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Literary Criticism. A Summary of Critical Movements. Historical Criticism. One of the traditional methods. Art seen as a reflection of the author’s life and times (or the characters’ life and times)
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Literary Criticism A Summary of Critical Movements
Historical Criticism • One of the traditional methods. • Art seen as a reflection of the author’s life and times (or the characters’ life and times) • Necessary to know about the author and the political, economical and sociological context of the time period to understand a work. • New Historicism is a revival of this idea, except that it analyses whether the author agreed with culture or was subversive to culture.
Moral Philosophical • Purpose: to teach morality and probe philosophical issues. • Recognizes that the message of a work—not just the vehicle for that message—is important. • Helps place allusions in proper classical, political or biblical background as well as to consider the themes of works.
Formalist • Close reading and analyzing of the elements such as setting, irony, paradox, imagery and metaphor help reading stand on its own. • Awareness of denotative and connotative implications. • Many times performed without research with the assumption that all information necessary is found within the work itself.
Psychological • Associated with the work of Sigmund Freud and his followers. • Emphasis on the unconscious aspects of the human psyche. • Human behavior is motivated by the libido • Because of the powerful social taboos associated with sex, many desires and memories are repressed. • A way of explaining difficult characters with emotional issues.
Mythological/Archetypal • Focuses on patterns of traditional archetypes (like a hero going on a journey filled with obstacles), or mythological archetypes (like Persephone and Demeter’s mother/daughter relationship). • Probes for the inner spirit which gives the outer form its vitality and enduring appeal. • Affinities with religion, anthropology and cultural history.
Feminist Approaches • Examines the experiences of women from all races, classes, cultures. • Exposes “patriarchal” ideas and resulting prejudices. • Describes how women in texts are constrained by culture and society. • Sometimes works hand-in-hand with the mythological or archetypal approaches to recognize continuations of female patterns.
