Transcript Literary Criticism - Chandler Unified School District

The paradigms and the
possibilities…
Literary criticism is the study,
discussion, evaluation, and
interpretation of literature.
Wikipedia rocks :)
"Literary criticism is the evaluation
of literary works. This includes
the classification by genre,
analysis of structure, and
judgement of value."
Beckson & Ganz
Ok, that's a bit better …
"Literary criticism asks what
literature is, what it does, and
what it is worth."
Encyclopedia Britannica
Nice …
 Literary
criticism is the method
used to interpret any given work
of literature. The different
schools of literary criticism
provide us with lenses which
ultimately reveal important
aspects of the literary work.
Why do we have to analyze
everything????
Talking about experiences enhances our enjoyment of them.
Talking about experiences involves the search
for meaning which increases our understanding of
them.
 Because Socrates said so: "The life which is
unexamined is not worth living."
Literary criticism helps us to understand
what is important about the text
•its structure
•its context: social, economic, historical
•what is written
•how the text manipulates the reader
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Literary criticism helps us to
understand the relationship between
authors, readers, and texts
The act of literary criticism ultimately
enhances the enjoyment of our
reading of the literary work
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Biographical
Marxism
Feminism
Historical
Reader Response
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Author intention
Biological
Cognitive scientific
Moralist
Queer
Socio-political
Sociological
Formalism
Psychoanalytic
Cultural Criticism
Structuralism
Post-structuralism
Archetypal
And so many more …
Literary Criticism Map
Where do the theories fall?
How do I know how to look through
each literary criticism “lens”?
1.You need to understand the
philosophy of the theory.
2.Then you know what questions to
ask of the literature.
The Author’s World
Historical Approach
Biographical Approach
…is based on the idea that
the events and culture of the
time influenced the work.
…is based on the idea that
the writer’s life and
intentions influenced the
work.
Questions:
•Is the method of composition
indicative of the period?
•IS the subject matter
representative of events
occurring at this time?
Questions:
•Does the work take on
a greater significance
because of the writer’s
life?
•What were the writer’s
intentions? Who was
the writer’s audience?
Psychological Theories
The Marxist Approach
The Feminist Approach
…is based on the philosophy of
Karl Marx, a German
philosopher and economist.
…is based on the idea that
the Western world is
fundamentally patriarchal
(created by men, ruled by
men, viewed through the
eyes of men, judged by men).
His major argument : whoever
controlled the means of
production to society
controlled the society –
whoever owned the factories
“owned” the culture.
Questions:
•Do the economic tensions in
the text represent those in
society?
•Does the text work to reveal
the economic pitfalls of
capitalism?
Questions:
•What are the attitudes
towards women that are
both explicit and implicit?
•How do the literary
conventions(happy ending
for example) bring to light
assumptions about
women?
The Audience
Reader Response
… is based on the idea that the text affects the reader.
The reader learns as much about himself as he does
about the text.
Questions:
•What is the predominate affect the text
had on you?
•What does your response tell you about
yourself?
Let’s get our “feet wet”
Examining Cinderella
Feminist Perspective
Consider:
…the potentially misogynist theme of abused-girlwaiting-to-be-rescued-by-prince.
‘’’the values conveyed in the portrayal of the “good girl” as
physically beautiful and the “wicked girls” as physically
ugly.
…the fact that the “good girl” is passive, weak, and
submissive and can do nothing (and does do nothing) to
improve her own condition.
The fact that the powerful woman is portrayed as wicked (
and probably ugly)
Examine the potentially misogynist theme of the
courtship ritual of the prince’s ball:
By what standard (other than physical beauty) will he
choose whom to marry?
Will the chosen woman have a choice in whether of not to
marry the prince?
What is the basis of the prince’s “love at first sight” with
Cinderella?
The Marxist Perspective
Consider:
…that Cinderella is a representative of the proletariat
(working class)
… that she is oppressed by her bourgeoisie stepmother and
stepsisters, who have stolen her rightful inheritance and
turned her into a servant in her own home.
… that she desires to join that ranks of the bourgeoisie by
marrying the prince.
…the ball gown, glass sippers, and golden coach as
evidence of commodification; without these possessions,
Cinderella cannot hope to rise out of the proletariat and
join the bourgeoisie
Upon seeing an orange
Historical theory asks:
Biographical theory asks:
Feminist theory asks:
Marxist theory asks:
Reader Response theory
asks:
What weather patterns and harvesting
methods at the time influenced the
orange?
Was the orange a favorite fruit of the
grower?
What possibilities are available to a
woman who eats the orange? to a
man?
Who owns the orange? Who gets to
eat it?
What does the orange taste like? What
does the orange remind us of?
There are so many possible answers …
What does this literary work mean?
Different approaches or lenses help us to
discover rich and deeper meaning.
Each lens has its strengths and weaknesses.
Each lens is valuable.
Try to become a pluralist rather than an
inflexible supporter of one