When reading, the reader typically forms an interpretation of the work. A person's interpretation of a work is often based on life experience, culture, and influences. Some readers and critics take these interpretations and write a literary criticism. The definition of literary criticism is the analysis, comparison, evaluation, and interpretation of a work of literature. Often engaging in debates with other critics to help prove their points and make value judgments, literary critics hope to provide a reader with meaningful connections. While most written literary criticism dates from the twentieth century, questions about the social value of literature date back to the time of Plato and Aristotle. In his Poetics, Aristotle stressed the importance of literary art. He was able to provide universal insights for an audience that critics today have adapted when writing literary criticism.
literary criticism syllabus in the philippines
While some may use these terms synonymously, and although they are related, there is a difference between literary criticism and literary theory. Literary criticism, the study of a literary text, can begin with a particular literary theory. Literary theory is the idea that guides literary criticism. Theory helps to differentiate literary texts from the others; it works to classify literary texts into categories and schools of thought. One way to think of literary theory is that it acts as a critical lens, or a way to view a particular work. A critical lens allows a critic to analyze a text within a specific theory. Using a critical lens, the critic evaluates the literary text based on assumptions within a specific literary theory and then develops a literary criticism.
Literary criticism goes all the way back to the days of Plato. Through the years, it has developed and grown, and ultimately provides us with parameters on how to study literature. Because there are a million different ways to dissect written works, such as novels or poems, literary criticism provides some general guidelines to help us analyze, deconstruct, interpret and evaluate. We usually see literary criticism in a book review or critical essay; however, the Internet has made all forms of criticism readily available in everything from personal blogs to social media.
There are many types of literary criticism. All literary criticism is an opinion that is based on evidence that relates to history or culture. All literary criticism discusses the work and connects the work to insights based on a literary theory.
New criticism broke from traditional criticism. Where traditional criticism focuses on biography and history, new criticism views the work from a closed reading and ignores historical, political, or biographical context. Often used when evaluating poetry and hoping to provide more intellectual rigor, this critical lens focuses on the structure and form of a literary work instead of any emotion it may evoke.
Where new criticism focuses on the form and structure of a work apart from any emotion, reader-response criticism relies on the emotions of the reader to evaluate a literary text. This critical lens examines the effect a text can have on different readers. Reader-response criticism assumes that a work of literature has no single correct meaning and no single method of analysis. It relies on the belief that a work has no meaning until a reader experiences it.
Using the ideology of Karl Marx, Marxist criticism focuses on the role social classes play in a literary text. It examines the way economics affects the life of a character. The purpose of using this critical lens is to evaluate class relations, how certain characters oppress others, and how other characters overcome oppression.
Interpreting literature is largely a social act. Readers bring past experiences of reading, life, and culture to a particular text. However, there are times when understanding a particular work of literature is difficult. Reading various literary criticisms of a work can help a reader support their own points about a work, thereby creating a richer understanding of literature.
Literary criticism is the analysis, comparison, evaluation, and interpretation of a work of literature. While written criticism has been around since the twentieth century, the idea of insights into art and literature has been around since the time of Plato and Aristotle. Literary criticism is different from literary theory in that literary theory helps to classify literary works; literary critics use specific literary theory to help form their literary criticism. Looking at a piece of literature through a specific critical lens helps a reader understand the work from a particular viewpoint. There are many types of literary criticism. Some of the more common are traditional criticism, sociological criticism, new criticism, reader-response criticism, Feminist criticism, Marxist criticism, and media criticism.
Traditional criticism believes that in order to truly understand a literary work, a person has to understand the biographical information of the author. Sociological criticism evaluates a text in its relation to a specific society, often looking at the larger social context. New criticism relies on a closed reading of a literary text and ignores historical, political, or biographical context. Reader-response criticism assumes that there is no single correct meaning and therefore no single method of analysis; it relies on the emotional response of the reader. Feminist criticism relies on varying interpretations of feminism, including looking at the gender of characters, the author, and the reader in order to evaluate a piece of literature. Marxist criticism focuses on the way economic conditions affect characters. Media criticism evaluates how various forms of media reflect society. When a reader analyzes a work of literature, considering various literary criticisms can create a broader, more complex understanding of the work.
There are many different ways to evaluate literature. Some critics care about when and where an author was born, while other critics feel that information is irrelevant. Below are a few different approaches to literary criticism.
For this activity, you will choose two types of literary criticism that were mentioned in the lesson to compare and contrast. First, choose which two types of literary criticism you want to discuss. Next, use a Venn diagram to develop your ideas. To create a Venn diagram, draw two large circles that overlap in the middle. In the middle section, write the similarities between the two literary criticisms. In the outer sections, note the differences between the literary criticisms. For example, if you were recording the differences between traditional criticism and new criticism, you might write that traditional critics are interested in the author's biographical information, while new critics don't consider any information about the author. Once your Venn diagram is complete, it is time to create a thesis statement. Your thesis statement should summarize the main points you wish to prove in your essay. Here is an example of a thesis statement that could be used for this assignment: While there are some similarities between traditional criticism and new criticism, these two types of criticisms have significant differences. After you have developed your thesis statement, use the outline below to organize your main points and ideas.
There are many types of literary criticism. Some of the more common are traditional criticism, sociological criticism, new criticism, reader-response criticism, Feminist criticism, Marxist criticism, and media criticism.
Postcolonial fiction writers deal with the traditional colonial discourse, either by modifying or by subverting it, or both.[12] Postcolonial literary theory re-examines colonial and postcolonial literature, especially concentrating upon the social discourse between the colonizer and the colonized that shaped and produced the literature.[6] In Orientalism (1978), Edward Said analyzed the fiction of Honoré de Balzac, Charles Baudelaire, and Lautréamont (Isidore-Lucien Ducasse), exploring how they shaped and were influenced by the societal fantasy of European racial superiority. He pioneered the branch of postcolonial criticism called colonial discourse analysis.[13]
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o (born 1938)[56] is a Kenyan writer, formerly working in English and now working in Gikuyu. His work includes novels, plays, short stories, and essays, ranging from literary and social criticism to children's literature. He is the founder and editor of the Gikuyu-language journal Mũtĩiri.Stephen Atalebe (born 1983) is a Ghanaian Fiction writer who wrote the Hour of Death in Harare, detailing the post-colonial struggles in Zimbabwe as they navigate through sanctions imposed by the British Government under George Blair.[57]
Literary criticism involves close reading of a literary work, regardless of whether you are arguing about a particular interpretation, comparing stories or poems, or using a theory to interpret literature.Do not summarize the story. The purpose of the document is not to inform the readers, but to argue a particular interpretation. You only need to cite parts of the work that support or relate to your argument and follow the citation format required by your instructor (see Using and Citing Sources). 2ff7e9595c
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