Lecture Literary criticism - Lecture 1: Introduction to literary criticism. The contents of this chapter include all of the following: Purposes of literaly criticism, approaches in literary criticism, historical/biographical approach, moral/philosophical approach,...
Trang 1INTRODUCTION TO LITERARY CRITICISM
LITERARY CRITICISM
Trang 2PURPOSES OF LITERALY CRITICISM
¢ To help us solve a problem in reading
¢ To help us choose the better of two conflicting
readings
Trang 5ADVANTAGES
¢ This works well for some works which are political in nature
Trang 6DISADVANTAGES
¢ New critics criticize it because according to historic approach the value or meaning of the work maybe determines by “Intentional faliacy”
Trang 7MORAL/PHILOSOPHICAL APPROACH
These.critics believe that the larger purpose of literature is to teach morality and to probe
philosophical issues
Mathew Arnold: “high seriousness”
Trang 8ADVANTAGES
For works which have obvious moral philosophy When considering themes of works
Trang 9DISADVANTAGES
Trang 10MIMETIC APPROACH Mimetic critics ask how well the work of literature accords with the real world Is it accurate? Is it correct? Is it moral?
Does it show how people really act? Mimetic approach includes:
¢Moral criticism
¢Psychological criticism
Trang 11FORMALISM/NEW CRITICISM
All information essential to the interpretation of a work must be found within the work.No need to bring the information from the outside about author’s life,history and politics of the time
It is not interested in the piece of literature’s effect on the reader lt does not observe a piece of literature through the lens of
Trang 14ADVANTAGES
Trang 15DISADVANTAGES
Trang 16PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACH
¢ Critics look at the psychological motivation of the characters or the author although the former one is considered a more valid approach
(a) Freudian Approach:
¢ Discusses influences of a character’s id, ego & superego ¢ Discusses the sexual implications of symbols and imagery ¢* Concave images ¢ Phallic images ¢ Oedipus complex ¢ Freud’s philosophy of Child development i-e oral stage,anal stage & genital stage (bo) Jungian Approach: ¢ Archetypal criticism
¢ Psychologic critics concerned with Jung’s process of “inviduation”
Trang 17ADVANTAGES
Can help in understanding works where characters have obvious psychological image
Trang 18DISADVANTAGES
¢ Awork of art can become a psychological case study ¢ Tend to see sex in everything
Trang 19MYTHOLOGICAL/ARCHETYPAL/SYMBOLIC APPROACH
¢ This approach says that there is a collection of
symbols,images,characters and motifs that woke the same response in all people because Jung believes in “collective unconcious’”
¢ Myth critics identify these patterns
¢ discuss how they function in the works
¢ Believe that they are the source of literature’s power c—g
¢ Desert:emptiness,death and hopelessness ¢ Red:blood,passion,sacrifice
Trang 20ADVANTAGES
¢ Universality
Trang 21DISADVANTAGES
Trang 22FEMINIST APPROACH
Focuses on
¢ Impact of gender on writing and reading ¢ Begins with a critique of patriarchal culture ¢ Often political and revisionist
Trang 23ELAINE SHOWALTER'S THEORY
¢ She argues that literary sub cultures go through three phasesof development
¢ These stages for literature by/about women are:
(a) The feminine stage(immitation of the prevailing modes of domination) (b) The feminist stage(protest against the prevailing standard)
(c) The female stage(phase of self discovery) - aturning inward
Trang 24ADVANTAGES
Trang 25DISADVANTAGES
Turns literary criticims into a political battle field
Trang 26READER RESPONSE CRITICISM APPROACH
¢ It analyzes the reader’s response and it’s role in the production of meaning
¢ Inthe case a text has no meaning untill it is read by the reader
¢ This takes into account the strategies employed by the author to elicit certain responses from readers
Trang 28DISADVANTAGES
Trang 29STRUCTURALISM
¢ View literature as a system of signs
Trang 30DECONSTRUCTION
They make interpretations based on the political or social implications of language rather than examining an author’s