Literary Theories in very brief summary

1. Literary Theories in very brief summary

2. Formalist Theory • Nothing outside of the text • Independent • No outside influences • All within context • analyze plot, character, setting, diction, imagery, structure, point of view, form, genre • evaluate uses of these forms • close reading of passages • emphasis on determining tension and/or ambiguity Connections to Structuralism and Deconstruction

3. Biographical Theory • knowing the life of the author reveals information in the text • author’s life influenced the text • analyze author’s experiences • analyze author’s process/struggle in writing • emphasis on author’s knowledge Connections to Psychological Theory

4. Historical Theory Old Historicism • history forms a background to the text • literary text must be read with knowledge and understanding of the time and place of its creation • analyze historical documents contemporary to the text • analyze language of text and its time

5. Historical Theory New Historicism • text is a reflection of the events, ideas, and attitudes of the time and place of the text’s creation • literary text must be read with social backgrounds and intellectual ideas of the time and place of its creation • analyze political structures of the time and place of the text’s creation • analyze values, conflicts, social events of the time and place of the text’s creation Connections to Psychological and Cultural Theories

6. Psychological Theory • text is a revelation/product of author’s mind and personality • reflection of the author’s consciousness and mental world • reflects the creative process of the author - imagination • analyze the author’s/character’s motivations and behaviors • interpret the actions of the characters • interpret the intentions of the author • evaluate the text/characters/author as you would a patient * theories tailored from whichever psychological theory preferred Queer Theory and Gender Studies • Connections to: • Psychoanalysis • Jungian symbolism Semiotics

7. Sociological Theory • social context of the time and place of texts are critical • influences of power relations within society • values and ethics of society • economics, politics, culture are reflected in text • Two major branches within this: • Marxist criticism • Feminist criticism

8. Sociological Theory Marxist Criticism • applies theory of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels to literature • subjugation, exploitation, alienation • bourgeoise versus proletariat • analyze class conflicts • evaluate politics and economics within text • evaluate power structures • acknowledge text as “product” not art form • acknowledge text as part of the revolution

9. Sociological Theory Feminist Criticism • importance of the social, economic, cultural roles of women in the text • male author’s portrayal of women, female author’s portrayal of women • acknowledge text as “agent for social transformation” or as means of maintaining patriarchal social structures • analyze female characters within the text • evaluate feminine voice(s) in the text Connections to Gender studies

10. Sociological Theory Feminist Criticism • Focus on four tenets: • Patriarchy of Western Civilization • Gender traits and roles and how they are viewed, imposed, changed • Canon of literature is “androcentric,” male-centered • Traditional analysis of literature is gender-biased in favor of the masculine

11. Reader-Response Theory • Three perspectives used: • text is a mirror for the reader • focus on the text • “temporal aspect of reading” • focus on the “space” (time and place) between the reader and the text • themes identified by the reader are unique to the reader • focus on the reader, text is background

12. Reader-Response Theory • text is different for every person, gender, culture, historical period, economic background, class, etcetera • reader’s imagination, identity, and feelings are key, but are regulated by the text • process of reading is important • evaluate your feelings and thoughts as you read a text • analyze the “triggers” in text for your feelings and thoughts • analyze tone and mood • acknowledge differing views of a text between types of readers • subjective information is equal to objective information discovered in a text

13. Mythological Theory • universal story patterns • common, familiar, universal human experiences • representations of “religious beliefs, social customs, cultural attitudes” • common human events are used for symbolic meanings: • birth = beginning, death = ending, etcetera • Identify, analyze, and evaluate: • Archetypes: universal symbols found in all types of literature throughout history and around the world • Story types: quest, revenge, death, loss, transformation, enlightenment, etcetera • Genres: novel, poem, play, song, short story, proverb, etcetera Connections to Structuralism and Semiotics, linguistic theory of language development

14. Structuralism • derives from linguistics and anthropology • language as an arbitrary system of signs • focus on “binary opposition” • onomatopoetic use of sounds (pleasant vs. unpleasant, soft vs. harsh, harmony vs. discord) • identify and analyze binary opposites • analyze use of sounds, letters and syllables • evaluate differences in word and sentence structures Connections to Deconstruction

15. Structuralism Semiotics • study of signs, sign systems, and codes • how signs help in understanding human interaction – literature is only one aspect of this • identify and analyze signs in a text • evaluate signs to guide interpretation of a text • utilize signs of one text to evaluate and interpret other texts

16. Deconstruction • derives from structuralism • binary opposites are seen as equally valid • reveals prevailing ideologies that are questioned in the text • emphasizes ambiguity in all texts • language is oppositional • all texts are self-contradictory • the meaning of a text is allusive • reduce text to binary oppositions • analyze binary opposites • evaluate ambiguities in text and how they defer meaning

17. Cultural Studies • multidisciplinary – utilizes all forms of criticism • humanistic disciplines and sciences • culture as a way of life and culture as the best of humanity • focuses on conflict inside and between “cultures” • identify challenges and differences to “accepted” norms and values • evaluate how challenges redraw so-called cultural boundaries • analyze differences of cultures

18. Cultural Studies Gender Studies • Feminist criticism • Gay/Lesbian studies • identify and analyze how gender is defined in a text • evaluate differences of cultural gender versus biological gender as presented in a text • analyze and evaluate sexual orientation of characters in a text – utilizes psychoanalytic theory • Queer Theory • identify all people/characters as “queer” • acknowledge that there is no such thing as “normal” • evaluate the lack of sexual/gender boundaries