Looking Through a Variety of Lenses

1. Looking Through a Variety of Lenses Literary Criticism

2. Literary Approaches • Knowledge of different approaches to literary criticism allows for more ways to study a work of literature.

3. The most common lenses: • Formalism • Reader response • Historical/biographical • Socio-political • Psychological • Feminist

4. Formalism (New Criticism) • Formalism requires a close reading of the text without outside information. This lens requires close analysis of the work itself, zeroing in on metaphor, symbols, irony, POV, imagery, and so on. • Usually the best starting point for analysis.

5. Mimetic Approach • Looks at a work and asks how accurately it reflects the real world. • Is it moral? Is it believeable? • Are the characters realistic? • Is the work as a whole realistic? • What moral values are apparent in the work?

6. Reader Response • Very different from formalism • Denies that there is one “correct” interpretation of a work • The meaning depends on the understanding/experience, background of the reader • More limiting than formalism – but allows for flexibiltyin analysis.

7. Historical/biographical • Take into account the author’s life and times and provides a context for the work itself. • Beneficial if you have time and resources to work with. • Formalists argue that this approach lessens the value of the actual literary workwhy?

8. Socio-Political • Looks at the society in which the author writes • Looks at relationships between different classes, races, sexes, religions • Takes into account political viewpoints

9. Psychological • Looks at the literary work from the perspective of the character’s or author’s psychological motivations • Some critics argue that this approach ignores too many aspects of the work

10. Feminist • Looks at the role gender plays in the work • How does the male-dominated social system affect the work? • How does the work reflect or deny the role being played by women in the world?

11. Benefits of using various lenses: • Brings different perspectives into discussion • Opens yourself to more writing possibilities • Provides a more well-rounded understanding of the text • Provides a more “collegesque” approach to literary analysis

14. AP Test