CH. 25: Literary Criticism: Definition, Examples & Forms Flashcards
Literary Criticism
- provides some general guidelines to help us analyze, deconstruct, interpret and evaluate
- usually seen in book review or critical essay / personal blogs or social media too
Traditional critics
to truly evaluate an author’s work, they must know some basic biographical information about the writer
Sociological critics
focus on how society and historical events shape a writer’s work
Marxist critics
examines the influence of class and economic struggle / how economics drive the plot of the story
New criticism
a more objective, closed approach in evaluation / ignore an author’s background and politics and instead analyze the text on its own merit
Deconstruction
- looks at what makes a text whole and what holes are in between its pieces
- “what’s said and what’s left unsaid”
- has real-life consequences: we often resort to binaries to categorize people
- Its human nature
- BUT: if we never challenge these binaries, we never give people a chance
Deconstructionist’s Desires
want to blow up binary thinking all together / look at what most readers take for granted and question it
New Historicism
- literary critical movement which first developed in the 1980s / related to Cultural Studies: a broader movement in the humanities and social sciences that emphasizes that individual experience is culturally specific, rather than universal
- emphasizes the cultural context in which text is produced, rather than focusing exclusively on the formal structure of the text itself
- posits that literary works are not singular or solitary forms, but, instead, a product of different networks of socio-material practices
- Such critics argue that, by explaining events in terms of cultural forces, New Historicism diminishes the power of individuals as historical actors
Karl Marx
- a 19th century socialist philosopher and economist
- best known for The Communist Manifesto
- his philosophy has profoundly shaped 20th century literature
Historical Materialism
Marx’s theory that posits that society’s organization and development is fundamentally shaped by the material conditions of that society;’s mode of production [exmamines the means by which human workers labor]
Ideology
Marx argues that the prevailing class maintains the position of power by controlling the lower class’s ideology (way of thinking). He argues that the working classes internalize the beliefs and world views of the dominant class, which oppresses them. This, in turn, inhibits the working classes from revolting against the ruling classes.
Proletarian Literature
- Aims to redeem the poor, exploited working classes
- “Proletarian” refers to working-class or anti-capitalist sentiments
- in the 20th century, literature tended to pay more attention to the woes of the common man
American Feminist Literature
- Feminist Literature / Feminist Criticism: born of the need to express injustice and a need for change
- fanned the flames of reform for women in the 19th century
- “any material written by a woman, any female criticism of any material written by a man or female criticism of literary content produced by another woman”
- addresses relevant political issues, current attitudes toward women in society or attempts to break down gender-specific misconceptions
- not restricted across culture or religion
Feminist Lit Characteristics
- portrays characters or ideas that attempt to change gender norms
- tends to examine / question / argue for change against established and antiquated gender roles through the written word
- strives to alter inequalities between genders across societal and political arenas
- seeks to add a unique and often overlooked feminine-specific voice and tone to gender, societal and political issues
