Critical Approaches

Question 1

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.

Answer 1

critical approaches

Question 2

6 CA

Answer 2

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

Question 3

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.

Answer 3

redears response criticism

Question 4

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.

Answer 4

formalist criticism

Question 5

Two Major Principles of Formalism

Answer 5

timeless and universal

Question 6

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

Answer 6

psychological criticism

Question 7

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.

Answer 7

sociological criticism

Question 8

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

Answer 8

marxist crticism

Question 9

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.

Answer 9

feminist criticism

Question 10

argues that we must take an author’s life and background into account when we study a text.

Answer 10

biographical criticism

Question 11

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

Answer 11

new historicist criticism