2. The Basic Idea
• The point of criticism is to argue your
point of view on a work of literature.
• You don’t have to “criticize” a text (but
you can)
• You do have to analyze a text and
support your assertions with specific
evidence from experts and the text.
3. The Basic Idea
• A critical analysis is an in-depth
examination of some aspect of the literary
work
• you may examine any element of the text:
character development, conflicts,
narrative point of view, etc.
• Even though it’s an examination of a
literary work, it’s still a persuasive essay
4. The Basic Idea
• The goal is to prove something about the
work
• There must be a point to the
discussion.
• You must answer the questions Why?, or
So what?
• For example, why is a recurring symbol
important? Or, why is the development of
the female characters significant?
5. The Basic Idea
• There are many different approaches we
can take to critical analysis
• Literary theories provide a framework for
our discussion of a text
• We don’t have to identify the theory we’re
using, though.
• We use it as a starting point for our own
ideas and opinions
6. Historical/Biographical
Approach
• views literature as the reflection of an
author's life and times (or of the
characters' life and times).
• it is necessary to know about the author
and the political, economical, and
sociological context of his times in order
to truly understand his works.
7. Historical/Biographical
Approach
Advantages:
• works well for some which are obviously
political or biographical in nature.
• places allusions in their proper classical,
political, or biblical background.
Disadvantages:
• "the intentional fallacy"
• tends to reduce art to the level of biography and
make it relative (to the times) rather than
universal.
8. Application
• What are some historical or biographical
elements we might examine in a
discussion of our current novel?
9. Moral / Philosophical
Approach:
• asserts that the larger purpose of
literature is to teach morality and to probe
philosophical issues
• authors intend to instruct the audience in
some way
10. Moral / Philosophical
Approach:
Advantages:
• useful for works which do present an
obvious moral philosophy
• useful when considering the themes of works
• does not view literature merely as "art" isolated
from all moral implications
• recognizes that literature can affect readers and
that the message of a work is important.
11. Moral / Philosophical
Approach:
Disadvantages:
• such an approach can be too
"judgmental"
• Some believe literature should be judged
primarily (if not solely) on its artistic
merits, not its moral or philosophical
content.
12. Application
• What are some moral or philosophical
elements we might examine in a
discussion of our current novel?
13. Formalism / New
Criticism
• involves a close reading of the text
• all information essential to the
interpretation of a work must be found
within the work itself
• focuses on analyzing irony, paradox,
imagery, and metaphor
• also interested in the work's setting,
characters, symbols, and point of view.
14. Formalism / New
Criticism
• no need to bring in outside information
about the history, politics, or society of
the time, or about the author's life
• does not view works through the lens of
feminism, psychology, mythology, or any
other such standpoint
• not interested in the work's affect on the
reader.
15. Formalism / New
Criticism
Terms Used in New Criticism:
• intentional fallacy - the false belief that the
meaning or value of a work may be determined
by the author's intention
• affective fallacy - the false belief that the
meaning or value of a work may be determined
by its affect on the reader
• external form - rhyme scheme, meter, stanza
form, etc.
16. Formalism / New
Criticism
Advantages:
• can be performed without much research
• emphasizes the value of literature apart from its
context
• virtually all critical approaches must begin here
Disadvantages:
• text is seen in isolation
• ignores the context of the work
• cannot account for allusions
17. Application
• What are some formal elements we might
examine in a discussion of our current
novel?
18. Psychoanalytical
Approach
• views works through the lens of
psychology
• looks either at the psychological
motivations of the characters or of the
authors themselves
• most frequently applies Freudian
psychology to works, but other
approaches also exist.
19. Freudian Approach to
Personality
Three parts to an individual’s psyche:
• the id: the instinctual, pleasure seeking
part of the mind
• the superego: the part of the mind that
represses the id's impulses
• the ego: the part of the mind that controls
but does not repress the id's impulses,
releasing them in a healthy way
20. Sex is Everything
Freud believed that all human behavior is
motivated by sexuality
• Oedipus complex: a boy's unconscious
rivalry with his father for the love of his
mother
• Electra complex: a girl’s unconscious
rivalry with her mother for the love of her
father (a.k.a. “daddy issues”)
21. Freudian Imagery
Recognizes symbols that are linked to sexual
pleasure
• concave images, such as ponds, flowers, cups,
and caves as female symbols
• phallic symbols, objects that are longer than
they are wide, are male images
• dancing, riding, and flying are associated with
sexual pleasure
• water is usually associated with birth, the
female principle, the maternal, the womb, and
the death wish.
22. Psychoanalytical
Approach
Advantages:
• can be a useful tool for understanding character
development and conflict
Disadvantages:
• can turn a work into a psychological case study
• tends to see sex in everything, exaggerating this aspect
of literature
• some works do not lend themselves readily to this
approach.
23. Application
• What are some psychological or
psychoanalytical elements we might
examine in a discussion of our current
novel?
24. Archetypal Approach
• assumes that there is a collection of
symbols, images, characters, and motifs
(i.e. archetypes) that evokes basically
the same response in all people
• identifies these patterns and discusses
how they function in the works
• asserts that these archetypes are the
source of much of literature's power.
25. Archetypal Approach
• based on the theories of psychologist
Carl Jung
• he states that mankind possesses a
"collective unconscious" that contains
these archetypes and that is common to
all of humanity
26. Some Archetypes
• archetypal women - the Good Wife/Mother, the Terrible Mother,
the Virgin (often a Damsel in Distress), and the Fallen Woman.
• water - creation, birth-death-resurrection, purification, redemption,
fertility, growth
• garden - paradise (Eden), innocence, fertility
• desert - spiritual emptiness, death, hopelessness
• red - blood, sacrifice, passion, disorder
• green - growth, fertility
• black - chaos, death, evil
• serpent - evil, sensuality, mystery, wisdom, destruction
• seven - perfection
• hero archetype - The hero is involved in a quest (in which he
overcomes obstacles). He experiences initiation (involving a
separation, transformation, and return), and finally he serves as a
scapegoat, that is, he dies to atone.
27. Archetypal Approach
Advantages:
• provides a universalistic approach to literature
and identifies a reason why certain literature
may survive the test of time
• it works well with works that are highly symbolic
Disadvantages:
• literature may become a vehicle for archetypes
• can easily become a list of symbols without
much analysis
28. Application
• What are some archetypal elements we
might examine in a discussion of our
current novel?
29. Feminist Approach
• concerned with the roles of female
characters within works
• may argue that gender determines
everything, or just the opposite: that all
gender differences are imposed by
society, and gender determines nothing
30. Stages of Female Identity
• Feminine: the female accepts the
definitions and roles male authorities
have created for her
• Feminist: rebels against male authority
and intentionally challenges all male
definitions and roles
• Female: no longer concerned with male
definitions or restrictions; defines her own
voice and values
31. The Mad-Woman in the Attic
• Critics Gilbert and Gubar identify a
pattern in the treatment of female
characters in literature, even when written
by women.
• based on the plot of Jane Eyre
• the practice of removing a female
character who is no longer useful to the
male characters
32. Application
• What are some gender-based elements
we might examine in a discussion of our
current novel?
33. Marxist Approach
• Karl Marx perceived human history to
have consisted of a series of struggles
between classes--between the oppressed
and the oppressing (“the haves” and “the
have-nots”).
• Marx thought that materialism was the
ultimate driving force in history
34. Marxist Approach
• Feudalism exploits workers to the point of
revolt
• This leads to bourgeois capitalism
• In bourgeois capitalism, the privileged
bourgeoisie rely on the working
proletariat
• Workers are exploited to the point of
revolt
35. Marxist Approach
• The successful working class will then
establish a communist society
• In this ideal the labor, the means of
production, and the profits are shared by
all
• This system is an attempt at complete
social and economic equality
• It’s a great theory but doesn’t work in
reality
36. Marxist Approach
• Marxist criticism examines the nature of
power structures within a novel.
• It asks questions like: Who has power?
Who lacks power? Who is exploited by
whom and why? How does power remain
constant or shift throughout a work of
literature? What makes certain characters
powerful or powerless?
37. Marxist Approach
• It also examines commodities,
possessions that give power
• Typical commodities are things like land
and money but can also be things like
social position, knowledge, or even a
person
• Marxist criticism can also examine what
commodities bring power and why within
a work of literature
38. Application
• Who is in power within the novel?
• What commodities does that character
possess that allows him/her to have
power?
• How does power shift or remain static
throughout the novel?
39. Reader Response
Criticism
• analyzes the reader's role in the production of meaning
• lies at the opposite end of the spectrum from formalism
• the text itself has no meaning until it is read by a reader
• The reader creates the meaning.
• can take into account the strategies employed by the
author to elicit a certain response from readers
• denies the possibility that works are universal (i.e. that
they will always mean more or less the same thing to
readers everywhere)
• makes someone's reading a function of personal
identity.
40. Reader Response
Criticism
Advantages:
• recognizes that different people view works
differently and that people's interpretations
change over time.
Disadvantages:
• tends to make interpretation too subjective
• does not provide adequate criteria for
evaluating one reading in comparison to
another
41. Application
• What are your personal responses to this
novel?
• Are there certain elements you respond
to strongly or with which you identify?
