LOOKING THROUGH A VARIETY OF LENSES Literary Criticism

Literary Approaches  Knowledge of different approaches to literary criticism allows for more ways to study a work of literature.

The most common lenses:  Formalism  Reader response  Historical/biographical  Socio-political  Psychological  Feminist

Formalism (New Criticism)  Formalism requires a close reading of the text without outside information. This lens requires close analysis of the work itself, zeroing in on metaphor, symbols, irony, POV, imagery, and so on.  Usually the best starting point for analysis.

Mimetic Approach  Looks at a work and asks how accurately it reflects the real world.  Is it moral? Is it believeable?  Are the characters realistic?  Is the work as a whole realistic?  What moral values are apparent in the work?

Reader Response  Very different from formalism  Denies that there is one “correct” interpretation of a work  The meaning depends on the understanding/experience, background of the reader  More limiting than formalism – but allows for flexibilty in analysis.

Historical/biographical  Take into account the author’s life and times and provides a context for the work itself.  Beneficial if you have time and resources to work with.  Formalists argue that this approach lessens the value of the actual literary work  why?

Socio-Political  Looks at the society in which the author writes  Looks at relationships between different classes, races, sexes, religions  Takes into account political viewpoints

Psychological  Looks at the literary work from the perspective of the character’s or author’s psychological motivations  Some critics argue that this approach ignores too many aspects of the work

Feminist  Looks at the role gender plays in the work  How does the male-dominated social system affect the work?  How does the work reflect or deny the role being played by women in the world?

Benefits of using various lenses:  Brings different perspectives into discussion  Opens yourself to more writing possibilities  Provides a more well-rounded understanding of the text  Provides a more “collegesque” approach to literary analysis

AP Test