Overview Flashcards
Three Areas of Literary Study
1.Literary Theory
2.Literary Criticism
3.Literary History
It is the systematic study of the nature of literature and the methods for analysis.
Literary Theory
It aims to demystify some assumptions and beliefs implicit in literature and literary criticism.
Literary Theory
Types of Literary Theory (M.H. Abrams)
- Mimetic
- Pragmatic
- Expressive
- Objective
It is audience- oriented.
Pragmatic Theories
It is an imitation of the universe.
Mimetic Theories
It focuses on the artist.
Pragmatic Theories
It involves the literary piece itself.
Objective Theories
It involves the reading,
interpretation and commentary of a specific text or texts which have been designated as literature.
Literary Criticism
It ought to provide the readers a range of criteria for identifying literature and an awareness of these criteria should inform critical practice.
Purpose of Literary Theory
It should make us aware of the methods and procedures which we employ in the practice of literary criticism so that we do not only interrogate the text, but also the ways in which we read and interpret it.
Purpose of Literary Theory
It is the historical development of writings in prose and poetry, which seeks to provide education and entertainment to the readers.
Literary History
It is also the development of literary techniques used by writers from different periods.
Literary History
Historical Survey of Literary Criticism (authors)
Plato
Aristotle
Horace
Dante Alighieri
Sir Philip Sidney
John Dryden
Alexander Pope
William Wordsworth
Hippolyte Adolphe Taine
Matthew Arnold
Henry James
He systematically begins the study of literature
and criticism.
Plato
“Reality is spiritual and the spiritual realm is
composed of ideal forms.”
Plato
Poets produce art irrationally.
Plato
Poets must be supporters of the state.
Plato
Poetry’s function is to sing the praises of loyal
Greeks.
Plato
He emphasized the characteristics and
elements of a work.
Aristotle
Ars Poetica
Horace
answer to Plato’s accusations against poetry which later became the cornerstone of Western Literary Criticism.
Poetics
Poets must imitate other poets.
Horace
Dulce et utile
Horace
All good epics must begin in medias res.
Horace
On the Sublime
Longinus
The language spoken by people is an appropriate and beautiful language for writing.
Can Grande Della Scala
The Divine Comedy: Paradiso
Dante Alighieri
Single elements of a text.
Longinus
The proper language for poetry.
Dante Alighieri
The author, the work and the reader response
Longinus
First English critic-poet
Sir Philip Sidney
“epitome of the literary criticism of the Italian Renaissance”
Sir Philip Sidney’s An Apology for Poetry (Defence of Poesy)
“poetry, above all the other arts and
sciences, embodies truth, to take”
Sir Philip Sidney
The most prolific writer of the Restoration
John Dryden
Debate of Platonic
and Aristotelian ideals
John Dryden’s An Essay of Dramatic Poetry
Concerns (An Essay of Dramatic Poetry)
a.) language or diction of a play
b.) issues of stage decorum
c.) difference between English and French theaters
d.) the value of rhymed verse as opposed to blank verse in drama.
“literary pope” of England
Alexander Pope
The golden age of criticism is the
Classical age
A good poet possess natural genius coupled with
knowledge of the classics and understanding of
the rules of poetry (literature).
Alexander Pope
Essay on Criticism
Alexander Pope
Poetic diction, the heroic couplet as a standard for
verse, and personification of abstract ideas
Standards for Poetry
Free verse are unrefined.
Alexander Pope
Beginning of British romanticism.
Lyrical Ballads
Elements and the subject matter of literature with
emphasis to common men and women will people
his poetry to depict humble and rustic life everyday language
William Wordsworth’s Lyrical ballads
“For all good poetry is the spontaneous overflow
of powerful feelings.”
William Wordsworth’s Lyrical ballads
No prescribed rules and the artist can freely express his or her individualism
William Wordsworth’s Lyrical ballads
Historical approach to literary analysis.
Hippolyte Adolphe Taine’s The History of English Literature
Studying a text without considering its author leads to incomplete analysis.
Hippolyte Adolphe Taine’s The History of English Literature
race, milieu et moment
Hippolyte Adolphe Taine’s The History of English Literature
can provide necessary truths,
values, and guidelines for society.
Poetry (Matthew Arnold)
Objective touchstone theory
Matthew Arnold
Aristotle’s “high seriousness”;
Longinus’ classic as “best class”
Matthew Arnold
The Art of Fiction
Henry James
He rejects the romantic notion of either Wordsworth or Coleridge.
Henry James
Good novels show us life in action and above all, interesting.
Henry James
indirect point of view
Henry James
Modern Criticism (century)
19th and 20th Century
What century did most critics emphasized
either historical or biographical approach to
the text.
19th
2 Literary approaches
Extrinsic and Intrinsic
What century did a variety of “schools of criticism” were brought to life
abandonment of holistic approach
20th
a literary approach where the external context of a literary piece
Extrinsic approach
a literary approach where it focuses on the form, language, style, symbols, images, contrasts,
structure, and plot development.
Intrinsic approach
