Literary Criticism

4. Literary Criticism Mr. Ritenour English 10

5. What is Literary Criticism? • Literary Criticism is a method of filtering a story’s message or theme via a specific point of view or frame of reference.

6. Why does it matter? • Literary critics typically have put a lot of thought and research into the novels, stories, and poems that they have written about. Reading their comments can spark ideas of your own, help reveal hidden messages and themes, and increase your overall comprehension of a story. Plus, they are needed for more advanced research papers.

7. What makes somebody a literary critic? • Any Tom, Dick, or Jane has their own opinion on something, so what stops their opinion from being literary criticism? • Technically, nothing. • However, true literary criticism is able to draw strong support from the actual text to justify the interpretation it presents, as well as from other literary critics.

8. What are the types of literary criticism? • There are many different types of literary criticism out there, but generally speaking, there are five primary forms of literary criticism: • Marxist • Feminist • Psycho Analysis • Historical • Genre

9. Marxist Criticism • Derived from the teachings of Karl Marx. • Focuses on issues affecting the lower class and economical struggles. • Marxist critics are not pro-Marx, they simply look for socialist themes in literature.

10. Feminist Criticism • Looks at issues of gender equality and rights within literature. • Concerned with how the role of the sexes is portrayed in literature. • Gained prominence in the time of women’s suffrage.

11. Psychoanalysis • Paging Dr. Freud . . . A method of trying to get into the heads of the main characters and authors by looking at their actions and the symbols contained within a story. • Uses psychological interpretations and beliefs, most of which are derived from Freudian or Jungian psychology. • Will often times look at the character’s actions as hints of what the author thought in his subconscious.

12. Psychoanalysis cont. • Much of the Freudian theory was built around the concepts of Id, Ego, or Superego. • Sex was also considered to be a primary motivator of action according to Freudian psychology and is often analyzed in literature by critics using this method.

13. Historical Criticism • Based on the beliefs that all writing is inspired by, or a response to, the events that are occurring in the writers world at the time. • Historical critics will research the history of the times the author wrote in, the personal history of the author, and other documents to gain insight into the true message of literature.

14. Genre Criticism • Genre is a word that defines a particular class or style of art. • Each genre has certain rules that it must adhere too. (Romantic comedies, Hip-Hop Music, Horror flicks, etc.)

15. Genre cont. • Genre critics analyze a piece of literature through the filter of its genre, trying to see what is similar and what is different in an effort to understand the writer’s message.

16. Literary Criticism - Conclusion • These are but a few of the many different types of literary criticism that exist out there. • Not all criticism can be classified. • Multiple types of criticism can be applied to the same story and be equally valid. • Get ready to do some research!