Literary Criticism: Foundations, Origins, and Key Concepts

Vocabulary flashcards covering essential definitions, classical Greek origins, key figures, and theoretical concepts in literary criticism.

Literary Criticism

The careful, reasoned study, explanation, and judgment of literature that moves beyond surface enjoyment to offer structured analysis of a text's mechanics, themes, and significance.

Appreciation

The intuitive, deeply personal, and reader-centered emotional enjoyment of literature, rooted in feelings and individual taste.

Literature

Written artistic works comprising stories, poems, plays, and novels.

Analysis

The process of breaking a text into its key structural and thematic components, such as theme, language, and style.

Judgment

The act of evaluating a text's strengths and weaknesses to assess its artistic quality and coherence.

Mimesis

A classical Greek concept meaning 'imitation,' used to describe art's representation or reflection of life and reality.

Plato's View of Mimesis

The perspective that art copies physical reality, which is itself an imperfect copy of ideal Forms, making art 'twice removed from truth,' deceptive, and emotionally dangerous.

Aristotle's View of Mimesis

The perspective that mimesis is a natural human learning instinct through which art imitates universal actions and truths to educate and delight.

Catharsis

The emotional purification, cleansing, or release experienced by the audience of a tragedy through the evoking of pity and fear.

Tragedy

Defined by Aristotle as an imitation of a serious, complete action of magnitude, in embellished language, effecting catharsis through pity and fear.

Hamartia

The tragic flaw or error of judgment in a noble protagonist in a tragedy.

Peripeteia

The reversal of fortune experienced by the protagonist in a tragedy.

Anagnorisis

The moment of recognition or discovery by the protagonist in a tragedy.

Comedy

A classical literary genre lighter in tone that ridicules social vices and norms to correct society through humor and satire.

Old Comedy

A form of ancient Greek comedy that satirizes publicly and ridicules public figures, exemplified by Aristophanes' 'The Clouds'.

New Comedy

A form of Greek comedy associated with Menander that focuses on everyday people and domestic life.

Epic Poetry

A classical genre narrated in verse that grandly recounts heroic deeds, featuring vast settings, supernatural elements, and an elevated style.

Socrates

Ancient Greek philosopher who questioned poetry's truthfulness, fearing its emotional influence on youth and its imitation of appearances rather than reality.

Plato

Ancient Greek philosopher who, in 'The Republic', argued that poetry as mimesis is 'twice removed from truth' and proposed banning poets unless their work served moral purposes.

Aristotle

Ancient Greek philosopher who wrote 'Poetics', defending poetry as natural and educational while formalizing literary theory through concepts like catharsis and tragedy.

Homer

Ancient Greek poet, author of the 'Iliad' and 'Odyssey', whose canonical epics set standards for narrative and style that served as benchmarks for later literature.

Poetics

The foundational work by Aristotle that formalized literary criticism as a discipline, defending mimesis and defining tragedy's key elements.

The Republic

The work by Plato containing his critique of poetry and mimesis as 'twice removed from truth' and emotionally misleading.

Dionysian Festivals

Religious and civic festivals in Athens honoring Dionysus where Greek drama emerged to explore moral, political, and social questions.

Oedipus Rex

A classic Greek tragedy by Sophocles that exemplifies Aristotle's features of tragedy, teaching about human limits and achieving catharsis.