Literary theory and criticism

Bahria Universiry Karachi Campus- Bs English, Semester 5.
Definition of literary criticism and theory.
Comparison between both the terms.
Types of theories and approaches to literary criticism.

1. Literary Theory &
Criticism
A presentation by Zainab Merchant

2. ➔The term ‘criticism’ is often
understood to be:
the act of finding fault; censure;
disapproval.
➔But the term ‘criticism’ as it is used in
this course signifies:
the act of interpreting, analyzing and
making judgments of individual and
comparative worth of works of art
such as literature
The Term
‘Criticism’

3. What is literary criticism?
➔Literary criticism is the interpretation, analysis, classification and ultimately
the judgment of literary works.
➔It is usually in the form of a critical essay, but in-depth book reviews can
sometimes be considered as literary criticism.
➔Criticism may examine a particular literary work, or may look at an author's
writings as a whole.

4. Who is a Literary Critic?
➔A literary critic is someone who argues on behalf of an interpretation or
understanding of the particular meaning(s) of literary texts.
➔Attempts to explain and reach a critical understanding of what literary texts
mean in terms of their aesthetic, as well as social, political, and cultural
statements and suggestions.
➔Seeks to reach a logical and reasonable understanding of what a text’s author
intends for it to mean, and what different cultures and ideologies render it
capable of meaning.

5. Literary Theory
➔Different lenses critics use to view
and talk about literature, that allow
critics to consider works of art based
on certain assumptions within that
school of thought/theory.
➔E.g. if a critic is working with certain
Marxist theories, they might focus on
how the characters in a story interact
based on their economic situation.

6. Literary Criticism vs Literary Theory
➔Literary criticism is the practice of
interpreting and writing about
literature as the latter, in turn, strives
to make sense of the world.
➔There are many different
approaches we can take to critical
analysis.
➔Literary theory is the study of the
principles which inform how critics
make sense of literary works.
➔Literary theories provide a
framework for the discussion or
criticism of a text.
For example, a feminist literary critic might take the feminist theories of Helene
Cixous, and seek to reach a critical understanding of a novel such as Jane
Austen’s Pride & Prejudice.

7. THEORETICAL

Discusses the nature of
literature, and the relation
between literature, critics
and society.
DESCRIPTIVE

Tends to explain the
piece of literature as it
is, in its original form
PRESCRIPTIVE

Argues on how it
ought to be.
PRACTICAL

Focuses on the
examination of
individual text
E.g Aristotle’s
observations on tragedy
are descriptive, rather
than prescriptive.
E.g. Neoclassical era
marks strictly prescriptive
doctrines of criticism.
E.g. Psychoanalytic theory of Freud explores
the role of consciousnesses and the
unconscious in literature including that of the
author, reader, and characters in the text.
E.g. Dryden’s examination of Ben
Jonson’s
play The Silent Woman at the end
of his Essay of Dramatic Poesy.

Types of Literary Criticism

8. Critical Theories of Literature
Historical/Biographical Approach:
➔Views literature as the reflection of an
author's life and times (or of the
characters' life and times).
➔It is necessary to know about the author
and the political, economical, and
sociological context of his times in order
to truly understand his works.
Moral / Philosophical Approach:
➔Asserts that the larger purpose of
literature is to teach morality and to probe
philosophical issues.
➔Authors intend to instruct the audience in
some way.

9. New Historicist Approach:
➔New historicist critics view literature as part of
history, and furthermore, as an expression of
forces on history.
➔The work tells us something about the
surrounding ideology (slavery, rights of women,
etc.)
➔Traditional (or “Old”) historicism is, by its
nature, a subjective narrative, usually told from
the point of view of the powerful, the “winners.”
Most cultures, once dominated by another, are
forced to forget their past. Literature,
especially, gives subjective voice to the
oppressed. (e.g.: slave narratives)
Formalism / New Criticism
➔Involves a close reading of the text all
information essential to the interpretation
of a work must be found within the work
itself.
➔Focuses on analyzing irony, paradox,
imagery, and metaphor.
➔Also interested in the work's setting,
characters, symbols, and point of view.
➔No need to bring in outside information
about the history, politics, or society of the
time, or about the author's life.

10. Psychological Approach:
➔Views works through the lens of
psychology.
➔Looks either at the psychological
motivations of the characters or of the
authors themselves e.g. Oedipus
complex.
➔Most frequently applies Freudian
psychology to works, but other
approaches also exist.
Feminist Approach:
➔the ways in which literature (and other
cultural productions) reinforce or
undermine the economic, political, social,
and psychological oppression of women
➔Role of women in the literary work;
representations of women Power
structures between men and women
➔The female/feminine experience

11. Marxist Approach:
➔Karl Marx perceived human history to have
consisted of a series of struggles between
classes--between the oppressed and the
oppressing.
➔Focus on the ideological content of a
work; Explicit and implicit assumptions
and values about race, culture, class, and
power.
➔Texts are political in nature, responding to
larger social and material constructs.
Postcolonial Approach:
➔Focuses on the reading and writing of literature
written in previously or currently colonized
countries.
➔The literature is composed of colonizing
countries that deals with colonization or
colonized peoples.
➔Greatly interested in the cultures of the
colonizer and the colonized, postcolonial theory
seeks to critically investigate what happens
when two cultures clash and one of them
ideologically fashions itself as superior and
assumes dominance and control over the other.

13. THANK YOU!