Interpretation of Literary Texts Flashcards
A text should be valued, or not be valued as the case may be, based on what is written.
Intrinsic approach to literary criticism
An intrinsic approach to literary criticism includes what schools of thought?
Only Formalism
What are the three subgroups of formalism?
Russian formalism
New Criticism (most widely used in Formalism)
Neo-Aristotelianism
What are the key principles of Formalist analysis
- Close attention to form, language, and detail is needed for a discussion of literature.
- Literature has meaning with the text.
- Literature can be differentiated from other types of expression through its formal aspects.
New historicism, feminism, psychoanalytic theory, and reader-response theory are all schools of thought in what approach to literary criticism?
Extrensic approach to literary criticism
What does extrinsic mean in the case of literary criticism?
The analysis of a literary text is not limited only to what is in the text but can and does include outside influences. This is not to say that it only considers outside influences; instead it combines both the value of the text itself and the value of its background, author, audience, or history.
What do New Historicist critics focus on when looking at a text?
The historical and social implications of a text.
What are the four key principles of New Historicism?
- Literary and cultural texts are connected to the time period in which they were created.
- No reading of a literary or cultural text is definitive.
- Literary and cultural texts can reflect the past and advance social interest.
- The activities and conditions of daily life described in literature can tell the reader much about the belief systems of the time.
What do both Reader-Response and Psychoanalytic theories of literary criticism emphasize?
The reader as a vital tool in the interpretation of any given literary text.
What school of literary criticism is a combination of what the reader infers from the text and the text’s intrinsic value, with more value placed on the reader than any other facet of the text?
Reader-response theory
What school of literary criticism places an emphasis on the unconscious of both the reader and the author, examining the psychology of the reader, author, or character and what that particular aspect brings to the text?
Psychoanalytic theory
What school of literary criticism focuses on issues relevant to women in their many relationships to literature–as authors, as readers, and as fictional characters?
Feminism
What are the three key principles of Feminist literary analysis?
- Women have resisted and subverted patriarchal oppression in a variety of ways.
- The resistance of patriarchal suppression is apparent in many literary texts.
- There are various approaches within the feminist approach, such as materialists, essentialists, poststructuralists, and those concernced with race and ethnicity.
What are the five movements in American literature?
1620-1820: Early American Literature
1820-1865: Romantics, Transcendentalists, Fireside Poets
1865-1914: Realism
1914-1929: Harlem Renaissance
1914-1945: Modernism
1946-present: Contemporary (I added this one)
What are the key principles of colonial (Early American) literature?
- Literature was often based on faith.
- The writing reflected a harsh and strict life.
- The sermon was a common form of literature.
- Much of the literature in the very early period was historical.
Who are the major writers in Early American literature and what are their key works?
Jonathan Edwards, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”
Anne Bradstreet, “Here Follows Some Verses Upon the Burning of Our House”
John Smith, “The General History of Virginia, New England, and the Summer Isles”
What are the key principles of the Romantic movement in literature?
- It is a celebration of the individual, the human psychological state, and the sublime.
- Romantic writers often studied the idea of death and the macabre.
- Characters were often out of the ordinary, meaning they had unusual personalities, lived alternative lifestyles, or experienced life circumstances outside the norm.
Who are the major American Romantic writers and what are their key works?
Edgar Allan Poe, “The Raven”“The Tell-Tale Heart”
Washington Irving, “Rip Van Winkle”
Nathaniel Hawthorne, “The Scarlet Letter”
Herman Melville, Moby Dick
Emily Dickinson, “Because I could not stop for Death” “I heard a fly buzz”
What American literary movement encouraged many writers to document their ideas using the medium of poetry? And what were these poets called?
The Romantic movement.
The Fireside poets.
What are the key principles of the Fireside poets?
- First American poets to rival British poets.
- As writers, they were household names.
- They exhibited more of a Victorian style with some Romantic tendencies.
- Most of the poets wrote long, narrative poems.
Who were the key Fireside poets and what were their key works?
William Cullen Bryant:
“Thanatopsis”
“To a Waterfowl”
Oliver Wendell Holmes:
“Old Ironsides”
“The Chambered Nautilus”
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow:
“The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere”
The Song of Hiawatha
Evangeline
James Russell Lowell:
“To the Dandelion”
“The Changeling”
John Greenleaf Whittier:
“Snow-Bound: A Winter Idyl”
“Ichabod”What American literary movement was bred from the Romantics, but focused more on nature and the individual’s relationship with it?
Transcendentalists
What three major American writers came from the Transcendental movement and what were their major works?
Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Self-Reliance”
Henry David Thoreau, Walden
Walt Whitman, “Song of Myself”
What American literary movement was a reaction to romanticism and moved toward a more realistic worldview?
Realism
What are the key principles of Realism?
- Literary characters are ordinary people representative of the time and region in which the authors were writing.
- Writers use the vernacular (common language, slang) to give a more realistic feel.
- Writers aim to “tell it like it is” and resist the urge to follow their imaginations.
Who are the major American realist writers?
Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain), Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Henry James, Daisy Miller William Dean Howells Edith Wharton Sarah Orne Jewett
What American literary movement exalted the talents of African-Americans and served to redefine the culture’s mode of creative expression?
The Harlem Renaissance (1914-1929)
What are the key principles of the Harlem Renaissance?
- African-Americans began to create a new and dignified identity.
- Some of the writers of this time chose to reach back to their African roots, while others preferred to be known simply as writers.
- It encompassed many writing styles, so there are no set principles. African-Americans were finally being accepted and respected as writers.
