PRESTWICK HOUSE,

INC.

INTRODUCTION TO
Literary Theory
 Table of Contents

Introduction to
Literary Theory
• 3 ..................................................Introduction

• 22
........................................... Feminist Theory

• 64
............................................. Marxist Theory

• 105 ................ Psychoanalytic or Freudian Theory

• 153 ................ Mythological or Archetypal Theory

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248 ..........................................New Historicism
 What is Literature?

Stories, poems and plays, especially those that

are considered to have value as art and not just as
entertainment” (Macmillan Dictionary)

A text where one of the six features of

communication (message, sender, receiver,
context, contact, code) loses its simplicity and
becomes multiple, ambiguous (Robert Scholes,
Semiotics and Interpretation)

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 Introduction
What is literary or critical theory?
What do you mean by “critical perspective”?

The terms “literary theory” and “critical

theory” refer to essentially the same fields
of study. They both address ways of
looking at literature beyond the typical
plot-theme- character-setting studies.

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 The literary work in relation to:

• UNIVERSE

• WORK OF ART

• AUTHOR AUDIENCE
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 The literary work in relation to:

 Work of art – universe:

How art reflects / mirrors / represents the world
e.g., realism (or the effect of the real)

 Work of art – artist:

How the artist creates, what it is the artist expresses

 Work of art – audience

What effect the work of art has / should have

 Work of art – in itself:

What it is like (formal, structural analyses)

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 Introduction

What are the benefits of studying a work from more

than one critical perspective?
There are several benefits:
• One of the views is likely to affirm your
perspective and speak to what you see in the
literature you are studying.
• Studying a work from more than one view gives you a
deeper understanding of the author’s work and a
better appreciation for the richness of it.

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 Introduction
What are the most common or popular critical
theories?
This presentation will introduce you to the following
critical theories:
• Feminist
• Marxist
• Psychoanalytic or Freudian
• Archetypal or Mythological
• New Historicism
• Formalism

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 Feminist Theory

• Realizes cultural and economic

problems in a “male-controlled”
society

• Realizes issues that have

hindered or prevented women
from achievement

• Recognizes that society sees

women as “other” to man

• The concepts of “gender” are

cultural constructs

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 Feminist Theory
Three main areas of study and points of criticism exist in
the Feminist Theory:
1. differences between men and women
2. women in positions of power and power dynamics
between men and women
3. the female experience

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 Feminist Theory
Examining “Cinderella” from a
Feminist Perspective
• Consider the potentially misogynist theme
of abused-girl-waiting-to-be-rescued-by-
prince.
• Consider the values conveyed in the portrayal
of the “good girl” as physically beautiful and
the “wicked girls” as physically ugly.

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Marxist Theory

• Marx argued that capitalism,

like previous socioeconomic
systems, will produce internal
tensions which will lead to its
destruction

• Marx believed that groups of

people that owned and
controlled major industries
could exploit the rest of the
population by forcing their own
values and beliefs onto other
social groups

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 Marxist Theory
Four main areas of study:
• economic power
• materialism versus
spirituality
• class conflict
• art, literature, and ideologies

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 How to Use Marxist Theory

• Focus on power and

money in the literature

• Who has the power or

money?

• Who does not?

• What happens as a
result?

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 Marxist Theory
Examining “Cinderella” from a
Marxist Perspective
Consider Cinderella as a representative of the
proletariat:
• oppressed by her bourgeoisie stepmother and
stepsisters, who have stolen her rightful
inheritance and turned her into a servant in her
own home;
• desiring to join the ranks of the bourgeoisie by
marrying the prince.

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103
 Psychoanalytic or Freudian Theory

• According to Freud, our personality develops from the interactions

among what he proposed as the three fundamental structures of
the human mind: the id, ego, and superego.

• Conflicts among these three structures, and our efforts to find

balance among what each of them “desires,” determines how we
behave and approach the world.

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 Psychoanalytic or Freudian Theory
Main areas of study/points of criticism of the first
view are:
There are strong connotations in Freudian theory:
• the son’s desire for his mother
• the father’s envy of the son and rivalry for
the mother’s attention
• the daughter’s desire for her father
• the mother’s envy of the daughter and rivalry
for the father’s attention.
Of course, these all operate on a subconscious level
to avoid violating serious social mores.
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113
 Psychoanalytic or Freudian Theory
Examining “Cinderella” from a
Psychoanalytic Perspective
• Consider Cinderella as a representative of the
id
—expressing desire.
• Consider the stepmother and stepsisters as
representatives of the superego—preventing the
id from fulfilling its desire.
• Consider the fairy godmother and the prince as
representatives of the ego—negotiating between
the id and the superego and allowing the desires
of the id to be fulfilled in a socially acceptable
manner. 18
150
 Mythological or Archetypal Criticism

• Archetypes are
universal symbols that
appear in literature,
myth, dreams, oral
tradition, songs, etc.

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 Mythological or Archetypal Theory
Three main points of study:

1. archetypal characters
2. archetypal images
3. archetypal situations

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 Examples of Archetypes

• Images such as:

• water
• sun
• certain colors or numbers
• circles
• the serpent
• garden
• tree
• desert

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 Mythological or Archetypal Theory
Examining “Cinderella” from an
Archetypal Perspective

• Examine the stepmother and stepsisters as

archetypal villains.
• Examine the chores Cinderella must complete
(especially involving the beans in the fireplace in
Grimm version) as the archetypal catalogue of
difficult tasks.

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247
 New Historical Criticism

• New Historicism seeks to find meaning in a text by

considering the work within the framework of the ideas
and assumptions of its historical era

• Concerned with the political function of literature and

with the concept of power

• Focused on revealing the historically specific model of

truth and authority (not a "truth" but a "cultural
construct") reflected in a given work.

• Literature will tell us about ways of thinking at the time:

ideas of social organization, prejudices, taboos, etc.

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 N e w Historicism
Main areas of study/points of criticism:
Traditional history is, by its nature, a subjective
narrative, usually told from the point of view of
the powerful.
• The losers of history do not have the means to
write their stories, nor is there usually an
audience interested in hearing them. Most
cultures, once dominated by another, are forced
to forget their past.
• To maintain its sovereignty, the culture of power
simply does not allow the defeated culture to
be remembered.
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 N e w Historicism
Examining “Cinderella” from a New
Historicist Perspective
• What can we infer about the society in which
this story—considering, especially, the violence
and vengeance in the Grimm version—would
evolve and be told to young children?
• What can we infer about property and
inheritance laws in the society in which
“Cinderella” evolved? What can we infer
about the society’s view of royalty and
monarchic power?

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Formalist Criticism

• Scientific “examination”
of texts

• Focus on literary
elements

• Analyze: setting,
character, plot, theme,
imagery, irony, etc.

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 Formalism
Three main areas of study:
1. form and unity
2. diction
3. incongruities or inconsistencies

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 Formalism
Examining “Cinderella” from a
Formalist Perspective
• Look for symbolic, or some other, significance for
the specific items and animals chosen (for the
coach and staff) and/or the numbers of each
chosen.
• Compare the speech patterns of Cinderella and
the stepmother and stepsisters. Are there
noticeable differences in cadence? Do any use
more (or less) figurative or poetic language than
the others? Do any speak noticeably more (or
less) than the others?
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 Reader Response

• Making a connection
between your
experiences and the text

• Literature has no
objective meaning
• A reader brings their own
thoughts and
experiences

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 Reader Response

• For Example:

• Connect the literature to your life

• Connect the literature to current events

• Discuss how the literature makes you

feel

• Compare the literature to the way you

view the world

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Thank you