Meaning of Literature

- Aristotle pointed out that Literature is a replica of human experience.

Why study literature?

Studying literature enables one to better understand social situations, history, one's own
emotions, and various cultural practices. It also makes one more empathetic.

We learn about history we didn't experience, customs we are not familiar with or that lead to
what we do and perform now, hear voices of men, women, children, dragons, elves, slaves,
aliens, and other characters in order to spark imagination.

We learn to think outside the literal box by reading. It forces your mind to picture places and
experiences and activates our gestault thinking, which is crucial next to just spitting back
information.

Two Major Divisions of Literature

Oral Literature Written Literature

Oral literature or folk literature operates in the sphere of the spoken (oral) word as literature
operates in the domain of the written word. A broad conceptualization refers to it as literature
characterized by oral transmission and the absence of any fixed form.

Oral literature is a broad term which may include ritual texts, curative chants, epic poems,
musical genres, folk tales,creation tales, songs, myths, spells, legends, proverbs, riddles,
tongue-twisters, word games,
recitations, life histories or historical narratives.

Written literature is the form of human expression through writing. That is to say, it is a literature
which is expressed or conveyed through written forms. Unlike oral literature, this kind of
literature began with the invention of writing.

Examples of written literature:

1.Fiction
2.Nonfiction
3.Manuscripts.
4.Poetry.
5.Contribution to collective works.
6.Compilations of data or other literary subject matter. 7.Dissertations
8.Theses.
Genre means a type of art, literature, or music characterized by a specific form, content, and
style.

Literature has four main genres: poetry, drama, fiction, and non-fiction.

1. Fiction has three categories that are, realistic, non-realistic, and semi-fiction. Usually, fiction
work is not real and therefore, authors can use complex figurative language to touch readers’
imaginations.
Unlike poetry, it is more structured, follows proper grammatical pattern, and correct mechanics.
A fictional work may incorporate fantastical and imaginary ideas from everyday life. It comprises
some important elements such as plot, exposition, foreshadowing, rising action, climax, falling
action, and resolution. Popular examples of literary fiction include Charles Dickens’ A Tale of
Two Cities, Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, and Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird.

2. Non-fiction is a vast category that also has sub-genres; it could be creative like a personal
essay, or factual, like a scientific paper. It may also use figurative language, however, not unlike
poetry, or fiction has. Sometimes, non-fiction may tell a story, like an autobiography, or
sometimes it may convey information to readers. Other examples of non-fiction include
biographies, diaries, memoirs, journals, fantasies, mysteries, and romances.

3. Drama is a form of text that is performed in front of an audience. It is also called a play. Its
written text contains dialogues, and stage directions. This genre has further categories such as
comedy, tragedy, and tragicomedy. William Shakespeare is known as the father of English
drama. His well-known plays include Romeo & Juliet, and Hamlet. Greek playwrights were the
pioneers in this field, such as Sophocles’ masterpiece Oedipus Rex, and Antigone, while
modern dramas include Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller.

4. Poetry is a form of text that follows a meter and rhythm, with each line and syllable. It is
further subdivided into different genres, such an epic poem, narrative, romantic, dramatic, and
lyric. Dramatic poetry includes melodrama, tragedy, and comedy, while other poems includes
ode, sonnet, elegy, ballad, song, and epic. Popular examples of epic poems include paradise
Lost, by John Milton, The Iliad and The Odyssey, by Homer. Examples of romantic poems
include Red Red Rose, by Robert Burns. All these poetic forms share specific features, such as
they do not follow paragraphs or sentences; they use stanzas and lines instead.

Writers of fiction use seven elements to tell their stories:

Character
Plot
Setting
Point-of-view
Style
Theme
Literary Devices

CRITICAL APPROACHES TO LITERATURE

Literary Theory

How do we study literature?

How do viewpoint and bias affect our perception of reality?

Critical Approaches to the Study of Literature

Critical Approaches are different perspectives we consider when looking at a piece of

literature.
They seek to give us answers to these questions, in addition to aiding us in interpreting
literature.
1. What do we read?
2. Why do we read?
3. How do we read?

Critical Approaches to Consider

1. Reader-Response Criticism
2. Formalist Criticism
3. Psychological/Psychoanalytic Criticism
4. Sociological Criticism
A. Feminist/Gender Criticism
B. Marxist Criticism
5. Biographical Criticism
6. New Historicist Criticism

Questions to Ponder for Each Theory/Approach

● What are the benefits of each form of criticism?
● What are potential problems with each form?
● Is there a “right” or a “wrong” form?
● Can the mode of criticism alter the entire meaning of a text?
 1. The Reader-Response Approach

Reader-Response Criticism 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)
● 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

1.The Reader-Response Approach

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?

2. The Formalist Approach

Formalist Criticism 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.

Two Major Principles of Formalism

1. A literary text exists independent of any particular reader and, in a sense, has a fixed
meaning.
2. The greatest literary texts are “timeless” and “universal.”

3. The Psychological/ Psychoanalytic Approach

Psychological Criticism 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

4. The Sociological Approach

Sociological Criticism 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.

4A. The Marxist Approach

Marxist Criticism emphasizes economic and social conditions. It is based on the political
theory of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.
● Concerned with understanding the role of power, politics, and money in literary texts

Marxist Criticism examines literature to see how it reflects

1. The way in which dominant groups (typically, the majority) exploit the subordinate groups
(typically, the minority)
2. The way in which people become alienated from one another through power, money,
and politics

4B. The Feminist Approach

Feminist Criticism 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, for men.
● Examines the way that the female consciousness is depicted by both male and female
writers.

4 Basic Principles of Feminist Criticism

1. Western civilization is patriarchal.
2. The concepts of gender are mainly cultural ideas created by patriarchal societies.
3. Patriarchal ideals pervade “literature.”
4. Most “literature” through time has been gender-biased.
 5. The Biographical Approach

Biographical Criticism 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 by studying the way they apply and
modify their own life experiences in their works.

6. The New Historicist Approach

New Historicist Criticism argues that every literary work is a product of its time and its world.

New Historicism:
1. Provides background information necessary to understand how literary texts were
perceived in their time.
2. Shows how literary texts reflect 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.

REMEMBER…
● We will never look at a text STRICTLY from one standpoint or another, ignoring all other
views. That is antithetical to what we are trying to do.
● We should always keep our focus on the text and use these critical approaches to clarify
our understanding of a text and develop an interpretation of it.

Story Elements
● Setting
● Characters
● Plot
● Conflict
● Resolution
 ● Point of View
● Theme
The Functions of a Setting
● To create a mood or atmosphere
● To show a reader a different way of life
● To make action seem more real
● To be the source of conflict or struggle
● To symbolize an idea
Mood
● Mood is the feeling that the author tries to convey throughout the story. The
atmosphere or emotional condition created by the piece, within the setting. Does the
author want the reader to be frightened or sad, or does the story make the reader
laugh and think happy thoughts?
● To figure out mood, examine how you feel while reading the story. Often mood is
conveyed by the story’s setting.
Characters
● Protagonist and antagonist are used to describe characters.
● The protagonist is the main character of the story, the one with whom the reader
identifies. This person is not necessary “good”.
● The antagonist is the force in opposition of the protagonist; this person may not be
“bad” or “evil”, but he/she opposes the protagonist in a significant way
Plot
● Plot is the organized pattern or sequence of events that make up a story.
● Plot is the literary element that describes the structure of a story. It shows arrangement
of events and actions within a story.
Parts of a Plot
● Exposition - introduction; characters, setting and conflict (problem) are introduced
● Rising Action- events that occur as result of central conflict
● Climax- highest point of interest or suspense of a story
● Falling Action - tension eases; events show the results of how the main character
begins to resolve the conflict
● Resolution- loose ends are tied up; the conflict is solved
Special Techniques used in a Story
● Suspense- excitement, tension, curiosity
● Foreshadowing- hint or clue about what will happen in story
● Flashback- interrupts the normal sequence of events to tell about something that
happened in the past
● Symbolism – use of specific objects or images to represent ideas
● Personification – when you make a thing, idea or animal do something only humans
do
● Surprise Ending - conclusion that reader does not expect
Conflict
● Conflict is the dramatic struggle between two forces in a story. Without conflict,
there is no plot.
● Conflict is a problem that must be solved; an issue between the protagonist and
antagonist forces. It forms the basis of the plot.
● Conflicts can be external or internal
● External conflict- outside force may be person, group, animal, nature, or a
nonhuman obstacle
● Internal conflict- takes place in a character’s mind

Types of External Conflict

There are 7 main types of literary conflicts, each serving a different purpose in a story:
….
1. Man versus Self
2. Man versus Man
3. Man versus Nature
4. Man versus Supernatural
5. Man versus Technology
6. Man versus Society
7. Man versus Fate

Point of View
● First Person Point of View- a character from the story is telling the story; uses the
pronouns “I” and “me”
● Third Person Point of View- an outside narrator is telling the story; uses the pronouns
“he”, “she”, “they”
Types of Third-Person Point of View
● Third-Person Limited
- The narrator knows the thoughts and feelings on only ONE character in a story.
● Third-Person Omniscient
- The narrator knows the thoughts and feeling of ALL the characters in a story.
Theme
● The theme is the central, general message, the main idea, the controlling topic about
life or people the author wants to get across through a literary work
● To discover the theme of a story, think big. What big message is the author trying to
say about the world in which we live?
● What is this story telling me about how life works, or how people behave?
● the practical lesson (moral) that we learn from a story after we read it. The lesson that
teaches us what to do or how to behave after you have learned something from a story
or something that has happened to you.
● Example: The lesson or teaching of the story is be careful when you’re offered
something for nothing.