Literary Theories

The Basics of Criticism

The Basic Idea

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

Historical/Biographical Approach

• views literature as the reflection of an author's life and times (or of the characters' life and times).

• it is necessary to know about the author and the political, economical, and sociological context of his times in order to truly understand his works.

Historical/Biographical Approach

Advantages:• works well for some which are obviously

political or biographical in nature. • places allusions in their proper classical,

political, or biblical background. Disadvantages:• "the intentional fallacy"  • tends to reduce art to the level of biography and

make it relative (to the times) rather than universal.

Application

• What are some historical or biographical elements we might examine in a discussion of our current novel?

Moral / Philosophical Approach:

• 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:

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.

Moral / Philosophical Approach:

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.

Application

• What are some moral or philosophical elements we might examine in a discussion of our current novel?

Formalism / New Criticism

• involves a close reading of the text

• all information essential to the interpretation of a work must be found within the work itself

• focuses on analyzing irony, paradox, imagery, and metaphor

• also interested in the work's setting, characters, symbols, and point of view.

Formalism / New Criticism

• no need to bring in outside information about the history, politics, or society of the time, or about the author's life

• does not view works through the lens of feminism, psychology, mythology, or any other such standpoint

• not interested in the work's affect on the reader.

Formalism / New Criticism

Terms Used in New Criticism: • 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.

Formalism / New Criticism

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

context • virtually all critical approaches must begin here

Disadvantages:• text is seen in isolation• ignores the context of the work• cannot account for allusions

Application

• What are some formal elements we might examine in a discussion of our current novel?

Psychoanalytical Approach

• 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.

Freudian Approach to Personality

Three parts to an individual’s 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

Sex is Everything

Freud believed that all human behavior is motivated by sexuality

• 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”)

Freudian Imagery

Recognizes symbols that are linked to sexual pleasure

• concave images, such as ponds, flowers, cups, and caves as female symbols

• phallic symbols, objects that are longer than they are wide, are male images

• 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.

Psychoanalytical Approach

Advantages:• can be a useful tool for understanding character

development and conflictDisadvantages:• can turn a work into a psychological case study• tends to see sex in everything, exaggerating this aspect

of literature • some works do not lend themselves readily to this

approach.

Application

• What are some psychological or psychoanalytical elements we might examine in a discussion of our current novel?

Archetypal Approach

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

• identifies these patterns and discusses how they function in the works

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

Archetypal Approach

• based on the theories of psychologist Carl Jung

• he states that mankind possesses a "collective unconscious" that contains these archetypes and that is common to all of humanity

Some Archetypes• 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.

Archetypal Approach

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

Application

• What are some archetypal elements we might examine in a discussion of our current novel?

Feminist Approach

• concerned with the roles of female characters within works

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

Stages of Female Identity

• 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

The Mad-Woman in the Attic

• Critics Gilbert and Gubar identify a pattern in the treatment of female characters in literature, even when written by women.

• based on the plot of Jane Eyre

• the practice of removing a female character who is no longer useful to the male characters

Application

• What are some gender-based elements we might examine in a discussion of our current novel?

Marxist Approach

• Karl Marx perceived human history to have consisted of a series of struggles between classes--between the oppressed and the oppressing (“the haves” and “the have-nots”).

• Marx thought that materialism was the ultimate driving force in history

Marxist Approach

• Feudalism exploits workers to the point of revolt

• This leads to bourgeois capitalism

• In bourgeois capitalism, the privileged bourgeoisie rely on the working proletariat

• Workers are exploited to the point of revolt

Marxist Approach

• 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

• Marxist criticism examines the nature of power structures within a novel.

• It asks questions like: Who has power? Who lacks power? Who is exploited by whom and why? How does power remain constant or shift throughout a work of literature? What makes certain characters powerful or powerless?

Marxist Approach

• It also examines commodities, possessions that give power

• Typical commodities are things like land and money but can also be things like social position, knowledge, or even a person

• Marxist criticism can also examine what commodities bring power and why within a work of literature

Application

• Who is in power within the novel?

• What commodities does that character possess that allows him/her to have power?

• How does power shift or remain static throughout the novel?

Reader Response Criticism

• analyzes the reader's role in the production of meaning• lies at the opposite end of the spectrum from formalism• the text itself has no meaning until it is read by a reader• The reader creates the meaning. • can take into account the strategies employed by the

author to elicit a certain response from readers • denies the possibility that works are universal (i.e. that

they will always mean more or less the same thing to readers everywhere)

• makes someone's reading a function of personal identity.

Reader Response Criticism

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

Application

• What are your personal responses to this novel?

• Are there certain elements you respond to strongly or with which you identify?