1. Literary Theories
in very brief summary

2. Formalist Theory Connections to Structuralism and Deconstruction
Nothing outside of the text
Independent
No outside influences
All within context
analyze plot, character, setting, diction, imagery, structure, point of view, form, genre
evaluate uses of these forms
close reading of passages
emphasis on determining tension and/or ambiguity
Connections to Structuralism and Deconstruction

3. Biographical Theory Connections to Psychological Theory
knowing the life of the author reveals information in the text
author’s life influenced the text
analyze author’s experiences
analyze author’s process/struggle in writing
emphasis on author’s knowledge
Connections to Psychological Theory

4. Historical Theory Old Historicism
history forms a background to the text
literary text must be read with knowledge and understanding of the time and place of its creation
analyze historical documents contemporary to the text
analyze language of text and its time

5. Historical Theory New Historicism
text is a reflection of the events, ideas, and attitudes of the time and place of the text’s creation
literary text must be read with social backgrounds and intellectual ideas of the time and place of its creation
analyze political structures of the time and place of the text’s creation
analyze values, conflicts, social events of the time and place of the text’s creation
Connections to Psychological and Cultural Theories

6. Psychological Theory Queer Theory and Gender Studies Connections to:
text is a revelation/product of author’s mind and personality
reflection of the author’s consciousness and mental world
reflects the creative process of the author - imagination
analyze the author’s/character’s motivations and behaviors
interpret the actions of the characters
interpret the intentions of the author
evaluate the text/characters/author as you would a patient
* theories tailored from whichever psychological theory
preferred
Queer Theory and
Gender Studies
Connections to:
Psychoanalysis
Jungian symbolism
Semiotics

7. Sociological Theory
social context of the time and place of texts are critical
influences of power relations within society
values and ethics of society
economics, politics, culture are reflected in text
Two major branches within this:
Marxist criticism
Feminist criticism

8. Sociological Theory Marxist Criticism
applies theory of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels to literature
subjugation, exploitation, alienation
bourgeoise versus proletariat
analyze class conflicts
evaluate politics and economics within text
evaluate power structures
acknowledge text as “product” not art form
acknowledge text as part of the revolution

9. Sociological Theory Feminist Criticism Connections to Gender studies
importance of the social, economic, cultural roles of women in the text
male author’s portrayal of women, female author’s portrayal of women
acknowledge text as “agent for social transformation” or as means of maintaining patriarchal social structures
analyze female characters within the text
evaluate feminine voice(s) in the text
Connections to Gender studies

10. Sociological Theory Feminist Criticism Focus on four tenets:
Patriarchy of Western Civilization
Gender traits and roles and how they are viewed, imposed, changed
Canon of literature is “androcentric,” male-centered
Traditional analysis of literature is gender-biased in favor of the masculine

11. Reader-Response Theory Three perspectives used:
text is a mirror for the reader
focus on the text
“temporal aspect of reading”
focus on the “space” (time and place) between the reader and the text
themes identified by the reader are unique to the reader
focus on the reader, text is background

12. Reader-Response Theory
text is different for every person, gender, culture, historical period, economic background, class, etcetera
reader’s imagination, identity, and feelings are key, but are regulated by the text
process of reading is important
evaluate your feelings and thoughts as you read a text
analyze the “triggers” in text for your feelings and thoughts
analyze tone and mood
acknowledge differing views of a text between types of readers
subjective information is equal to objective information discovered in a text

13. Mythological Theory
universal story patterns
common, familiar, universal human experiences
representations of “religious beliefs, social customs, cultural attitudes”
common human events are used for symbolic meanings:
birth = beginning, death = ending, etcetera
Identify, analyze, and evaluate:
Archetypes: universal symbols found in all types of literature throughout history and around the world
Story types: quest, revenge, death, loss, transformation, enlightenment, etcetera
Genres: novel, poem, play, song, short story, proverb, etcetera
Connections to Structuralism and Semiotics, linguistic theory of language development

14. Structuralism Connections to Deconstruction
derives from linguistics and anthropology
language as an arbitrary system of signs
focus on “binary opposition”
onomatopoetic use of sounds (pleasant vs. unpleasant, soft vs. harsh, harmony vs. discord)
identify and analyze binary opposites
analyze use of sounds, letters and syllables
evaluate differences in word and sentence structures
Connections to Deconstruction

15. Structuralism Semiotics study of signs, sign systems, and codes
how signs help in understanding human interaction – literature is only one aspect of this
identify and analyze signs in a text
evaluate signs to guide interpretation of a text
utilize signs of one text to evaluate and interpret other texts

16. Deconstruction derives from structuralism
binary opposites are seen as equally valid
reveals prevailing ideologies that are questioned in the text
emphasizes ambiguity in all texts
language is oppositional
all texts are self-contradictory
the meaning of a text is allusive
reduce text to binary oppositions
analyze binary opposites
evaluate ambiguities in text and how they defer meaning

17. Cultural Studies multidisciplinary – utilizes all forms of criticism
humanistic disciplines and sciences
culture as a way of life and culture as the best of humanity
focuses on conflict inside and between “cultures”
identify challenges and differences to “accepted” norms and values
evaluate how challenges redraw so-called cultural boundaries
analyze differences of cultures

18. Cultural Studies Gender Studies Feminist criticism Gay/Lesbian studies
identify and analyze how gender is defined in a text
evaluate differences of cultural gender versus biological gender as presented in a text
analyze and evaluate sexual orientation of characters in a text – utilizes psychoanalytic theory
Queer Theory
identify all people/characters as “queer”
acknowledge that there is no such thing as “normal”
evaluate the lack of sexual/gender boundaries