An Introduction to Literary Criticism All information taken from: Oxford Concise Dictionary of Literary Terms (2001), M.H.

Abrams A Glossary of Literary Terms (5th edition, 1988)

What is literary criticism? Literary Criticism is the reasoned discussion of literary works, an activity which may include some or all of the following: the defence of literature against moralists and censors classification of a work according to its genre interpretation of its meaning analysis of its structure and style judgement of its worth by comparison with other works estimation of its likely effects on readers the establishment of general principles by which literary works can be evaluated and understood Contrary to the everyday sense of criticism as fault-finding, much modern criticism assumes that the works it discusses are valuable.

How has it developed? Criticism concerned with revealing the authors true motive or intention emerged from Romanticism to dominate much 19th and 20th century critical writing, but has tended to give way to objective criticism, focusing on the work itself, and a shift of attention to the reader.

What are Some Major Strands of Literary Criticism? Formal Name Significant Approximate Dates Theorists of Origination Structuralism Ferdinand de early 20th century, Saussure, Vladimir 1900-1960 Propp, Claude LeviStrauss

Main Ideas any cultural phenomenon has meaning only virtue of its contrasts with other elements of the system text is seen as an objective structure with codes and conventions which are independent of author, reader, and external meaning form of a work is emphasized in isolation from its meaning form is taken as the chief criterion of aesthetic value initially directed against Structuralism texts deconstruct themselves skeptical to the possibility of coherent meaning in language language is essentially unstable opens limitless possibilities of interpretations

Formalism

Many Russian and Czech theorists

1915

Deconstructionist

French philosopher Jaques Derrida

1967

Reader-Response

Wolfgang Iser, Stanley Fish

1978, 1980

Sociological

Mme. de Stael, Hippolyte Taine

1863-ish, France

again, many theorists saw problems with Structuralism re-directs focus from text to reader Iser sees readers as filling in the gaps of texts Fish gives an even more active role to the reader as producer of meaning examines relationship between literature and social context including patterns of literacy, kinds of audiences, modes of publication and dramatic presentation, social class position of authors and readers also concerned with author gender, age, interests, religious background, race and most recently, sexual orientation has given way to specific

branches such as Feminist Crit. Mythopoetic Northrop Frye, Robert Graves 1910-1970 much or almost all literary works can be seen as recurrances of certain archetypes and basic mythic formulas myths can be folklor or religios based (eg: Zeus or Adama and Eve) or signify any widely held fallacy such as The American Dream or The Fairy Tale