CRITICAL

APPROACHES
TO LITERATURE
Literary Theory
Literary (Critical) Theory vs. Literary Criticism

• Critical Theory (or literary theory) is an

examination of the criteria upon which the
interpretation of a text rests/depends.

• Literary Criticism is the application of critical

theory to text, or the actual act of interpreting
a text.
Focus Questions

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?
Questions that form the basis of literary
theory:
 Does each text have one “true” meaning?
 Or, can a text mean anything a reader wants it to mean?
 Who has the authority to declare an interpretation valid
or legitimate?
 Is a text always didactic; that is, must a reader always
learn something from the every text?
 Does a text affect each reader in the same way?
 How is a text influenced by the culture of its author and
the culture in which it is written?
 Can a text become a catalyst for change in a given
culture?
 Does all of this even matter? Can’t a reader just enjoy a
text without having to analyze and interpret it?
 THE 4 CRITICAL VARIABLES
of LITERARY THEORY &
CRITICISM
1. The World

2. The Author

Beyond the Real Other

3. The Text
World World Texts
Text = Text = ITS Text =
Symbol, Objective CONTEXT Ideologically
reality constructed
Archetype 4. The Reader language

Formalism: the TEXT (as art) Gender Studies: WORLD/author/text/reader

Structuralism: the TEXT (as language Postcolonial: AUTHOR/world/text/reader

system) Marxist: WORLD/text
Psychoanalytic: AUTHOR/READER/text Territorial: TEXT/[reader/ author/world])
Reader Response:
READER/TEXT/community of readers
w/shared values
Timeline Literary Criticism
(most of these overlap)

 Moral Criticism, Dramatic Construction (~360 BC-present)

 Liberal Humanism
 Structuralism/Semiotics (1920s-present)
 Formalism, New Criticism, Neo-Aristotelian Criticism
(1930s-present)
 Psychoanalytic Criticism, Jungian Criticism(1930s-present)
 Marxist Criticism (1930s-present)
Sociological
 Feminist Criticism (1960s-present)
Criticism
 Reader-Response Criticism (1960s-present)
 Post-Structuralism/Deconstruction (1966-present)
 Gender/Queer Studies (1970s-present)
 New Historicism/Cultural Studies (1980s-present)
 Post-Colonial Criticism (1990s-present)
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 =

 1. The Reader-Response
Approach
2 Important Ideas in Reader-
Response
1. An individual reader’s
interpretation usually changes
over time.
2. Readers from different
generations and different time
periods interpret texts
differently.

Ultimately… How do YOU feel

about what you have read?
 Reader-Response Theory
 This theory states that people bring their
own thoughts, moods, and experiences to
whatever text they are reading and get out
of it whatever they happen to
 The meaning of the text “means what you

think it means.” It’s all about you.

Questions for Reader-Response Theory:
 How do I connect to a text? Why?

 What experiences have I gone through that

is similar/different than the characters in

the text?
 What personal qualities or events relevant

to this particular book might influence my

Reader Response
Criticism
Advantages:
 recognizes that different people view

works differently and that people's

interpretations change over time.
Disadvantages:
 tends to make interpretation too

subjective
 does not provide adequate criteria for

evaluating one reading in comparison to

another
Formalism/New Criticism
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
 Formalism/New Criticism
 The formalist movement began in England
with the publication of I.A. Richards’ Practical
Criticism (1929).
 American critics such as
 John Crowe Ransom,
 Robert Penn Warren, and
 Cleanth Brooks adapted formalism and termed
their adaptation “New Criticism.”
Two Major Principles of Formalism
1. A literary text exists independent of any
particular reader and, in a sense, has a fixed
meaning.
 Formalism/New Criticism
 This theory states that only thing you’re
using to interpret the meaning of the text is
what the text provides you with.
 For example: plot, characterization, setting,

theme, tone, literary devices, etc.

 Your own ideas, thoughts and connections DO

NOT MATTER! It has NOTHING to do with

you!
Questions for Formalist Theory:
 What is the theme of this text?

 How does the use of metaphors, similes, and

imagery affect the text?

Formalism / New
Criticism
Terms Used in New Criticism:
 intentional fallacy - the false belief that

the meaning or value of a work may be

determined by the author's intention
 affective fallacy - the false belief that

the meaning or value of a work may be

determined by its affect on the reader
 external form - rhyme scheme, meter,

stanza form, etc.

Formalism / New
Criticism
Advantages:
 can be performed without much research

 emphasizes the value of literature apart

from its context

 virtually all critical approaches must begin

here
Disadvantages:
 text is seen in isolation

 ignores the context of the work

 cannot account for allusions

 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
Psychoanalytic Theory
 This theory requires that we investigate
the psychology (thoughts, feelings, and
behavior) of a character to figure out
the meaning of a text.
 We will look at this theory through the

work of Sigmund Freud, a famous

psychologist.
Questions for Psychoanalytic Theory:
 Why does the character do what he/she

does?
 Why does the character feel the way

he/she does?
Psychoanalytical
Approach
Advantages:
 can be a useful tool for understanding character

development and conflict

Disadvantages:
 can turn a work into a psychological case study

 tends to see sex in everything, exaggerating this

aspect of literature
 some works do not lend themselves readily to

this approach.
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
 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
4A. The Marxist Approach
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
Marxist Theory
 This theory focuses on the relationships
of class/money/power in works of
literature.
 This theory is based on the thinkings of

Karl Marx, a famous economist who

wrote The Communist Manifesto. The
first line sums up his philosophy: “The
history of all hitherto existing society is
the history of class struggles.”
Questions for Marxist Theory:
 Who has the power and money?

 Who does not?

 What happens as a result?

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
4B. The Feminist Approach
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.
Stages of Female Identity
 Feminine: the female accepts the
definitions and roles male authorities
have created for her
 Feminist: rebels against male authority
and intentionally challenges all male
definitions and roles
 Female: no longer concerned with male
definitions or restrictions; defines her
own voice and values
Feminist Theory
 This theory focuses on the relationship
between the genders.
 Under this theory you examine power

and values between the sexes.

 This theory also states that society is

largely “patriarchal.”
Questions for Feminist Theory:
 Who has the power and why?

 Who does not?

 What happens as a result

*NOTE * This theory is similar to Marxist

but instead of class/money you focus on
gender.
5. The Biographical
Approach
Biographical
Criticism argues
that we must take
an author’s life and
background into
account when we
study a text.
5. The Biographical
Approach
Three Benefits:
1. Facts about an author’s experience can
help a reader decide how to interpret a
text.
2. A reader can better appreciate a text
by knowing a writer’s struggles or
difficulties in creating that text.
3. 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.
 6. The New Historicist
Approach
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.
 Historical Theory
 This theory requires that you find out
historical information about the time during
which an author wrote.
 History, in this case, refers to the social,

political, economic, cultural, and/or

intellectual climate of the time.
Questions about the historical theory:
 What was “going on” while the author wrote

this text?
 What did the author want to say about how

history (or what conditions the character is

living in) affects a character?
 How do politics, economics, and culture

affect an author, and in turn, his writing?

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.
 Literary Criticism Map

Where do the theories fall?

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. Meaning, formalists argue, is
inherent in the text because meaning is
determinant, all other considerations are
irrelevant.
 Deconstructionists also subject texts to
Literary Criticism Map

Where do the theories fall?

 Cont'd …
 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 his age.

 An intertextual approach is concerned with

comparing the work in question to other literature,
to get a broader picture.

 Reader-Response is concerned with how the work

is viewed by the audience. In this approach, the
reader creates meaning, not the author or the
Literary Criticism Map

Where do the theories fall?

Cont'd …
 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 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 tying in all the worlds/times/cultures
inhabited by humans.
 Archetypal Approach
 based on the theories of psychologist Carl
Jung
 he states that mankind possesses a
"collective unconscious" that contains
these archetypes and that is common to all
of humanity
 assumes that there is a collection of
symbols, images, characters, and motifs
(i.e. archetypes) that evokes basically the
same response in all people
 identifies these patterns and discusses how
 Some Archetypes
 archetypal women - the Good Wife/Mother, the Terrible
Mother, the Virgin (often a Damsel in Distress), and the Fallen
Woman.
 water - creation, birth-death-resurrection, purification,
redemption, fertility, growth
 garden - paradise (Eden), innocence, fertility
 desert - spiritual emptiness, death, hopelessness
 red - blood, sacrifice, passion, disorder
 green - growth, fertility
 black - chaos, death, evil
 serpent - evil, sensuality, mystery, wisdom, destruction
 seven - perfection
 hero archetype - The hero is involved in a quest (in which
he overcomes obstacles). He experiences initiation
(involving a separation, transformation, and return), and
finally he serves as a scapegoat, that is, he dies to atone.
Archetypal Approach
Advantages:
 provides a universalistic approach to

literature and identifies a reason why

certain literature may survive the test of
time
 it works well with works that are highly

symbolic
Disadvantages:
 literature may become a vehicle for

archetypes
 can easily become a list of symbols
Literary Criticism Map

Where do the theories fall?

Cont'd …
 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 he sees what he sees in the
text--is examined.
Literary Criticism Map

Where do the theories fall?

Cont'd …
 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. Does a black
character act like a black person would, or is
he a stereotype? Are women being portrayed
accurately? Does the work show a realistic
economic picture of the world?
There are so many possible
answers …
What does this literary work mean?
 Different approaches or lenses help us to

discover rich and deeper meaning

 Each lens has its strengths and

weaknesses
 Each lens is valuable

 Try to become a pluralist rather than an

inflexible supporter of one

YOUR TASK
 Learn your theory like your life depends
on it
 Teach your theory to the class through
application
 Interpret a selection of genres using your
theory
 Present your findings
FOLLOW THIS PROCESS
Know & present the following information:
 Key person(s) who influenced the theory

 Background information about the theory

 Tenets (main points) about the theory

accompanied by compelling facts

 Key words associated with the theory &

definitions
 Strengths of the theory

 Weaknesses of the theory

 Create a one-page handout highlighting the key

components
 the explanation of the theory; the interpretation

of the selection of literature;

Final Result
 Nothing “right” or “wrong” about
different theories
 Ways of looking at the world
 Ways of reinterpreting the human
experience
 Lenses through which to view cultural
artifacts
 Theories borrow from each other
 Rarely does a scholar use only one theory
 How can we benefit from understanding
critical theory?

1. Theory can help us learn to see ourselves and our world in

valuable new ways
2. Theory influences our views of the media, from television to
magazines to music
3. Theory influences how we behave as voters and
consumers
4. Theory influences how we react to others with whom we do
not agree on social, religious, and political issues.
5. Theory can also influence how we recognize and deal with
our own motives, fears, and desires.
6. critical theory gives us tools that will strengthen our ability to
think logically, creatively, and with a good deal of insight.