Literary Theories

1
Literary Theories

• The Basics of Criticism

2
The Basic Idea

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

3
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 its an examination of a literary
  work, its still a persuasive essay

4
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?

5
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 dont have to identify the theory were using,
  though.
• We use it as a starting point for our own ideas
  and opinions

6
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.

7
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.

8
Application

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

9
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

10
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.

11
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.

12
Application

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

13
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.

14
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.

15
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.

16
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

17
Application

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

18
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.

19
Freudian Approach to Personality

• Three parts to an individuals 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

20
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 girls unconscious rivalry
  with her mother for the love of her father
  (a.k.a. daddy issues)

21
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.

22
Psychoanalytical Approach

• Advantages
• can be a useful tool for understanding character
  development and conflict
• Disadvantages
• 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.

23
Application

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

24
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.

25
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

26
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.

27
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

28
Application

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

29
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

30
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

31
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

32
Application

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

33
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

34
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

35
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
• Its a great theory but doesnt work in reality

36
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?

37
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

38
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?

39
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.

40
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

41
Application

• What are your personal responses to this novel?
• Are there certain elements you respond to
  strongly or with which you identify?