Literary Criticism Notes

Literary Criticism

  • Literary criticism involves the comparison, analysis, interpretation, and/or evaluation of literary works.
  • It is essentially an opinion supported by evidence related to theme, style, setting, or historical/political context.
  • Literary criticism is not:
    • A plot summary.
    • A biography of the author.
    • Simply finding fault with the literature.

Types of Literary Criticism

  • Author-Focused: Biographical
  • Text-Focused: Formalism
  • Reader-Focused: Reader Response
  • Context-Focused: Historical, Feminist

Author-Focused: Biographical Criticism

  • Focuses on the author’s life.
  • Aims to understand the text by examining the author's life.
  • Provides valuable context by examining:
    • Autobiographies
    • Correspondence
    • Other primary materials about the author.

Guide Questions for Biographical Criticism:

  • What aspects of the author’s life are relevant to understanding the work?
  • How are the author’s personal beliefs encoded into the work?
  • Does the work reflect the writer’s personal experiences and concerns? How or how not?
  • Example: The Bone Witch trilogy by Rin Chupeco.

Reader-Focused: Reader Response Criticism

  • Focuses on the individual reader’s experience and interpretation of a text.
  • Considers:
    • Subjective Reader
    • Implied Reader

Guide Questions for Reader Response Criticism:

  1. How did you feel while reading the text? What emotions did it evoke?
  2. Did you find any parts of the text particularly relatable or alienating? Why?
  3. What do you think is the main message or theme of the text?
  4. How did your personal experiences and background influence your interpretation of the text?

Text-Focused: Formalism

  • Treats a story, poem, or play as a self-contained unit of meaning.
  • Disregards external factors like authorial intent or historical context.
  • Focuses on:
    • Structure
    • Language
    • Literary devices

Guide Questions for Formalism:

  1. What literary devices are used in the text?
  2. How is the text structured (stanzas/chapters)?
  3. What is notable about the author's use of language?
  4. Are there any patterns or repetitions in the text?
  5. How do the various elements of the text (e.g., characters, setting, plot, themes) interact with each other?

Context-Focused: Historical Criticism

  • Focuses on the historical and social circumstances that surrounded the writing of a text.
  • Considers:
    • Biographical facts about the author’s life
    • Influence of social, political, national, and international events

Guide Questions for Historical Criticism:

  1. How (and how accurately) does the work reflect the historical period in which it was written?
  2. What specific historical events influenced the author?
  3. How important is the work’s historical context to understanding it?
  4. How does the work represent an interpretation of its time and culture?

Context-Focused: Feminist Criticism

  • Explores the marginalization of women in literature.
  • Employs key concepts like:
    • Gender as a social construct
    • Patriarchal oppression
    • Power dynamics
    • Societal expectations
  • Aims to understand women’s experiences and promote gender equality.

Guide Questions for Feminist Criticism:

  1. How does the work portray the lives of women?
  2. How are female characters portrayed? How are the relationships between men and women portrayed? Does this reinforce sexual and gender stereotypes or challenge them?
  3. How does the specific language of a literary work reflect gender or sexual stereotypes?