Review Literary Criticism definitions

and examples

• Storytime

• Literary Criticism groups

• Storytime revisited

• Analysis of The Giving Tree using different Literary Criticism perspectives

Literary Criticism – some typesLiterary Criticism – some types

• Historical Criticism

• Archetypal Criticism

• Feminist Criticism

• Marxist Criticism

• Eco-Criticism

• Reader Response Criticism

Feminist Critical Perspective•Feminist interpretation focuses on

relationships between genders. It examines the patterns of thought, behavior, values, enfranchisement, and power in relations between and within the sexes. For example, a Feminist reading of Cinderella may take into account the idea of power relationships between the men and women of the novel.

Some common assumptions in the use of

Feminist criticism: • A pervasively patriarchal society conveys the notion

of male dominance through the images of women in its texts.

• Many literary texts lack complex female figures and deem the female reader as an outsider, or require her to assume male values in terms of perception, feelings, and actions.

• Issues of gender and sexuality are central to artistic expression.

• Fictional portrayals of female characters often reflect and create stereotypical social and political attitudes toward women.

• Texts authored by women may have different viewpoints than texts authored by men.

Eco-criticism is a form of literary criticism based on an ecological perspective. The eco-criticism investigates the relation between humans and the natural world in literature. Attitudes towards nature and the environment are presented and analyzed. One of the main ideas in eco-criticism is to study how individuals in society behave and react in relation to the nature and ecological aspects.

Eco-Criticism

This form of criticism has gained a lot of attention during recent years (approximately since 2000) due to higher social emphasis on environmental destruction and increased technology. Hence, it is a fresh way of analyzing and interpreting literary texts, bringing new dimensions to the field of literary criticism.

Eco-CriticismEco-Criticism

Marxist CriticismMarxist criticism asserts that economics provides the foundation for all social, political, and ideological reality. The presence of economic inequalities is a power structure that drives history and influences differences in religion, race, ethnicity, and gender. For example, status in the community of Lord of the Flies can be examined from an economic point of view.

Some common assumptions in the use of Marxist Criticism:

•All aspects of humanity are based on the struggle for economic power.

•The basic struggle in human society is between the haves and the have-nots.

Storytime

• The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

• Pay close attention!

Literary Criticism Circles• Meet in groups of four. • Review the criticism your group has been

given. Solidify your understanding of the criticism.

• Reread The Giving Tree, analyzing the text through the perspective of your criticism.

• Write down at least five observations or conclusions that your group has made relative to your literary criticism perspective.

• On chart paper, label the type of literary criticism you used and write your observations on the chart paper.

Homework• Write a short personal reflection

about how the criticism affected your interpretation of the story.

• Finish inputting information on the College Research Brainstorming sheet.

• Bring your British Literature textbook tomorrow!