TRANSES-LIT.docx

Literary Theory and Criticism

Interpretive tools that deepen understanding of literature.

Schools of Interpretation

Different approaches to reading and analyzing literature.

Cambridge School (1920s–1930s)

Scholars at Cambridge University focusing on close readings of texts.

Chicago School (1950’s)

Group at the University of Chicago analyzing the relation between form and structure in narratives.

Deconstruction (1967-present)

Jacques Derrida's approach challenging the idea of a single, stable meaning in texts.

Feminist Criticism (1960s–present)

Critical approaches highlighting the human experience distinct from the male experience.

Psychoanalytic Criticism

Analysis of literature based on psychoanalysis and unconscious psychological drives.

Freudian Criticism

Applying Freud's psychoanalytic theory to explore the psychological aspects of literary texts.

Jungian Criticism

Drawing on Carl Jung's theory of the collective unconscious to analyze literature.

Lacanian Criticism

Analyzing literature through Jacques Lacan's perspective on language, desire, and the unconscious.

Marxist Criticism

Critical approaches inspired by Karl Marx's social and economic theories.

New Criticism (1930s–1960s)

Approach focusing on analyzing the text itself rather than historical or biographical contexts.

New Historicism (1980s–present)

Examining literary texts within their contemporary social, political, and moral contexts.

New Humanism (1910–1933)

Embracing conservative literary and moral values advocating for humanistic education.

Post-Structuralism (1960s-1970s)

Movement critiquing structuralism and emphasizing the instability of language systems.

Queer Theory (1980s-present)

Constructivist approach to gender and sexuality, viewing them as social constructions.

Structuralism (1950-1960s)

Intellectual movement analyzing texts as interrelated systems of signs.