T.4 LITERARY CRITICISM

Question 1

Socrates myth of origin of literature

Answer 1

Gods – Hermes – Muse – poets – Rhapsodes
Key concepts:
* They pass on a message to each other, however, in order for it to be possible, they
need to understand and interpret it.
* You need to interpret something when it is subjective. When there’s a hidden meaning. These are the origins of hermeneutics.

Question 2

What are hermeneutics?

Answer 2

Hermeneutics can be defined as a philosophical methodology devoted to the study
of problems arising from literary interpretation. It also defines the methodological approach of Human sciences.

Question 3

What is hyponoia?

Answer 3

Hyponoia = hypo (under), noia (insight) – “unserinsight”. A knowledge that lies
underneath, lies under the explicit meaning of the text. It is key to understand literature and really any text or thing in general (oral or not) that does not express things explicitly.

Question 4

What is exegesis?

Answer 4

Exegesis: Explanation. Exegesis of the bible for example, where monks explains the bible
for people who did not know how to read.

Question 5

What is an allegory?

Answer 5

Allegory: A visual representation in which a character, place or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance (cricket in Pinocchio for instance.)

Question 6

What is the hermeneutic cicle?

Answer 6

Hermeneutic circle: Our understanding of a text as a whole is based on the interpretation
from individuals. You stand with an assumption, and when that doesn’t work you ask more questions in order to get to a point where you can settle an agreement.

Question 7

What are the criticism operations?

Answer 7

Intuition, description, analysis, reconstruction, interpretation and assessment

Question 8

criticism operations?

Intuition

Answer 8

Something that you get to know before you realize you know it as a result of
previous knowledge. It is present in the hermeneutic circle. When analyzing something, people need to start somewhere, therefore they go to intuition as they have no previous knowledge of something.

Question 9

criticism operations

Analyisis

Answer 9

Analyzing the different parts and how they stick together (how they are
connected).

Question 10

What are the Hermeutics of Recostruction?

Answer 10

You cn trace the meaning of the author by going back, and reading and interpreting correctly.

Question 11

What are the Hermeutics of Integration (subject + object)?

Answer 11

The exchange takes place between the Literary texts and the reader, being interpreted
differently depending on the experience one has had in life.
There is no right interpretation.