1. Criticism, Ideology, Perspective and Practice!
Literary Theory
Criticism, Ideology, Perspective
and Practice!

2. Objectives To understand the purpose and goal of literary theory
To be able to explain literary theory and its types
To read a text and apply the different types of literary theory

3. Criticism
The practice (especially professional/academic) of Literary Theory, but it comes in many forms (schools of criticism)
Not about critiquing the text
Studies, describes, analyzes, interprets, justifies, and evaluates what the text really says
Examines how a single text can say and reveal different things to different readers

4. Ideology
Schools developed from ideologies, which shape our world in many ways, literature not excluded
Allows us to understand/question the ideologies in a text
provides critical lenses which readers can use to see a text differently

5. PERSPECTIVE! IT’S ALL ABOUT IT’S ALL ABOUT PERSPECTIVE!
Our goal of literary theory is to learn how to inhabit schools and theories comfortably enough to be able to construct our own readings
To learn to appreciate the power of perspective
And to promote curiosity, authority, and initiative when reading and discussing texts

7. Literary Theory = Literary Criticism = Critical Theory
Forms
forms = types = schools
They educate/promote different approaches of interpreting literary texts
Skilled readers use schools!
Literary Theory = Literary Criticism = Critical Theory

8. What does Literary Theory consider?
Text structure
Significant Context: social, economic, historical
Author
What the text says
And… shows how the text manipulates the reader
Literary criticism helps us understand the relationship between author, reader, and text, ultimately enhancing our enjoyment when reading literature

9. The MANY Approaches Formalism Deconstruction Marxism Author intention
Feminism
Reader Response
Psychoanalytic
Biographical
New Criticism
Moralist
Cultural Criticism
Sociological
Structuralism
Postcolonialism
Post-structuralism
And so many more…
Archetypal
Mimetic

10. But We’ll only be focusing on some

11. And now for a very confusing map!

12. Understanding the Map
The work itself is placed in the center because all approaches must deal, to some extent or another, with the text itself.
Formalism and deconstruction are placed here also because they deal primarily with the text and not with any of the outside considerations such as author, the real world, audience, or other literature. Formalists argue for what is inherent in the text. Because meaning is a causal factor, all other considerations are irrelevant.
Deconstructionists also subject texts to careful, formal analysis; however, they reach an opposite conclusion: there is no meaning in language.

13. Understanding the Map
A historical approach relies heavily on the author and his world. In the historical view, it is important to understand the author and his world in order to understand his intent and to make sense of his work. In this view, the work is informed by the author's beliefs, prejudices, time, and history, and to fully understand the work, we must understand the author and the context.
An inter-textual approach is concerned with comparing the work in question to other literature, (perhaps of the same time period or genre) to get a broader picture.
Reader-Response is concerned with how the work is viewed by the audience. In this approach, the reader creates the meaning, not the author and not the work.

14. Understanding the Map
Mimetic criticism seeks to see how well a work accords with the real world (is it accurate? correct? Moral?). 
Then, beyond the real world are approaches dealing with the spiritual and the symbolic--the images connecting people throughout time, space, and cultures (archetypes). This is mimetic in a sense too, but the congruency looked for is not so much with the real world as with something beyond the real world--something uniting in all the worlds/times/cultures inhabited by humans.

15. Understanding the Map
The Psychological approach is placed outside these poles because it can fit in many places, depending how it is applied: (1) Historical if diagnosing the author himself (2) Mimetic if considering if characters are acting by "real world" standards and with recognizable psychological motivations (3) Archetypal when the idea of the Jungian collective unconscious is included (4) Reader-Response when the psychology of the reader--why she sees what she sees in the text--is examined.

16. Understanding the Map
Likewise, Feminist, Minority, Marxist, and other such approaches may fit in: (1) Historical if the author's attitudes are being examined in relation to his times (i.e. was Shakespeare a feminist for his times, though he might not be considered so today?) (2) Mimetic--when asking how well characters accord with the real world. Are women being portrayed accurately and with dimension? Does a black character act like a black person would, or is he a stereotype? Does the work show a realistic economic picture of the world?

17. How about another look at the map?

18. Explaining each School
Each school operates a bit differently, but in every case the text is evident
From there the interpretation is largely colored by perspective, which drives the questions asked by the reader/critic, ultimately resulting in an interpretation
The focus and process for each may be different
As we talk through each, focus on the strengths and weaknesses of each perspective, as the weaknesses of the lenses are just as important to theory as the strengths.

19. READER + READING SITUATION + TEXT = MEANING
Reader Response
Asserts that a great deal of meaning in a text lies with how the reader responds to it.
Focuses on the act of reading and how it affects our perception of meaning in a text (how we feel at the beginning vs. the end)
Even considers the experience of the reader with the topic/characters of text prior to reading
Deals more with the process of creating meaning and experiencing a text as we read. A text is an experience, not an object.
The text is a living thing that lives in the reader’s imagination.
READER + READING SITUATION + TEXT = MEANING

20. Reader Response cont. 2 Important Ideas in Reader-Response
An individual reader’s interpretation usually changes over time.
Readers from different generations and different time periods interpret texts differently.
Ultimately… How do YOU feel about what you have read? What do YOU think it means?

21. Formalist Approach
Emphasizes the form of a literary work to determine its meaning, focusing on literary elements and how they work to create meaning.
Examines a text as independent from its time period, social setting, and author’s background. A text is an independent entity.
Focuses on close readings of texts and analysis of the effects of literary elements and techniques on the text. (plotting, symbolism, poetic structure, etc.)

22. Formalist Approach cont.
Two Major Principles of Formalism
A literary text exists independent of any particular reader and, in a sense, has a fixed meaning.
The greatest literary texts are “timeless” and “universal.”
* In my own words:
Form is meaning!

23. Psychological Approach
Views a text as a revelation of its author’s mind and personality. It is based on the work of Sigmund Freud.
Also focuses on the hidden motivations of literary characters
Looks at literary characters as a reflection of the writer
May even consider the mind of the reader!

24. Psychological Approach: The Psyche
Ego
Reality – seeks to please the Id in realistic ways
Superego
Internalization of cultural rules, norms, customs, mores Id
Basic instinct (present at birth) combining our needs, wants, desires, impulses
Tends towards sexuality and aggression
Abides by Pleasure Principle
*personality develops during childhood and is critically shaped through a series of five psychosexual 
The conflicts between biological drives and societal expectations change as a person grows through 5 Psychosexual Stages of Development
Stages: oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital
During each stage, a child is presented with a conflict between biological drives and social expectations; successful navigation of these internal conflicts will lead to mastery of each developmental stage, and ultimately to a fully mature personality.
The id is the impulsive (and unconscious) part of our psyche which responds directly and immediately to the instincts. The personality of the newborn child is all id and only later does it develop an ego and super-ego.
The id remains infantile in its function throughout a persons life and does not change with time or experience, as it is not in touch with the external world. The id is not affected by reality, logic or the everyday world, as it operates within the unconscious part of the mind.
The id operates on the pleasure principle (Freud, 1920) which is the idea that every wishful impulse should be satisfied immediately, regardless of the consequences. When the id achieves its demands, we experience pleasure when it is denied we experience ‘unpleasure’ or tension.

25. Psychological Approach: The Collective Unconscious
Carl Jung
Human Collective Unconscious = instincts & archetypes
Instincts: Humans experience five main types…wrote Jung: hunger, sexuality, activity, reflection, and creativity.
listed in order of increasing abstraction
elicit and constrain human behavior
room for freedom in their implementation (especially in interplay) 
Archetypes: universal symbols such as
the Wise Old Man
the Shadow
Water
the Tree of Life

26. Sociological Approach
Argues that social contexts (the social environment) must be considered when analyzing a text.
Focuses on the values of a society and how those views are reflected in a text
Emphasizes the economic, political, and cultural issues within literary texts
Core Belief: Literature is a reflection of its society.
Several specific sociological approaches developed—we’ll focus on two

27. Marxist Approach (Sociological)
Emphasizes economic and social conditions- based on the political theory of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.
Concerned with understanding the role of power, politics, and money in literary texts
Examines literature to see how it reflects
The way in which dominant groups (the majority, wealthy, bourgeoisie) exploit the subordinate groups (the minority, poor, proletariat)
The way in which people become alienated from one another through power, money, and politics

28. Feminist Approach (Sociological)
Is concerned with the role, position, and influence of women in a literary text.
Asserts that most “literature” throughout time has been written by men, about men, and for men.
Examines the way that the female consciousness is depicted by both male and female writers.
Seeks to show how the text is founded on the idea that women are subordinate human beings.

29. Feminist Approach cont.
4 Basic Principles of Feminist Criticism
Western civilization is patriarchal.
The concepts of gender are mainly cultural constructs (not biological) created by patriarchal societies.
Because societies are patriarchal, patriarchal ideals pervade literature.
As a result, most literature through time has been gender-biased.

30. Historical/Biographical Approach
Argues that we must take an author’s life and background into account when we study a text.
Three Benefits
Facts about an author’s experience can help a reader decide how to interpret a text.
A reader can better appreciate a text by knowing a writer’s struggles or difficulties in creating that text.
A reader can understand a writer’s preoccupation and context by studying the way they apply and modify their own life experiences in their works.

31. New Historicist Approach
Argues that every literary work is a product of its time and its world.
Utilizes background information to understand how literary texts were perceived in their time.
Shows how literary texts reflect or reject ideas and attitudes of the time in which they were written.
New historicist critics often compare the language in contemporary documents and literary texts to reveal cultural assumptions and values in the text. It is also called Cultural Poetics.

32. Moral/Philosophical Approach
Emphasizes that the larger purpose of literature is to teach morality and to probe philosophical issues; it is an effective and typical approach to discuss theme.
It focuses on the big picture by extracting the details
Quite similar to Mimetic
Arguably very dogmatic (by teaching truth, it teaches right and wrong)
Wonders: Is the text moral? Are the characters moral? What is the lesson I am to learn from this?

33. Mimetic Approach
Argues that a text is a reflection or representation of life and the world in general (1st inaugurated by Plato, refined by Aristotle).
Mimetic critics evaluate if a work portrays its subject matter accurately and if the text accords with the real world.
Questions about character/text:
Is this a true or accurate portrayal of character? Or just a stereotype?
Is this correct?
What motivates these characters to act?
Is this an accurate depiction of the world?

34. Mythological/Archetypal Approach
Seeks to look beyond the real world at what transcends culture and time and which elicits a dramatic and universal reaction (evokes sympathy)
The spiritual and the symbolic are mythological archetypes which connect people throughout time and cultures.
They look at what makes timeless texts, timeless?
Answer: Myths! and Archetypes!

35. Mythological/Archetypal Approach
Myths! – Collective and Communal – they bind people together
“Myth is an expression of a profound sense of togetherness of feeling and of action and of wholeness of living” – Philip Wheelwright
Expressed in legend, folklore, and ideology
Archetypes! – universal symbols or patterns
“Those which carry the same or very similar meanings for a large portion, if not all, of mankind” – Philip Wheelwright
Can be images, characters, motifs/patterns, genres
Examples: water, green, serpent, the wise old man, creation, heroes, comedy, tragedy etc.

36. Deconstructionist Approach
Concerned with how the text deconstructs itself and invalidates it’s own intended meaning
Like the Formalist approach, deconstructionists also subject texts to careful, formal analysis; however, they reach an opposite conclusion: there is no meaning in language. There is no meaning in form (The most postmodern approach).
Deconstructionists find disorder and constant tendency of language to refute its apparent sense.

37. Deconstructionist Approach
Steps
First find the author’s intended meaning
Then find how the intended meaning is contradicted all throughout the text by looking at the inherent assumptions on language itself (*hint = binaries)
The author’s choices of language and form betray intended meaning!
Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.
Good
Culture
Mind
Reason
Public
Society
Civilized
Evil
Nature
Body
Emotion
Private
Individual
Primitive

38. Review of the Approaches
Reader Response
Formalist
Psychological
Sociological
Marxist (sociological)
Feminist (sociological)
Historical/Biographical
New Historicist/Culture Poetics
Mimetic
Moral/Philosophical
Mythological/Archetypal
Deconstructionist

39. Little Red Riding Hood
And now for an example!

40. Little Red Riding Hood By the BROTHERS GRIMM Translated by LUCY CRANE
Illustrated by WALTER CRANE
A Critical Theory Approach
By JENNA GARDNER
[Adapted from an idea
by J. D. Wilson, Jr.]

41. Or you may end up falling and break the wine pot.”
A LONG time ago, in a house near a wood,
As most pretty histories go,
A nice little girl lived, called Red Riding Hood,
As some of us already know.
One day said her mother, “Get ready, my dear,
“And take to your granny some cakes,
And a bottle of wine to soothe her
And ask after her pains and aches.
Set out before it gets hot
And when you are on your journey,
Walk nicely and quietly, not off like a shot.
Do not run off the path along the way,
Or you may end up falling and break the wine pot.”

42. At my earliest leisure to call.”
Out set Riding Hood, so obliging and sweet,
And she met a great Wolf in the wood,
Who begun most politely the maiden to greet.
In as tender a voice as he could
He asked in what house she was going and why;
Red Riding Hood answered him all:
He said, “Give my love to your Gran; I will try
At my earliest leisure to call.”

43. And so got deeper and deeper into the wood.
Off he ran, and Red Riding Hood went on her way,
But often she lingered and played,
And made as she went quite a pretty nosegay
With the wild flowers that grew in the glade.
So as she ran from the path (against which she had been warned)
Looking for flowers farther than she should.
With each one, she saw a still prettier one for which she yearned
And so got deeper and deeper into the wood.

44. Speaking softly as ever he could:
But in the meanwhile the Wolf went, with a grin,
At the Grandmother’s cottage to call;
He knocked at the door, and was told to come in,
Then he ate her up—sad cannibal!
Then the Wolf shut the door, and got into bed,
And waited for Red Riding Hood;
When he heard her soft tap at the front door, he said,
Speaking softly as ever he could:

45. And come into bed to your Gran,”
“Who is there?”
“It is I, your dear grandchild; I’ve brought
Some wine and nice little cakes.”
“Pull the bobbin*, my child, and come in as you ought;
I’m in bed very bad with my aches.”
When she entered the room, the old Woolf hid himself
Very carefully (such was his plan):
“Put your basket and things, little dear on the shelf,
And come into bed to your Gran,”
* device consisting of a short bar and a length of string, used to control a wooden door latch

46. “The better to eat you up now
The obedient child laid herself down by the side
Of her Grandmother dear (as she thought):
But all at once, “Granny!” Red Riding Hood cried,
“What, very long arms you have got!”
He answered, “The better to hug you, my child.”
“But, Granny, what very large ears!”
“The better to hear you,” the voice was still mild,
But the little girl hid her fears.
“Grandmother, you have very large eyes!”
“The better to see you, I trow*.”
“What great teeth you have got!” and the wicked Wolf cries,
“The better to eat you up now
*(verb) to think, believe, or trust

47. And lived happily there till she died.
Red Riding Hood shrieked, and—bang! off went a gun
And shot the old Wolf through the head:
One howl and one moan, one kick and one groan,
And the wicked old rascal was dead.
Some sportsman (he certainly was a dead shot)
Had aimed at the Wolf when she cried;
So Red Riding Hood got safe home—did she not?
And lived happily there till she died.

48. THE MORAL of the story is….

49. Questions to Consider
Before you pick a school of literary theory you may want to consider these questions
What text am I interpreting?
What are the benefits of each form of criticism?
What are potential problems with each form?
Can the mode of criticism alter the entire meaning of a text?

50. Texts you can use Macbeth – William Shakespeare
Don Quixote – Miguel de Cervantes
Paradise Lost – John Milton
Songs of Innocence and Experience – W. Blake
Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen
Romantic poems by – Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William Wordsworth, Lord Byron, Percy Shelley, or John Keats
Frankenstein – Mary Shelley
Faust – Goethe

51. Lastly
In class, we never look at a text STRICTLY from one standpoint or another, ignoring all other views.
No view is considered better than another
We should always keep our focus on the text and use these different lenses or approaches to clarify our understanding of a text, develop an interpretation of it, and to see how perspective colors what we read.

52. Works Cited
Appleman, Deborah. Critical Encounters in High School English: Teaching Literary Theory to Adolescents. New York: Teachers College Press, Print.
Bressler, Charles E. Literary Criticism: An Introduction to Theory and Practice. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Prentice Hall, Print.
Guerin, Wilfred L. A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature. New York: Oxford University Press, Print.
Murfin, Ross C, and Supryia M. Ray. The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, Print.