is the body of ideas and methods
we use in the practical reading of
literature.
description of the underlying principles, one
might say the tools, by which we attempt to
understand literature.
offers varying approaches
for understanding the role
of historical context in
interpretation
develops the
significance of race,
class, and gender
the set of concepts and
intellectual assumptions
Literary theorists trace the history
and evolution of the different
genres
also investigating the importance of
formal elements of literary structure.
text is more the product of
a culture than an individual
author .
those texts help to
create the culture
theory provides a
rationale for what
constitutes the subject
matter of criticism
The structure may or may not be
acknowledged by the critic, and
the status of literary theory
tracking influence, establishing
the canon of major writers in
the literary periods, and
clarifying historical context and
allusions within the text.
"New Criticism"
stressed close reading
of the text itself, much
like the French
pedagogical precept
"explication du texte."
Modern literary theory
gradually emerges in
Europe during the
nineteenth century.
German "higher
criticism" subjected
biblical texts to a radical
historicizing that broke
with traditional scriptural
interpretation.
In France, the eminent
literary critic Charles Augustin
Saint Beuve maintained that a
work of literature could be
explained entirely in terms of
biography
alerts us to the partial
nature of theoretical
approaches to literature.
twentieth century
three movements
Marxist theory
Approaches to
literature require an
understanding of the
primary economic
and social bases of
culture
Feminism
includes all social and
cultural formations as
they pertain to the role
of women in history.
Gender theory came to the
forefront of the theoretical
scene first as feminist
theory
Postmodernism
collapse of
categories and
conventions that
had traditionally
governed art.
Formalism
approach that
emphasizes literary
form and the study of
literary devices within
the text.
general impact on
later developments in
"Structuralism" and
other theories of
narrative.
adage that the
purpose of literature
was "to make the
stones stonier" nicely
expresses their
notion of literariness.
"Structuralism"
sought to bring to literary studies a
set of objective criteria for analysis
and a new intellectual rigor.
can be viewed as
an extension of
"Formalism"
New
Historicism
designates a body of theoretical
and interpretive practices that
began largely with the study of
early modern literature
seek to understand literary
texts historically and reject
the formalizing influence of
previous literary studies
Ethnic Studies
art and literature produced by
identifiable ethnic groups
either marginalized or in a
subordinate position to a
dominant culture.
Postcolonial
Criticism
investigates the relationships
between colonizers and colonized
in the period post-colonization.
Cultural Studies
embraces a wide array of
perspectives:media studies,
social criticism,
anthropology, and literary
theory