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Lecture 1

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Fatima Al-hakim
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13 views

Lecture 1

Uploaded by

Fatima Al-hakim
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Literary Theory and

Criticism
FIRST LECTURE
The Nature of Literary Theory and
Criticism 1
 Prior to the 20th century, the investigation of the
nature and value of literature had had a long
history.
 From Plato and Aristotle to figures as Sir Philip
Sidney, John Dryden, Samuel Johnson, William
Wordsworth, and Matthew Arnold.
 evaluation, not interpretation
 In The Republic, Plato condemned all literature
because it stirs up the passions—lust, desire,
pain, anger—rather than nurtures the intellect.
The Nature of Literary Theory and
Criticism 2
 Modern literary theory emerged in Europe during
the 19th century and gained momentum in the 20th
century.

 It is the body of ideas and methods used in the


practical reading of literature.

 It is a description of the principles by which we


attempt to understand literature.
Relationship between Literary
Theory and Literary Criticism 1
 The 20th century (the age of criticism):
many critical movements plus the enthusiasm
with which many critics practised the art.
 Marxism, structuralism, formalism,
psychoanalysis, deconstruction and post-colonial
critical studies.
 I.A. Richards, T. S Eliot, William Empson,
Christopher Caudwell, John Crowe, Allen Tate,
Ezra Pound, Wayne Booth and Henry James etc..
Relationship between Literary
Theory and Literary Criticism 2
 The study of literature requires knowledge of
contexts as well as of texts. What kind of person
wrote the poem, the play, the novel, the essay?
What forces acted upon them as they wrote. What
was the historical, the political, the philosophical,
the economic, the cultural background, etc?
 Theories are to interpret and evaluate literature
with revealing the in-depth implications of such
works.
The ‘Complexity’of Literary
Theory and Criticism 1
 Why should we bother to learn about literary or
critical theories?
 Is it really worth the trouble?
 Will all the abstract concepts not interfere with
one’s natural and personal interpretations of
literature?
 Some complain that literary theory is esoteric; an
arcane, elitist enclave (nuclear physics).
 Some protest that literary theory 'gets in between
the reader and the work'.
The ‘Complexity’of Literary
Theory and Criticism 2
 Theory can often be intimidating or frankly, boring.
 Literary theory and criticism aim to explain, entertain,
stimulate and challenge the student of literature.
 Literary theory and criticism make literature refreshing,
informative and stimulating.
 Help us to achieve a better understanding of literature,
ourselves, and the world we live in.
 Strengthen our ability to think logically and creatively.
 Emerged from other areas of the humanities and have
implications well beyond literature itself.
Literary Theory vs.Literary
Criticism
 refers to a set of principles evolved for the
evaluation of works of literature.
 is an indispensable tool which critics use to realise
the goal of educating the audience.
 literary criticism is the application of critical
theory to a literary text.
 Literary criticism deals with analysing,
classifying, expounding and evaluating a work of
art in order to form one’s opinion.
some questions to be asked by a
student of literary criticism
 Am I reading a literary text in order to measure
how accurate its representation of reality is?
 Am I reading a literary text for insights into the
life and mind of its writer?
 As the reader, is my role passive or active?
 Is meaning simply ‘found’ in a literary text or is it
‘constructed’ or ‘produced’ by the reader?
Literary Criticism
 ‘To criticise’, etymologically, means ‘to analyse’
and later, ‘to judge’.
 The terms critic and literary criticism do not
necessarily imply finding fault with literary works.
 Critics tend to find flaws in one another’s
interpretations more than in literary works.
 Literary criticism tries to explain the literary work
to us: its production, its meaning, its design, its
beauty.
Literary Criticism
 There is no single meaning waiting to be simply
found in any text. Meaning is, rather, produced;
that is, it is a function of the different interpretative
strategies which various readers bring to bear
upon a text.
 Literary criticism refers to the analysis and
judgment of works of literature.
 The ‘answers’ you get from a text depend entirely
upon the kind of ‘questions’ you put to it.

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