Modul Literary Research Suyarmanto

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A. What is Literary Criticism?

Literary criticism is the study, analysis, and evaluation of imaginative literature.
Everyone who expresses an opinion about a book, a song, a play, or a movie is a critic,
but not everyone's opinion is based upon thought, reflection, analysis, or consistently
articulated principles. As people mature and acquire an education, their ability to analyze,
their understanding of human beings, and their appreciation of artistic craftsmanship
should increase. The study of literature is an essential component in this- growth of
reflection.
Sometimes students object to analysis and ask, "Why do we have to analyze
everything? Why can't we just enjoy the books we read in English?" These are good
questions, and there are some good answers for them. First, talking about an experience,
actual or vicarious, is one way of increasing enjoyment. Second, sometimes talking
about an experience involves recreating it in words, but it can also involve the search for
meaning, in short, analysis. Finally, as Socrates said, "The life which is unexamined is
not worth living." Analysis, or examination, increases awareness and understanding; it is
part of the maturation process. The analysis of literature has always been part of a liberal
education. When a work of literature is studied without reference to history or to the life
of the author, the approach is intrinsic, or formalistic. However, literature is related to
two other humanistic disciplines: philosophy and history. Philosophy explores basic,
general ideas, such as truth, beauty, and goodness. History attempts to ascertain what
happened in the past and why it happened. Philosophy may help readers to understand
the general ideas, or themes, of a literary work. History helps to elucidate the life and
times of the author.
Traditionally, literary studies were conducted within the three humanistic
disciplines of literature, history, and philosophy. In the twentieth century, the social
sciences have been used to develop new approaches to criticism. Psychology has helped
to illuminate the motivations of characters and the writers who create them. Sociology
has revealed the relationships between the works the author produces and the society that
consumes them. Anthropology has shown how ancient myths and rituals are alive and
well in the plays, poems, and novels that are popular today
Literary criticism has been a social institution for many centuries. Different ages
take different approaches, but the activity is constant. Authors are aware of criticism so
that it is probably not entirely fair to say that the literary critic reads meanings into the
texts that were never intended by the author. Literary criticism is not "reading between
the lines" -it is reading the lines very carefully, in a disciplined and informed manner.
This is why it is possible to speak of some of the approaches discussed in this booklet as
elements of literature. That is, it is valid to speak of archetypal elements in a literary text,
sociological elements in a literary text, and formal elements in a literary text. The
approaches to literature do not put the elements there; they are already there. The
approaches help to reveal and clarify them.
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Drs. Suyarmanto / Modul / (Fak. Sastra Uniga)
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B. The Purpose of Criticism:

Literary criticism has at least three primary purposes.
(1) To help us resolve a difficulty in the reading.
The historical approach, for instance, might be helpful in addressing a problem in
Thomas Otway's play Venice Preserv'd. Why are the conspirators, despite the horrible,
bloody details of their obviously brutish plan, portrayed in a sympathetic light? If we
look at the author and his time, we see that he was a Tory whose play was performed in
the wake of the Popish Plot and the Exclusion Bill Crisis, and that there are obvious
similarities between the Conspiracy in the play and the Popish Plot in history. The Tories
would never approve of the bloody Popish Plot, but they nonetheless sympathized with
the plotters for the way they were abused by the Tory enemy, the Whigs. Thus it makes
sense for Otway to condemn the conspiracy itself in Vencie Preserv'd without
condemning the conspirators themselves.
(2) To help us choose the better of two conflicting readings.
A formalist approach might enable us to choose between a reading which sees the
dissolution of society in Lord of the Flies as being caused by too strict a suppression of
the "bestial" side of man and one which sees it as resulting from too little suppression.
We can look to the text and ask: What textual evidence is there for the suppression or
indulgence of the "bestial" side of man? Does Ralph suppress Jack when he tries to
indulge his bestial side in hunting? Does it appear from the text that an imposition of
stricter law and order would have prevented the breakdown? Did it work in the
"grownup" world of the novel?
(3) To enable us to form judgments about literature.
One of the purposes of criticism is to judge if a work is any good or not. For
instance, we might use a formalist approach to argue that a John Donne poem is of high
quality because it contains numerous intricate conceits that are well sustained. Or, we
might use the mimetic approach to argue that The West Indian is a poor play because it
fails to paint a realistic picture of the world.
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C. History of literary criticism
Classical and medieval criticism

Literary criticism has probably existed for as long as literature. Aristotle wrote the
Poetics, a typology and description of literary forms with many specific criticisms of
contemporary works, in the 4th century BC. Poetics developed for the first time the
concepts of mimesis and catharsis, which are still crucial in literary study. Plato's attacks
on poetry as imitative, secondary, and false were formative as well.
Later classical and medieval criticism often focused on religious texts, and the
several long religious traditions of hermeneutics and textual exegesis have had a
profound influence on the study of secular texts.
Renaissance criticism
The literary criticism of the Renaissance developed classical ideas of unity of
form and content into a literary neoclassicism which proclaimed literature to be central to
culture and entrusted the poet or author with the preservation of a long literary tradition.
The birth of Renaissance criticism started with the recovery of classic texts, most notably,
the one of Giorgio Valla's translation of Aristotle's Poetics into Latin in 1498. The work
of Aristotle, especially his Poetics, was the most important influence on literary criticism
until the later part of the 18th century. One of the most influential of Renaissance critics
was Lodovico Castelvetro who wrote 1570 commentaries on Aristotle's Poetics.
19th-century criticism
The British Romantic movement of the early nineteenth century brought new
aesthetic ideas to the study of literature, including the idea that the object of literature did
not always have to be beautiful, noble, or perfect, but that literature itself could elevate a
common subject to the level of the sublime. German Romanticism, which followed
closely after the late development of German classicism, emphasized an aesthetic of
fragmentation which can seem startlingly modern to a reader of English literature, and
valued Witz that is, "wit" or "humor" of a certain sort more highly than the apparently
serious Anglophone Romanticism.
The late nineteenth century brought several authors better known for their critical
writings than for their own literary work, such as Matthew Arnold.
The New Criticism
However important all of these aesthetic movements were as antecedents, current
ideas about literary criticism derive almost entirely from the new direction taken in the
early twentieth century. Early in the century the school of criticism known as Russian
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Formalism, and slightly later the New Criticism in Britain and America, came to
dominate the study and discussion of literature. Both schools emphasized the close
reading of texts, elevating it far above generalizing discussion and speculation about
either authorial intention (to say nothing of the author's psychology or biography, which
became almost taboo subjects) or reader response. This emphasis on form and precise
attention to "the words themselves" has persisted, after the decline of these critical
doctrines themselves.
Theory
In the British and American literary establishment, the New Criticism was more
or less dominant until the late 1960s. Around that time Anglo-American university
literature departments began to witness a rise of a more explicitly philosophical literary
theory, influenced by structuralism, then post-structuralism, and other kinds of
Continental philosophy. It continued until the mid-1980s, when interest in "theory"
peaked. Many later critics, though undoubtedly still influenced by theoretical work, have
been comfortable simply interpreting literature rather than writing explicitly about
methodology and philosophical presumptions.
The current state of literary criticism
Today interest in literary theory and Continental philosophy coexists in university
literature departments with a more conservative literary criticism of which the New
Critics would probably have approved. Acrimonious disagreements over the goals and
methods of literary criticism, which characterized both sides taken by critics during the
"rise" of theory, have declined (though they still happen), and many critics feel that they
now have a great plurality of methods and approaches from which to choose.
Some critics work largely with theoretical texts, while others read traditional
literature; interest in the literary canon is still great, but many critics are also interested in
minority and women's literatures, while some critics influenced by cultural studies read
popular texts like comic books or pulp/genre fiction. Many literary critics also work in
film criticism or media studies. Some write intellectual history; others bring the results
and methods of social history to bear on reading literature.
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D. Literary Approaches / Criticism
1. The Formalistic Approach

(Article one)
The formalistic approach began with Aristotle (384-322 BC), a philosopher of
ancient Greece, who in his book The Poetics attempted to define the form of tragedy.
Aristotle wrote that the tragic hero was an essentially noble individual who, nevertheless,
manifested a flaw in character that caused him or her to fall from a high position to a low
position. The flaw in character (hamartia) was a kind of blindness or lack of insight that
resulted from an arrogant pride (hubris). During the course of the tragic action, the hero
came to a moment of insight-today it might be seen as an epiphany-that Aristotle called
anagnorsis. Thus the tragic plot moves from blindness to insight. As an imitation
(mimesis) of a serious action, the tragic plot had to be written in a dignified style. The
effect of the tragedy was supposed to be catharsis or the purging of the emotions of pity
and fear. All the elements of tragedy went together to produce a formal unity: this is the
essence of the formalistic approach
The twentieth century formalistic approach, often referred to as the New Criticism, also
assumes that a work of literary art is an organic unity in which every element contributes
to the total meaning of the work. This approach is as old as literary criticism itself, but it
was developed in the twentieth century by John Crowe Ransom (1888-1974), Allen Tate
(1899-1979), T.S. Eliot (1888- 1965), and others.
The formalist critic embraces an objective theory of art and examines plot,
characterization, dialogue, and style to show how these elements contribute to the theme
or unity of the literary work. Moral, historical, psychological, and sociological concerns
are considered extrinsic to criticism and of secondary importance to the examination of
craftsmanship and form. Content and form in a work constitute a unity, and it is the task
of the critic to examine and evaluate the integrity of the work. Paradox, irony, dynamic
tension, and unity are the primary values of formalist criticism.
Because it posits an objective theory of art, there are two axioms central to
formalist criticism. One of these is The Intentional Fallacy which states that an author's
intention (plan or purpose) in creating a work of literature is irrelevant in analyzing or
evaluating that work of literature because the meaning and value of a literary work must
reside in the text itself, independent of authorial intent. Another axiom of formalist
criticism is The Affective Fallacy which states that the evaluation of a work of art cannot
be based solely on its emotional effects on the audience. Instead, criticism must
concentrate upon the qualities of the work itself that produce such effects. The
formalistic approach stresses the close reading of the text and insists that all statements
about the work be supported by references to the text. Although it has been challenged
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by other approaches recently, the New Criticism is the most influential form of criticism
in this century.
Formalism is intrinsic literary criticism because it does not require mastery of any
body of knowledge besides literature. As an example of how formalistic criticism
approaches literary works, consider Shakespeare's Macbeth. All the elements of the play
form an organic whole. The imagery of the gradual growth of plants is contrasted with
the imagery of leaping over obstacles: Macbeth is an ambitious character who cannot
wait to grow gradually into the full stature of power, but, instead, must grasp everything
immediately. A related series of clothing images reinforces this point: because Macbeth
does not grow gradually, his clothing does not fit. At the end of the play, his "Tomorrow
and tomorrow and tomorrow" soliloquy drives home the point as we see, and pity, a man
trapped in the lock-step pace of gradual time. Formalistic critics would immediately see
that the repetition of the word "tomorrow" and the natural iambic stress on "and" enhance
the meaninglessness and frustration that the character feels. References to blood and
water pervade the play, and blood comes to symbolize the guilt Macbeth feels for
murdering Duncan. Even the drunken porter's speech provides more than comic relief,
for his characterization of alcohol as "an equivocator" is linked to the equivocation of the
witches. Shakespeare's craftsmanship has formed an aesthetic unity in which every part
is connected and in which the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.
(article two)
Formalism / New Criticism
Definition:
A formalistic approach to literature, once called New Criticism, involves a close
reading of the text. Formalistic critics believe that all information essential to the
interpretation of a work must be found within the work itself; there is no need to bring in
outside information about the history, politics, or society of the time, or about the author's
life. Formalistic critics (presumably) do not view works through the lens of feminism,
psychology, mythology, or any other such standpoint, and they are not interested in the
work's affect on the reader. Formalistic critics spend much time analyzing irony, paradox,
imagery, and metaphor. They are also interested in the work's setting, characters,
symbols, and point of view.
Terms Used in New Criticism:
tension - the integral unity of the poem which results from the resolution of
opposites, often in irony of paradox
intentional fallacy - the belief that the meaning or value of a work may be
determined by the author's intention
affective fallacy - the belief that the meaning or value of a work may be
determined by its affect on the reader
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external form - rhyme scheme, meter, stanza form, etc.

objective correlative - originated by T.S. Eliot, this term refers to a collection of
objects, situations, or events that instantly evoke a particular emotion.
Practitioners:
I.A. Richards, William Empson, John Crowe Ransom, Robert Penn Warren, Cleanth
Brooks, Allen Tate, and others.
Advantages:
This approach can be performed without much research, and it emphasizes the
value of literature apart from its context (in effect makes literature timeless). Virtually all
critical approaches must begin here.
Disadvantages:
The text is seen in isolation. Formalism ignores the context of the work. It cannot
account for allusions. It tends to reduce literature to little more than a collection of
rhetorical devices.
Examples:
(1) A formalistic approach to John Milton's Paradise Lost would take into account the
physical description of the Garden of Eden and its prescribed location, the symbols of
hands, seed, and flower, the characters of Adam, Eve, Satan, and God, the epic similes
and metaphors, and the point of view from which the tale is being told (whether it be the
narrator's, God's, or Satan's). But such an approach would not discuss the work in terms
of Milton's own blindness, or in terms of his Puritan beliefs. Therefore when the narrator
says "what in me is dark / Illumine," a formalistic critic could not interpret that in light of
Milton's blindness. He would have to find its meaning in the text itself, and therefore
would have to overlook the potential double-meaning.
(2) A formalistic approach to the short story "Silence of the Llano" by Rudolfo Anaya
might force us to see the incestuous relationship that is established at the end of the story
as a positive alternative to loneliness. If we were to take into account external things,
such as morality, we could not help but be horrified at such a conclusion. But in studying
the symbols, setting, and structure of "The Silence of the Llano," we get an opposite
picture. The setting of the llano, its isolation and desolation, make its loneliness the
primary evil of the story, in contrast to the town where people can escape the loneliness,
where Rafael can find love, and where men can talk. The only way to survive the llano is
to make it more like the town--to fill it with love and words and anything to escape the
loneliness. "Words" are positively contrasted to "silence," as is "winter" to "spring" and
"growth" to "death." The silence of the llano is constantly referred to, and Rafael's
parents die in winter. But when Rafael marries, his wife makes a garden to grow in the
desolate llano, and he can hear her voice. When Rafael establishes the incestuous
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relationship at the close of the story, he finally speaks to his daughter, and words break
the long silence. He tells her that the "spring is the time for the garden. I will turn the
earth for you. The seeds will grow." (182). Growth, spring, and words--the primary
symbols which are positively contrasted to death, winter, and silence--are all combined in
the close. The disadvantage of this formalistic approach is that it does not allow us to
account for most readers' natural (and appropriate) response of disgust to the incestuous
relationship or to examine how that affects the ability of the author to communicate his
story. Some would argue that an understanding of the text is where criticism should
begin, and not where it ends. We should also relate the text to life, ideas, and morality.
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2. Historical and Biographical Approaches

(article one)
Historical criticism seeks to interpret the work of literature through understanding
the times and culture in which the work was written. The historical critic is more
interested in the meaning that the literary work had for its own time than in the meaning
the work might have today. For example, while some critics might interpret existential
themes in Shakespeare's Hamlet, a historical critic would be more interested in analyzing
the play within the context of Elizabethan revenge tragedy and Renaissance humor
psychology.
Biographical criticism investigates the life of an author using primary texts, such
as letters, diaries, and other documents, that might reveal the experiences, thoughts, and
feelings that led to the creation of a literary work. For example, an investigation of
Aldous Huxley's personal life reveals that Point Counterpoint is a roman a clef: the
character Marc Rampion is a thinly disguised imaginative version of Huxley's friend,
D.H..Lawrence.
Historical criticism and biographical criticism are used in tandem to explicate
literary texts. Sometimes the very premise of a novel may seem more probable if the
circumstances of composition are understood. For example, students often wonder why
the boys in Lord of the Flies are oil the island. Their plane has crashed, but where was it
going, and why? The book may be read as a survival adventure, but such a reading
would not account for the most important themes. Knowing that William Golding was a
British naval commander in World War II and knowing some of the facts of the British
involvement in the war help in an understanding of the novel. The most important fact
relating to the premise of the novel is that during the London Blitz (1940-1941) children
were evacuated from the metropolitan area: some were sent to Scotland, some to Canada
and Australia. Golding imagines a similar evacuation happening during his scenario of
World War III. The itinerary of the transport plane is detailed at the beginning of the
novel: Gibraltar and Addis Ababa were stops on an eastward journey, probably to
Australia or New Zealand. The aircraft was shot down, and the boys are stranded on a
Pacific atoll. In the age of the intercontinental ballistic missile, the evacuation seems
impossible, but the novel was published in 1954 when atomic weapons were still
delivered principally by bombers. The history of the rise of Hitler and World War n also
helps readers to understand why Ralph's democratic appeasements crumble under the
ruthless aggression of Jack's regime.
In short, the historical approach is vital to an understanding of literary texts.
Sometimes, knowledge of history is necessary before the theme of the work can be fully
grasped.
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(article two)
Historical / Biographical Approach:
Definition:
Historical / Biographical critics see works as the reflection of an author's life and
times (or of the characters' life and times). They believe it is necessary to know about the
author and the political, economical, and sociological context of his times in order to
truly understand his works.
Advantages:
This approach works well for some works--like those of Alexander Pope, John
Dryden, and Milton--which are obviously political in nature. One must know Milton was
blind, for instance, for "On His Blindness" to have any meaning. And one must know
something about the Exclusion Bill Crisis to appreciate John Dryden's "Absalom and
Achitophel." It also is necessary to take a historical approach in order to place allusions
in there proper classical, political, or biblical background.
Disadvantages:
New Critics refer to the historical / biographical critic's belief that the meaning or
value of a work may be determined by the author's intention as "the intentional fallacy."
They believe that this approach tends to reduce art to the level of biography and make it
relative (to the times) rather than universal.
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3. The Archetypal Approach

(article one)
The archetypal approach to literature evolved from studies in anthropology and
psychology. Archetypal critics make the reasonable assumption that human beings all
over the world have basic experiences in common and have developed similar stories and
symbols to express these experiences. Their assumption that myths from distant
countries might help to explain a work of literature might seem a little farfetched. However, critics of this persuasion believe it is valid.
Carl Jung (1875-1961), a student of Freud, came to the conclusion that some of
his patients' - dreams contained images and narrative patterns not from their personal
unconscious but from the collective unconscious of the human race. It was Jung who
first used the term archetype to denote plots, characters, and symbols that are found in
literature, folk tales and dreams throughout the world. Some of the principal archetypes
are described in the following paragraphs.
The Hero and the Quest
According to Joseph Campbell, the story of the hero is the monomyth, or the one
story at the bottom of all stories. The hero is called to adventure. This means that the
hero must go on a quest. The first stage of the quest is separation: in this stage the hero
separates from familiar surroundings and goes on a journey. The second stage of the
quest is initiation: the hero may fight a dragon, conquer an enemy or in some other way
prove his or her courage, wisdom and maturity. The final stage is the return: the hero
must return to society to use the courage and wisdom gained in the initiatory phase.
Often the initiation involves a journey to the underworld, and the return phase is regarded
as a kind of rebirth. This links the myth of the hero to the next archetypal motif. (Mary
Renault's The King Must Die (1958) is a good actualization of this pattern.)
The Death and Rebirth Pattern
Many myths from around the world reflect the cycle of the seasons. Sometimes
mythic thought requires a sacrifice so that the seasons can continue. A sacrificial hero (in
myth it is usually a god or king) accepts death or disgrace so that the community can
flourish. Although the sacrifice is real, it is not necessarily to be regarded as final: the
god who dies in the winter may be reborn in the spring. Characters like Oedipus and
Hamlet, who sacrifice themselves to save their kingdoms, are based on the archetype of
the dying god. Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" reflects this archetypal pattern in a
contemporary setting.
Mother Earth Father Sky
A surprising number of cultures regard the earth as the mother of all life, and she
is sometimes seen as the original divinity who was wedded and superseded by the
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archetypal male divinity, the sky god. The offspring of the earth mother and the sky
father are all of the creatures that inhabit the world. Earth mother characters in literature
are characterized by vitality, courage, and optimism. They represent embodiments of the
life force. Shug Avery in Alice Walker's The Color Purple represents a modern version
of the earth goddess: she gives Celie the courage to live.
Culture Founder, Trickster, Witch

Culture founders are heroes who invent rules, laws, customs, and belief systems
so that society can function and people can live. Prometheus was the great culture
founder of the Greeks. He created mankind and invented writing, mathematics, and
technology so that human beings could survive. Because he stole fire from the gods and
gave it to men, he also became a sacrificial hero, condemned to be tortured in the
Caucasus Mountains until he was freed by Heracles. Modern characters who derive from
the culture hero archetype would include Mr. Antrobus in The Skin of Our Teeth and
Finny in A Separate Peace. Both of these characters are creative inventors, organizers,
and leaders. The antithesis of the culture hero is the trickster. Representing the forces of
chaos, the trickster delights in mischief. At times the trickster may appear evil, but the
essential quality embodied by this archetype is childishness. Hermes is the trickster in
Greek myth; Loki, in Norse myth. Native American myths have many trickster figures.
In William Golding's Lord of the Flies Ralph's culture-founding efforts are constantly
subverted by Jack, a trickster figure who is motivated only by the idea of fun. The
female trickster contrasts with the earth goddess figure in that she devotes herself to
pleasure rather than nurturing: she is referred to as the outlaw female or witch. Medea
comes close to epitomizing this archetype.
Four Elements = The World
Earth, water, fire, air: these are the symbolic elements that compose the world.
Earth usually has the connotations of nurturing life. Water may purify, and flowing
rivers represent the flow of life; but water may also destroy when it is uncontrolled, as in
a flood. Fire represents destruction, but it can also purify and make way for the new. Air
is the spiritual element; words denoting the spirit are often derived from the words for
wind.
The other term for archetypal criticism is myth criticism. Literary critics, poets,
and storytellers all use myths in the creation and interpretation of literature. This reflects
their belief that the old myths, far from being falsehoods, reveal eternal truths about
human nature.
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(article two)
Mythological / Archetypal / Symbolic
Note: "Symbolic" approaches may also fall under the category of formalism because they
involve a close reading of the text. Myth criticism generally has broader, more universal
applications than symbolic criticism, although both assume that certain images have a
fairly universal affect on readers.
Definition:
A mythological / archetypal approach to literature assumes that there is a
collection of symbols, images, characters, and motifs (i.e. archetypes) that evokes
basically the same response in all people. According to the psychologist Carl Jung,
mankind possesses a "collective unconscious" that contains these archetypes and that is
common to all of humanity. Myth critics identify these archetypal patterns and discuss
how they function in the works. They believe that these archetypes are the source of
much of literature's power.
Some Archetypes (See A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature for a
complete list):
archetypal women - the Good Mother, the Terrible Mother, and the Soul Mate
(such as the Virgin Mary)
water - creation, birth-death-resurrection, purification, redemption, fertility,
growth
garden - paradise (Eden), innocence, fertility
desert - spiritual emptiness, death, hopelessness
red - blood, sacrifice, passion, disorder
green - growth, fertility
black - chaos, death, evil
serpent - evil, sensuality, mystery, wisdom, destruction
seven - perfection
shadow, persona, and anima (see psychological criticism)
hero archetype - The hero is involved in a quest (in which he overcomes
obstacles). He experiences initiation (involving a separation, transformation, and
return), and finally he serves as a scapegoat, that is, he dies to atone.
Practitioners:
Maud Bodkin, Bettina L. Knapp, and others.
Advantages:
Provides a universalistic approach to literature and identifies a reason why certain
literature may survive the test of time. It works well with works that are highly symbolic.
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Disadvantages:
Literature may become little more than a vehicle for archetypes, and this approach
may ignore the "art" of literature.
Examples:
(1) In Go Down, Moses by William Faulkner, for example, we might view Isaac
McCaslin's repudiation of the land as an attempt to deny the existence of his archetypal
shadow--that dark part of him that maintains some degree of complicity in slavery. When
he sees the granddaughter of Jim, and can barely tell she is black, his horrified reaction to
the miscegenation of the races may be indicative of his shadow's (his deeply racist dark
side's) emergence.
(2) In Herman Melville's Moby Dick, Fedallah can be seen as Ahab's shadow, his defiant
pagan side wholly unrestrained. Numerous archetypes appear in Moby Dick. The sea is
associated both with spiritual mystery (Ahab is ultimately on a spiritual quest to defy God
because evil exists) and with death and rebirth (all but Ishmael die at sea, but Ahab's
death as if crucified is suggestive of rebirth). Three is symbolic of spiritual awareness;
thus we see numerous triads in Moby Dick, including Ahab's three mysterious crew
members and the three harpooners.
(3) In "The Silence of the Llano" by Rudolfo Anaya, a mythological / archetypal
approach would allow us to examine the archetypes that illicit similar reactions in most
readers. We can see how Anaya is drawing on the archetype of water to imply
purification (when Rita bathes after her period) and fertility and growth (when Rita
washes before the incestuous relationship is established). The red blood Rita washes
away calls up visions of violent passions, which will be evidenced in the rape. The
garden conjures up images of innocence, unspoiled beauty, and fertility. Thus, the reader
can sense in the end that a state of innocence has been regained and that growth will
ensue. This approach, however, is limited in that by assuming it, the critic may begin to
view the story not as a work within itself, but merely as a vessel for transmitting these
archetypes . He may also overlook the possibility that some symbols are not associated
with their archetype; for instance, the sun, which normally implies the passage of time,
seems in its intensity in the llano to actually suggest a slowing down of time, a near static
state in the llano.
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4. Deconstruction
Most people would identify the current era of literature as the modern period;
surprisingly, literary critics and historians do not. Contemporary literature (1945 to the
present) is called Postmodernist. Modernism as a literary term is applied to the writers of
the first half of the twentieth century who experimented with forms of writing that broke
age-old traditions: writers like T.S. Eliot, James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, Langston
Hughes, and William Faulkner. These writers viewed human beings as trapped in tragic
paradoxes that could only be expressed by difficult and unorthodox styles. The writings
of the modernists are regarded as classics of the twentieth century, but contemporary
writing has moved beyond them. The tragic stance has given way to irony, and the break
up of the culture is treated with sardonic humor. Since 1945 everything is disposable:
books, culture, social mores, even-with nuclear weapons- planet Earth itself. Television,
with its thousands of stories and its parodies of literary classics, cuts against the
privileging of any story as a work of art. In the Postmodern Age, there is no literature,
there are only stories; there is no wisdom, there is only information, and information is,
almost by definition, disposable.
Tom Stoppard's play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead illustrates some of
the principal qualities of Postmodern literature. Aristotle's notion of the noble hero is
undercut by two bumbling antiheroes who don't have enough individual identity to be
able to tell themselves apart. They intrude from the margins of Shakespeare's Hamlet,
wander and wonder aimlessly, and are finally packed off to a meaningless execution,
disposable tools in a nasty internecine conflict. Shakespeare's play has form and purpose;
the hero has a role to play in life, even though he may have doubted this at the beginning
of the play. Stoppard's heroes make jokes about death, about fate, about everything.
Stoppard's plot doesn't really go anywhere because like Pirandello's six characters and
Beckett's two tramps, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are characters in search of a plot.
Worse, they are characters in search of personalities. In the film version, pages of
dramatic scripts float and swirl about all the scenes like autumn leaves or trash escaped
from the recycling bin. The tragic world of Hamlet is subverted by the ironic Postmodern
interlopers, proving that even a mighty Shakespearean text can be deconstructed, that is,
reduced to meaninglessness. Deconstruction is the movement in criticism that best
expresses the Postmodern consciousness. It has supplanted New Criticism in most of the
literature departments of American colleges and universities.
Deconstruction might be regarded as the antithesis of formalism. Where the
formalist critic seeks to demonstrate the organic unity of a literary work, the
deconstructionist tries to show how attempts at unified meaning are doomed to failure by
the nature of language itself. Thus, to deconstruct a literary work is to show that it is selfcontradictory.
Originating in a radical skepticism about the capacity of language to mean
anything, deconstruction thrives on the paradoxes of twentieth century thought. As
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Freudian psychology destroyed the notion that the conscious self controls the person, as
Einsteinian physics undermined ideas of objectivity, deconstruction assaults the belief
that language is unequivocal in its meaning and that literary works have a stable meaning
intended by the author. Formalist critics accepted the intentional fallacy because they
thought that the literary text could stand on its own without reference to authorial
intention, but for the deconstructionist literary texts crumble into contradictions under
analysis.
Before deconstruction became a trend in criticism, even before the word
deconstruction entered the language, Lawrence Durrell (1912-1990), wrote what might
be regarded as the classic deconstructive narrative, The Alexandria Quartet. Completed
in 1960 and composed of four novels that relate the same events from different points of
view, the Quartet does not attempt to establish one version of the story as definitive.
Rather, in a relativistic universe perspective rules the world: one step to the left or right
and the whole picture changes.
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5. Feminist Criticism
(article one)
During the 1960s a new school of criticism arose from the struggles for women's
rights. While social and economic justice were the most obvious goals of the feminist
cause, many women realized that the roots of the inequality were cultural. This
perception led to the development of feminist literary criticism. Using psychological,
archetypal, and sociological approaches, feminist criticism examines images of women.
and concepts of the feminine in myth and literature
Feminist critics have shown that literature reflects a patriarchal, or male
dominated, perspective of society. Patriarchalism is an ideology that causes women to be
depicted in two ways: as goddesses when they serve the patriarchal society in the role of
virtuous wives and mothers as prostitutes and witches when they do not. Plays and
novels often reveal both views of women. Thornton Wilder parodies these stereotypes
with the characters of Mrs. Antrobus and Lily Sabina in the play The Skin of Our Teeth.
Wilder does not spare the patriarchal Mr. Antrobus, whose foibles are plain for all the
audience to see.
A fresh approach to the investigation of literature, feminist criticism often focuses on
characters and issues that have been neglected or marginalized in previous studies. So
much has been written about Prince Hamlet, that feminist interpretations of the
motivations and conflicts of Queen Gertrude and Ophelia are often striking in their
originality. Similarly, Charlotte Gilman-Perkins "The Yellow Wallpaper" brings feminist
criticism to the foreground. It is this freshness of approach that makes feminist criticism
one of the most exciting contemporary approaches to literature.
As a form of sociological criticism, feminist criticism shares some qualities with
Marxist approaches. Both are critical of society, as it is presently constituted. Both are
concerned with the lives of those oppressed or marginalized by the dominant culture.
Both investigate literature as a means of bringing about changes in attitudes and
ultimately in society.
(article two)
Feminist Approach
Definition:
Feminist criticism is concerned with the impact of gender on writing and reading.
It usually begins with a critique of patriarchal culture. It is concerned with the place of
female writers in the cannon. Finally, it includes a search for a feminine theory or
approach to texts. Feminist criticism is political and often revisionist. Feminists often
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argue that male fears are portrayed through female characters. They may argue that
gender determines everything, or just the opposite: that all gender differences are
imposed by society, and gender determines nothing.
Elaine Showalter's Theory:
In A Literature of Their Own, Elaine Showalter argued that literary subcultures all
go through three major phases of development. For literature by or about women, she
labels these stages the Feminine, Feminist, and Female:
(1) Feminine Stage - involves "imitation of the prevailing modes of the dominant
tradition" and "internalization of its standards."
(2) Feminist Stage - involves "protest against these standards and values and advocacy of
minority rights...."
(3) Female Stage - this is the "phase of self-discovery, a turning inwards freed from some
of the dependency of opposition, a search for identity."
Practitioners:
Ellen Mores, Sandra Gilbert, Elaine Showalter, Nina Baym, etc.
Advantages:
Women have been somewhat underrepresented in the traditional cannon, and a feminist
approach to literature redresses this problem.
Disadvantages:
Feminist turn literary criticism into a political battlefield and overlook the merits
of works they consider "patriarchal." When arguing for a distinct feminine writing style,
they tend to relegate women's literature to a ghetto status; this in turn prevents female
literature from being naturally included in the literary cannon. The feminist approach is
often too theoretical.
Example:
Showalter's three stages of feminine, feminist, and female are identifiable in the
life of Clefilas in Sandra Cisneros's "Woman Hollering Creek."
Clefilas begins to internalize the paternalistic values of the society in which she
lives at least as early as the ice house scene. She "accompanies her husband," as is
expected of her (48). Since women should be seen and not heard in a paternalistic
society, she "sits mute beside their conversation" (48). She goes through all of the
motions that are expected of her, laughing "at the appropriate moments" (48). She
submits, if unhappily, to the rule of her husband, "this man, this father, this rival, this
keeper, this lord, this master, this husband till kingdom come" (49).
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Yet Clefilas gradually begins to emerge from the feminine stage into the feminist
stage, where she begins to revolt and advocate for her own rights. It begins with "[a]
doubt. Slender as a hair" (50). When she returns from the hospital with her new son,
something seems different. "No. Her imagination. The house was the same as always.
Nothing" (50). This is true because the house is not different; it is Clefilas who has
begun to change. Perhaps giving birth to a child has made her aware of the power and
importance women possess. She begins to think of returning home, but is not ready for
the possibility yet. It would be "a disgrace" (50). She begins to internally protest against
the society, thinking about the town "with its silly pride for a bronze pecan" and the fact
that there is "nothing, nothing, nothing of interest" (50). The patriarchal society, with its
ice house, city hall, liquor stores, and bail bonds is of no interest to her. She is upset that
the town is built so that "you have to depend on husbands" (51). Though her husband
says she is "exaggerating," she seems to be becoming convinced that her society is a bad
one, where men kill their wives with impunity. "It seemed the newspapers were full of
such stories. This woman found on the side of the interstate. This one pushed from a
moving car . . ." (52). Although she does nothing when he throws a book at her, Clefilas
does (if only meekly) insist that he take her to the doctor. And there she solidifies her
internal rebellion with actions: she leaves her husband with Felice to return to Mexico.
Felice is actually more representative of the third, female, stage than Clefilas,
but the fact that Clefilas enjoys her company suggests that when she returns to Mexico,
she may seek to enter that third stage herself. Felice is not phalocentric--she is not
interested in revolting against men, she simply does not need them. She doesn't have a
husband and she owns her own car. "The pickup was hers. She herself had chosen it. She
herself was paying for it" (55). Felice is most likely a part of a community of women; she
is certainly friends with the nurse Graciela. Clefilas is attracted to Felice, who "was like
no woman she'd ever met" (55). At home, in Mexico, Clefilas recounts the story of
Felice's yelling when they crossed the creek. "Just like that. Who would've thought?"
(56). Clefilas seems to have enjoyed her company and has kept the experience in her
mind. Felice's laughter, "gurgling out of her own throat, a long ribbon of laughter, like
water" suggests that Felice had completed the self-discovery stage. (Water is often
symbolic of rebirth.) Clefilas has witnessed the third stage in Felice, and it is up to her
whether she will enter it or regress to the feminine stage and internalize the paternalistic
values of her father and brothers with whom she is now living.
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6. The Philosophical Approach

(article one)
The philosophical (or moral) approach to literature evaluates the ethical content of
literary works and concerns itself less with formal characteristics. Philosophical criticism
always assumes the seriousness of literary works as statements of values and criticisms of
life, and the philosophical critic judges works on the basis of his or her articulated
philosophy of life. Assuming that literature can have a good effect on human beings by
increasing their compassion and moral sensitivity, this form of criticism acknowledges
that books can have negative effects on people as well. For this reason, philosophical
critics will sometimes attack authors for degenerate, decadent, or unethical writings.
While this description may make philosophical critics seem similar to censors,
these critics rarely call for burning or banning of books. Unlike censors, they try to deal
with the whole literary work rather than with passages taken out of context. Some people
might criticize J .D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye because Holden Caulfield is a poor
role model. The book might also be attacked because of its profane language. In fact,
these aspects of the novel have led to its being banned in many school districts
throughout the United States. Although the philosophical critic may find both of these
aspects of the novel disturbing, he or she might still believe that, on balance, the book
was to be commended for its indictment of hypocrisy and materialism. For the
philosophical critic, it is not a question of objectionable characters and passages; it is a
question of the totality of the work. Instead of banning books that they find to be without
redeeming social merit, philosophical critics write scathing reviews explaining why they
consider the books they are attacking to be decadent or unethical. In the twentieth
century, philosophical critics have tended toward a humanistic belief in reason, order, and
restraint. This explains their reluctance to ban books despite their moral concerns: if
human beings are rational, as the philosophical critic believes, they will listen to reason
when it is spoken; and they will reject evil and embrace the good.
(article two)
Moral / Philosophical Approach:
Definition:
Moral / philosophical critics believe that the larger purpose of literature is to teach
morality and to probe philosophical issues.
Practitioners:
Matthew Arnold -- argued works must have "high seriousness"
Plato -- insisted literature must exhibit moralism and utilitarianism
Horace - felt literature should be "delightful and instructive"
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Advantages:
This approach is useful for such works as Alexander Pope's "An Essay on Man,"
which does present an obvious moral philosophy. It is also useful when considering the
themes of works (for example, man's inhumanity to man in Mark Twain's Huckelberry
Finn). Finally, it does not view literature merely as "art" isolated from all moral
implications; it recognizes that literature can affect readers, whether subtly or directly,
and that the message of a work--and not just the decorous vehicle for that message--is
important.
Disadvantages:
Detractors argue that such an approach can be too "judgmental." Some believe
literature should be judged primarily (if not solely) on its artistic merits, not its moral or
philosophical content.
Mimetic Approach:
Definition:
This can be closely related to the moral / philosophical approach, but is somewhat
broader. Mimetic critics ask how well the work of literature accords with the real world.
Is it accurate? Is it correct? Is it moral? Does it show how people really act? As such,
mimetic criticism can include some forms of moral / philosophical criticism,
psychological criticism, and feminist criticism.
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7. The Psychological Approach

(article one)
The psychological approach has been one of the most productive forms of literary
inquiry in the twentieth century. Developed in the late 1800s and early 1900s by
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) and his followers, psychological criticism has led to new
ideas about the nature of the creative process, the mind of the artist, and the motivations
of characters.
Freud's principal ideas are essential to an understanding of modern literature and
criticism. Although the works of Freud consist of many complex volumes, there are four
main ideas that have been so influential that it is hard to believe they were not always
with us.
The Unconscious
According to Freud, human beings are not conscious of all their feelings, urges,
and desires because most of mental life is unconscious. Freud compared the mind to an
iceberg: only a small portion is visible; the rest is below the waves of the sea. Thus, the
mind consists of a small conscious portion and a vast unconscious portion.
Repression
Observing the conservative, prudish upper middle classes of the late nineteenth
century, Freud came to the conclusion that society demands restraint, order, and
respectability and that individuals are forced to repress (or sublimate) the libidinous and
aggressive drives. These repressed desires, however, emerge in dreams and in art. The
artist and the dreamer are both creators; both have a need to express themselves by
creating beautiful or terrifying images and narratives. But the lust and aggression may
not be represented directly. This leads to the use of symbols and subtexts in dreams and
literature.
The Tripartite Psyche

Freud developed his psychoanalytic theory around three principles: the ego, the
id, and the superego. The ego is conscious and represents the part of the mind that
interacts with the environment and with other people in social situations. As the
conscious waking self, the ego is the reasonable, sane, and mature aspect of the mind
capable of mastering impulses and dealing effectively with the stresses of daily life.
Common parlance may show disrespect for the "big ego," but for Freud the supercilious
attitude denoted by this phrase would, paradoxically, be an indication - of a weak ego.
The id is unconscious and is comprised of the basic drives of hunger, thirst, pleasure, and
aggression. The id is removed from reality, that is, from the outer world of society and
environment. The id is the mind of the infant, demanding instant gratification, incapable
of tolerating the delayed gratification that makes the ego socially acceptable. At first,
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Freud thought that the id had only one principle, the pleasure principle, also known as the
libido or sex drive. However, he found he could not account for aggression, violence, and
self-destructiveness without postulating a second principle, the aggressive drive, also
known as the death wish. The superego is the final part of the tripartite psyche.
Representing parentally instilled moral attitudes, the superego may seem to be like the
conscience. Like the id, however, the superego is largely unconscious. Sometimes the
superego is thought to represent an idealized image (ego-ideal) towards which the ego
strives. During the normal course of development, an individual gains in ego strength
and is able to master basic drives and mediate the demands of the id, the superego, and
the environment
Many works of literature contain characters who embody mental forces. Some of
these works were written long before Freud formalized his psychological theory. Three
famous works of Victorian literature were published at about the time Freud was
developing his ideas: Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891), Robert Louis
Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886), and Joseph Conrad's "The Secret Sharer"
(1912). Probably the most notorious id character ever created, Mr. Hyde incarnates the
aggressive drive of the unconscious; however, Dr. Jekyll makes it clear in his statement
of the case that he admired Hyde's tremendous love of life. In a similar way, the captain
in Conrad's story recognizes that Leggatt has killed a man, but he allows Leggatt to swim
to a nearby island because he admires the freedom and self-possession of Leggatt. Both
Dr. Jekyll and the captain live in L-shaped dwellings: like Freud's iceberg, part of the
dwelling is seen and part remains hidden. Wilde's Dorian Gray resorts to hiding his
portrait (which shows his moral state) in the attic. In each of these works, an ego
character must mediate between the social environment and the desires of the id
character. The id is not so much immoral as amoral. It is the way in which the ego
character deals with the drives of the id that constitutes the moral action of the story.
The Oedipus Complex

In Greek myth, Oedipus was a king of Thebes who, having been abandoned in
childhood and consequently ignorant of his own identity, unknowingly killed his father
and married his mother. In describing the psychosexual development of children, Freud
analyzed the powerful feelings that develop between mother and son. Freud believed that
boys develop strong attractions to their mothers during the phallic period (3-6), with a
corresponding rivalry developing between the boy and his father. Usually these conflicts
are resolved as the boy matures and develops love interests outside the home, but some
neuroses of adult life are supposed to result from insufficiently resolved Oedipal
conflicts.
The Oedipus Complex has been very controversial and some psychoanalysts have
modified or rejected it. Alfred Adler (1870-1937), one of Freud's pupils, reinterpreted the
Oedipus Complex when he developed his own theory of the Inferiority Complex. Adler
believed that the primary motivation for human beings is not the libido, as Freud had
posited, but the will to power. For Adler, then, the Oedipus Complex is essentially a
power struggle between the boy and the father, in which the boy tries to overcome
feelings of inferiority by successfully capturing the mother's attention. Adler also coined
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the term masculine protest to refer to the rebellion of by young women (and some young
men) against the inferior status that women have in many societies. Masculine protest
consists of aggressive behavior towards others in an attempt to allay feelings of
inferiority.
Writers were interested in the powerful conflicts that arise in families long before
Freud, but writers of the twentieth century exploring these conflicts in their works will be
labeled Freudian whether they acknowledge the influence of Freud or not. D.H.
Lawrence's Sons and Lovers explores the influence of a possessive mother on her sons;
the same author's story " The Rocking- Horse Winner" depicts a boy who believes he can
win his mother's love by being lucky in gambling on racehorses. Frank O'Connor's "My
Oedipus Complex" is a humorous treatment of Freud's ideas. The same author's
"Masculine Protest" makes use of the Adlerian notion of the inferiority complex.
The literature of the past has been reexamined in the light of psychoanalysis.
Freud himself started this trend when he named a complex after Oedipus: this
reinterpreted the play. In fact, the play was profoundly psychological in its original
conception. Oedipus goes to Delphi and receives, prophecies from the gods: what better
way to express the working of the unconscious? Jocasta tells Oedipus that many men
have dreamed of sleeping with their mothers: dreams do reveal unconscious desires.
Finally, having sorted out his identity, Oedipus, analyst and patient in one paradoxical
person, blinds himself and leaves the stage to wander the world, a sadder and a wiser
man.
Since the late 1940s Shakespeare's Hamlet has been interpreted as having an
Oedipal Complex. He expresses love for his mother, and seems obsessed by the idea of
Claudius and Gertrude sleeping together. His jealousy and aggression towards Claudius
are overt. Of course, c Claudius is not Hamlet's father but his stepfather. Hamlet
idealizes and adores his real father. These facts do not deter the psychological
interpreters. Perhaps the concept of masculine protest is as, applicable to the playas the
Oedipal conflict. Hamlet feels that Gertrude is weak; worse, he feels implicated in her
weakness. Much of the play dwells on Hamlet's feelings of weakness and inferiority, and
his aggressive behavior at the end may be interpreted as masculine protest.
Poets, dreamers, and madmen all tap the fountainhead of the unconscious, the
source not only of aggressions and desires but of the will to live. The psychological
approach to literature delves into the symbolic fictions that arise from the primordial
springs of the imagination and attempts to explain them to the rational, waking selves
who inhabit the daylight world.
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(article two)
Psychological Approach
Definition:
Psychological critics view works through the lens of psychology. They look either
at the psychological motivations of the characters or of the authors themselves, although
the former is generally considered a more respectable approach. Most frequently,
psychological critics apply Freudian psychology to works, but other approaches (such as
a Jungian approach) also exist.
Freudian Approach:
A Freudian approach often includes pinpointing the influences of a character's id
(the instinctual, pleasure seeking part of the mind), superego (the part of the mind that
represses the id's impulses) and the ego (the part of the mind that controls but does not
repress the id's impulses, releasing them in a healthy way). Freudian critics like to point
out the sexual implications of symbols and imagery, since Freud's believed that all human
behavior is motivated by sexuality. They tend to see concave images, such as ponds,
flowers, cups, and caves as female symbols; whereas objects that are longer than they are
wide are usually seen as phallic symbols. Dancing, riding, and flying are associated with
sexual pleasure. Water is usually associated with birth, the female principle, the maternal,
the womb, and the death wish. Freudian critics occasionally discern the presence of an
Oedipus complex (a boy's unconscious rivalry with his father for the love of his mother)
in the male characters of certain works, such as Hamlet. They may also refer to Freud's
psychology of child development, which includes the oral stage, the anal stage, and the
genital stage.
Jungian Approach:
Jung is also an influential force in myth (archetypal) criticism. Psychological
critics are generally concerned with his concept of the process of individuation (the
process of discovering what makes one different form everyone else). Jung labeled three
parts of the self: the shadow, or the darker, unconscious self (usually the villain in
literature); the persona, or a man's social personality (usually the hero); and the anima,
or a man's "soul image" (usually the heroine). A neurosis occurs when someone fails to
assimilate one of these unconscious components into his conscious and projects it on
someone else. The persona must be flexible and be able to balance the components of the
psyche.
Practitioners:
Ernest Jones, Otto Rank, Marie Boaparte, and others
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Advantages:
It can be a useful tool for understanding some works, such as Henry James The
Turning of the Screw, in which characters obviously have psychological issues. Like the
biographical approach, knowing something about a writer's psychological make up can
give us insight into his work.
Disadvantages:
Psychological criticism can turn a work into little more than a psychological case
study, neglecting to view it as a piece of art. Critics sometimes attempt to diagnose long
dead authors based on their works, which is perhaps not the best evidence of their
psychology. Critics tend to see sex in everything, exaggerating this aspect of literature.
Finally, some works do not lend themselves readily to this approach.
Examples:
(1) A psychological approach to John Milton's Samson Agonisties might suggest that the
shorning of Samson's locks is symbolic of his castration at the hands of Dalila and that
the fighting words he exchanges with Harapha constitute a reassertion of his manhood.
Psychological critics might see Samson's bondage as a symbol of his sexual impotency,
and his destruction of the Philistine temple and the killing of himself and many others as
a final orgasmic event (since death and sex are often closely associated in Freudian
psychology). The total absence of Samson's mother in Samson Agonisties would make it
difficult to argue anything regarding the Oedipus complex, but Samson refusal to be
cared for by his father and his remorse over failing to rule Dalila may be seen as
indicative of his own fears regarding his sexuality.
(2) A psychological approach to "The Silence of the Llano" would allow us to look into
the motivations of Rafael--it would allow us to examine the effects of isolation and
loneliness on his character and provide some reasoning for why he might chose to
establish an incestuous relationship with his daughter. A specifically Freudian approach
will tune us in to the relevant symbolism which will enable us to better understand the
conclusion. For instance, with such a mind frame, we can immediately recognize that
Rafael's statement to his daughter "I will turn the earth for you. The seeds will grow" is
the establishment of a sexual relationship that will result in children. We can see the
water in which she bathes as symbolic of that birth that is to come.
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8. The Sociological Approach

Sociological criticism focuses on the relationship between literature and society.
Literature is always produced in a social context. Writers may affirm or criticize the
values of the society in which they live, but they write for an audience and that audience
is society. Through the ages the writer has performed the functions of priest, prophet and
entertainer: all of these are important social roles. The social function of literature is the
domain of the sociological critic.
Even works of literature that do not deal overtly with social issues may have
social issues as subtexts. The sociological critic is interested not only in the stated
themes of literature, but also in the latent themes. Like the historical critic, the
sociological critic attempts to understand the writer's environment as an important
element in the writer's work. Like the moral critic, the sociological critic usually has
certain values by which he or she judges literary work.
Marxist Criticism
One of the most important forms of sociological criticism is Marxist criticism.
Karl Marx (1818-1883) developed a theory of society, politics, and economics called
dialectical materialism. Writing in the nineteenth century, Marx criticized the
exploitation of the working classes, or proletariat, by the capitalist classes who owned the
mines, factories, and other resources of national economies. Marx believed that history
was the story of class struggles and that the goal of history was a classless society in
which all people would share the wealth equally. This classless society could only come
about as a result of a revolution that would overthrow the capitalist domination of the
economy.
Central to Marx's understanding of society is the concept of ideology. As an
economic determinist, Marx thought that the system of production was the most basic
fact in social life. Workers created the value of manufactured goods, but owners of the
factories reaped most of the economic rewards. In order to justify and rationalize this
inequity, a system of understandings or ideology was created, for the most part
unconsciously. Capitalists justified their taking the lion's share of the rewards by
presenting themselves as better people, more intelligent, more refined, more ethical that
the workers. Since literature is consumed, for the most part, by the middle classes, it
tends to support capitalist ideology, at least in countries where that ideology is dominant.
Marxist critics interpret literature in terms of ideology. Writers who sympathize
with the working classes and their struggle are regarded favorably. Writers who support
the ideology of the dominant classes are condemned. Naturally, critics of the Marxist
school differ in breadth and sympathy the way other critics do. As a result, some Marxist
interpretations are more subtle than others. Take the Marxist approach to Shakespeare's
The Tempest for example. The standard Marxist party line would be to interpret Prospero
as the representative of European imperialism. Prospero has come to the island from
Italy. He has used his magic (perhaps a symbol of technology) to enslave Caliban, a
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native of the island. Caliban resents being the servant of Prospero and attempts to rebel
against his authority. Since Prospero is presented in a favorable light, the Marxist critic
might condemn Shakespeare as being a supporter of European capitalist ideology. A
more subtle Marxist critic might see that the play has far more complexity, and that
Caliban has been invested with a vitality that makes it possible for audiences to
sympathize with him. Certainly, the Marxist view of the play brings out ideas that might
be overlooked by other kinds of critics and, thus, contributes to the understanding of the
play.
Sociological criticism, then, reflects the way literature interacts with society.
Sociological critics show us how literature can function as a mirror to reflect social
realities and as a lamp to inspire social ideals.
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9. Feminist Approach
Definition:
Feminist criticism is concerned with the impact of gender on writing and reading.
It usually begins with a critique of patriarchal culture. It is concerned with the place of
female writers in the cannon. Finally, it includes a search for a feminine theory or
approach to texts. Feminist criticism is political and often revisionist. Feminists often
argue that male fears are portrayed through female characters. They may argue that
gender determines everything, or just the opposite: that all gender differences are
imposed by society, and gender determines nothing.
Elaine Showalter's Theory:
In A Literature of Their Own, Elaine Showalter argued that literary subcultures all
go through three major phases of development. For literature by or about women, she
labels these stages the Feminine, Feminist, and Female:
(1) Feminine Stage - involves "imitation of the prevailing modes of the dominant
tradition" and "internalization of its standards."
(2) Feminist Stage - involves "protest against these standards and values and advocacy of
minority rights...."
(3) Female Stage - this is the "phase of self-discovery, a turning inwards freed from some
of the dependency of opposition, a search for identity."
Practitioners:
Ellen Mores, Sandra Gilbert, Elaine Showalter, Nina Baym, etc.
Advantages:
Women have been somewhat underrepresented in the traditional cannon, and a
feminist approach to literature redresses this problem.
Disadvantages:
Feminist turn literary criticism into a political battlefield and overlook the merits
of works they consider "patriarchal." When arguing for a distinct feminine writing style,
they tend to relegate women's literature to a ghetto status; this in turn prevents female
literature from being naturally included in the literary cannon. The feminist approach is
often too theoretical.
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Example:
Showalter's three stages of feminine, feminist, and female are identifiable in the
life of Clefilas in Sandra Cisneros's "Woman Hollering Creek."
Clefilas begins to internalize the paternalistic values of the society in which she
lives at least as early as the ice house scene. She "accompanies her husband," as is
expected of her (48). Since women should be seen and not heard in a paternalistic
society, she "sits mute beside their conversation" (48). She goes through all of the
motions that are expected of her, laughing "at the appropriate moments" (48). She
submits, if unhappily, to the rule of her husband, "this man, this father, this rival, this
keeper, this lord, this master, this husband till kingdom come" (49).
Yet Clefilas gradually begins to emerge from the feminine stage into the feminist
stage, where she begins to revolt and advocate for her own rights. It begins with "[a]
doubt. Slender as a hair" (50). When she returns from the hospital with her new son,
something seems different. "No. Her imagination. The house was the same as always.
Nothing" (50). This is true because the house is not different; it is Clefilas who has
begun to change. Perhaps giving birth to a child has made her aware of the power and
importance women possess. She begins to think of returning home, but is not ready for
the possibility yet. It would be "a disgrace" (50). She begins to internally protest against
the society, thinking about the town "with its silly pride for a bronze pecan" and the fact
that there is "nothing, nothing, nothing of interest" (50). The patriarchal society, with its
ice house, city hall, liquor stores, and bail bonds is of no interest to her. She is upset that
the town is built so that "you have to depend on husbands" (51). Though her husband
says she is "exaggerating," she seems to be becoming convinced that her society is a bad
one, where men kill their wives with impunity. "It seemed the newspapers were full of
such stories. This woman found on the side of the interstate. This one pushed from a
moving car . . ." (52). Although she does nothing when he throws a book at her, Clefilas
does (if only meekly) insist that he take her to the doctor. And there she solidifies her
internal rebellion with actions: she leaves her husband with Felice to return to Mexico.
Felice is actually more representative of the third, female, stage than Clefilas,
but the fact that Clefilas enjoys her company suggests that when she returns to Mexico,
she may seek to enter that third stage herself. Felice is not phalocentric--she is not
interested in revolting against men, she simply does not need them. She doesn't have a
husband and she owns her own car. "The pickup was hers. She herself had chosen it. She
herself was paying for it" (55). Felice is most likely a part of a community of women; she
is certainly friends with the nurse Graciela. Clefilas is attracted to Felice, who "was like
no woman she'd ever met" (55). At home, in Mexico, Clefilas recounts the story of
Felice's yelling when they crossed the creek. "Just like that. Who would've thought?"
(56). Clefilas seems to have enjoyed her company and has kept the experience in her
mind. Felice's laughter, "gurgling out of her own throat, a long ribbon of laughter, like
water" suggests that Felice had completed the self-discovery stage. (Water is often
symbolic of rebirth.) Clefilas has witnessed the third stage in Felice, and it is up to her
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whether she will enter it or regress to the feminine stage and internalize the paternalistic
values of her father and brothers with whom she is now living.
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10. Reader Response Criticism
Definition:
Reader response criticism analyzes the reader's role in the production of meaning.
It lies at the opposite end of the spectrum from formalistic criticism. In reader response
criticism, the text itself has no meaning until it is read by a reader. The reader creates the
meaning. This criticism can take into account the strategies employed by the author to
elicit a certain response from readers. It denies the possibility that works are universal
(i.e. that they will always mean more or less the same thing to readers everywhere).
Norman Holland argues that "each reader will impose his or her 'identity theme' on the
text, to a large extent recreating that text in the reader's image." Therefore, we can
understand someone's reading as a function of personal identity.
Practitioners:
I.A. Richards, Louise Rosenblatt, Walter Gibson, Norman Holland, and others.
Advantages:
It recognizes that different people view works differently, and that people's
interpretations change over time.
Disadvantages:
Reader Response criticism tends to make interpretation too subjective. It does not
provide adequate criteria for evaluating one reading in comparison to another.
Example:
For instance, in reading the parable of the prodigal son in the New Testament,
different readers are likely to have different responses. Someone who has lived a fairly
straight and narrow life and who does not feel like he has been rewarded for it is likely to
associate with the older brother of the parable and sympathize with his opposition to the
celebration over the prodigal son's return. Someone with a more checkered past would
probably approach the parable with more sympathy for the younger brother. A parent
who had had difficulties with a rebellious child would probably focus on the father, and,
depending on his or her experience, might see the father's unconditional acceptance of the
prodigal as either good and merciful or as unwise and overindulgent. While the parable
might disturb some, it could elicit a feeling of relief from others, which, presumably, is
what Christ intended it to do, and a more skillful critic might be able to analyze the
strategies Christ employed to elicit those responses.
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Miscellaneous
Aristotle (Augustine) - reality in concrete substance vs. Plato (Aquinas) - reality in
abstract ideal forms
dramatic unities - rules governing classical dramas requiring the unity of action, time,
and place (The idea was based on a Renaissance misinterpretation of passages in
Aristotle's Poetic.)
pathetic fallacy - Ruskin - attributing human traits to nonhuman objects
fancy - Coleridge -- combining several known properties into new combinations
imagination - using known properties to create a whole that is entirely new
Pater: Aesthetic experience permits the greatest intensification of each moment - "Of
such wisdom, the poetic passion, the desire of beauty, the love of art for its own sake, has
most."
Longinus: emphasis on greatness of sentiments - the sublime
Goethe: "The poet makes himself a seer by a long, prodigious, and rational disordering
of all the senses."
Howells: "Our novelists..concern themselves with the more smiling aspect of life, which
are the more American." also "When man is at his very best, he is a sort of low grade
nickel-plated angel."
Morris: "Art was once the common possession of the whole people..today..art is only
enjoyed...by comparatively few persons...the rich and the parasites that minister to them."
Sweetness and Light: Delight and Instruction (in reference to the Ancients)
Newman: "I say that a cultivated intellect, because it is a good in itself, brings with it a
power and a grace to every work."
Other Approaches
Structuralism: Structuralists view literature as a system of signs. They try to make plain
the organizational codes that they believe regulate all literature. The most famous
practitioner is Michael Foucault.
Deconstruction: This approach assumes that language does not refer to any external
reality. It can assert several, contradictory interpretations of one text. Deconstructionists
make interpretations based on the political or social implications of language rather than
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examining an author's intention. Jacques Derrida was the founder of this school of
criticism.
Sources and Further Reading
Guerin, Wilfred L., et al. A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature. Oxford:
OxfordUP,1992.This resource is a superb overview of the major schools of literary
criticism. After providing a history and explanation of each method, Guerin provides
multiple applications to works of literature. The handbook is thorough, but not overly
technical.
EncyclopediaofLiterature.Phillipines:Merriam-Webster,1995.Merriam-Webster's
encyclopedia is one of the most affordable literature references on the market. Although
it can not be completely exhaustive, the encyclopedia provides entries on most major
works and authors, as well as literary terms. Entries are available for the major schools of
criticism. Numerous pictures are included.
Glossary
abstruse:
difficult to understand; abstract
Adlerian:
of, or relating to, the pschological theories of Alfred Adler ( 1870 1937) stressing the will to power as the primary human motivation
aesthetics:
the philosophical study of beauty and the arts
amoral:
without a sense of morality
anagnorisis:
the moment of revelation at the end of a tragedy
antithesis:
polar opposite
artifact:
an object made by human beings for an intended use
criterion:
a standard or guideline for evaluation
deconstruction:
a literary approach that seeks to undermine the notion that a literary

text has a fixed meaning
ego:
the Freudian term for the conscious, waking self
epiphany:
a sudden moment of clarity or recognition
existentialism:
philosophy stressing the radical freedom of the individual;

according to this philosophy human life has no meaning except
that created by individuals
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expressive theory:
the idea that a work of art emanates from the experience and
imagination of the artist
extrinsic:
exterior; approaches to criticism that depend upon non-literary

criteria
Freudian:
of, or pertaining to, the psychological theories of Sigmund Freud

(1856-1939) stressing the libido as the primary human motivation
hamartia:
a flaw in character resulting in moral blindness
hubris:
arrogant pride which leads to a fall
id:
the aspect of the unconscious mind that encompasses the libido and
aggressive drive
ideology:
intrinsic system of understandings which may be conscious or
unconscious
inferiority complex: lack of self -esteem deriving from feelings of powerlessness
integrity:
wholeness; the parts of a literary work are assumed by New Critics

to constitute a meaningful whole
intentional fallacy: the theory that an author's purpose in creating a work is irrelevant
to the interpretation of the work
intrinsic:
literary criteria
interior; the formalist approach to criticism emphasizes purely
irony:
a technique in which the expected is subverted by the unexpected
libido:
Freudian term for the pleasure principle or sexual drive
mimetic theory:
the idea that a work of art imitates life
modernism:
literary movement of the first half of the twentieth century

characterized by experimentalism and anxiety
New Criticism:
a twentieth century formalistic approach emphasizing organicism,

irony, and tension
objective theory:
the idea that a work of art is to be analyzed by intrinsic criteria
Oedipus Complex: the Freudian idea that young boys have libidinous feelings for their
mothers with corresponding feelings of guilt and aggression for
their fathers
organicism:
the New Critical idea of the work of art as a unity that transcends
the sum of its parts
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pathetic fallacy:
the New Critical rejection of effect on the audience as a criterion

for evaluation
postmodernism:
the literary period since 1950 characterized by decentralization,

skepticism and parody
pragmatic theory:
the idea that the rhetorical effect of a work on the audience is the
central criterion for evaluation
roman a clef:
[Fr. novel with a key] a novel in which the characters are based on
real people whose names have been changed
superego:
aspect of psyche that incorporates parentally-instilled morals
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Works Cited
Guerin, Wilfred L.,et al. A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature. 3rd. ed. New
York: Oxford UP, 1992.
Lynn, Steven. Texts and Contexts. New York: Harper Collins, 1994.
Meyer, Michael, ed. The Bedford Introduction to Literature. New York: St. Martins,
1994.
37

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Literary Research

A. What is Literary Criticism?

B. The Purpose of Criticism:

C. History of literary criticism

Classical and medieval criticism

D. Literary Approaches / Criticism

1. The Formalistic Approach

external form - rhyme scheme, meter, stanza form, etc.

2. Historical and Biographical Approaches

3. The Archetypal Approach

Culture Founder, Trickster, Witch

6. The Philosophical Approach

7. The Psychological Approach

The Tripartite Psyche

The Oedipus Complex

8. The Sociological Approach

10. Reader Response Criticism

difficult to understand; abstract

the philosophical study of beauty and the arts

without a sense of morality

the moment of revelation at the end of a tragedy

an object made by human beings for an intended use

a standard or guideline for evaluation

a literary approach that seeks to undermine the notion that a literary

the Freudian term for the conscious, waking self

a sudden moment of clarity or recognition

philosophy stressing the radical freedom of the individual;

exterior; approaches to criticism that depend upon non-literary

of, or pertaining to, the psychological theories of Sigmund Freud

a flaw in character resulting in moral blindness

arrogant pride which leads to a fall

wholeness; the parts of a literary work are assumed by New Critics

interior; the formalist approach to criticism emphasizes purely

a technique in which the expected is subverted by the unexpected

Freudian term for the pleasure principle or sexual drive

the idea that a work of art imitates life

literary movement of the first half of the twentieth century

a twentieth century formalistic approach emphasizing organicism,

the idea that a work of art is to be analyzed by intrinsic criteria

the New Critical rejection of effect on the audience as a criterion

the literary period since 1950 characterized by decentralization,

aspect of psyche that incorporates parentally-instilled morals

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