Introduction to Literary Criticism – Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards introduce foundational terms and key concepts from the lecture on literary criticism, covering major critical approaches, core definitions, and illustrative examples.

Literary Criticism

The comparison, analysis, interpretation, and/or evaluation of literary works, forming an evidence-based opinion about elements such as theme, style, setting, or context.

Biographical Criticism

An approach that examines an author’s life to understand how personal experiences shape their literary works.

Ethical Literary Criticism

A critical theory that evaluates literature and its creators through the lens of moral principles and ethical questions.

Sociological Criticism

Analysis of literature within its cultural, economic, and political contexts, exploring how society influences texts and their reception.

Reader-Response Criticism

A theory focusing on what happens in readers’ minds as they interpret a text, emphasizing individual experience and meaning-making.

Gender Criticism

Evaluation of how sexual identity and gender roles affect the creation and reception of literary works.

Mythological Criticism

An approach centered on archetypes—universal symbols, characters, or situations—that evoke deep, shared human responses.

Archetype

A universal symbol, character, image, or situation that triggers a collective subconscious response across cultures.

New Historicism

Criticism that situates a text within the historical conditions of its creation, examining reciprocal influences between literature and history.

Psychoanalytic Criticism

Interpretation of themes, conflicts, and characters as reflections of an author’s or character’s unconscious desires and emotional states.

Formalist Criticism

Close reading that focuses on a text’s internal elements—form, structure, language—to interpret meaning without external context.

Post-Colonial Criticism

Study of how literary texts depict or challenge the power dynamics between colonizers and colonized peoples, including lingering colonial ideologies.

Significance of Reading Literature

Engaging with literature expands imagination, empathy, critical reading skills, and appreciation of diverse genres and interpretive theories.

"The Diameter of the Bomb" (Yehuda Amichai)

A poem illustrating ever-widening circles of pain and loss caused by a bomb, serving as a case study for multiple critical approaches.

James M. Fajarito, PhD

Lecturer who compiled the materials on literary criticism used in this presentation.

"I Am a Filipino"

A 1941 manifesto by Carlos P. Romulo, published in the Philippines Herald, representing the Filipino dream of freedom from colonial rule.

Carlos P. Romulo

Philippine general, diplomat, and journalist (1899-1985) known for World War II efforts, work with the United Nations, and later roles as university president and foreign minister.

Pulitzer Prize for Peace (Romulo)

Award won by Carlos P. Romulo in 1941 for his prewar evaluations of the military situation in the Pacific.

I Walked with Heroes

Carlos P. Romulo's autobiography, published in 1961.

The Philippines

Island country in Southeast Asia, an archipelago of about 7,100 islands, named after Philip II of Spain.

Manila

The capital of the Philippines, part of the National Capital Region (Metro Manila) on Luzon.

Luzon

The largest island in the Philippines, containing Manila and Quezon City.

Cultural Identity of The Philippines

The Philippines was under Spanish rule for 333 years and U.S. rule for 48 years, resulting in strong cultural affinities with the West; it is a predominantly Roman Catholic country with English as an official language.

Philippines Herald

Newspaper where the essay was published