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Critical Approaches to Literature Criticism: from Greek critos "to judge"; does not imply goodness or badness. 1. Textural-Linguistic: Concentrates on the authority of the text and the correct meanings of the words in their historical context. Object: to establish the most authentic text; considered pre-critical scholarship. 2. Historical-Biographical: Sees a literary work chiefly, if not exclusively, as a reflection of its author's life and times or of the life and times of the characters. May involve consideration of politics, economics, sociological conditions, etc., of the time. 3. Moral-Philosophical: Maintains that the purpose of literature is to instruct and entertain. The larger function is to teach morality and/or philosophy. Focuses on what is taught and how. 4. Formalistic: Assumes that literature is art composed in words. Form, structure (parts and whole -- how they are related) are examined. Author is of no consequence, nor is content per se. Says that to speak of content is to speak of experience, not art. 5. Psychological: Maintains that a work of literature is produced by an individual mind which operates consciously and unconsciously and is directed to other human minds which operate the same way. May involve consideration of the psychology of the author at the time the work was created or of the characters he creates. May also involve the psychological effect on the reader. 6. Mythological/Archetypal: Sees great works of literature as striking a deep "chord" in the psyche, regardless of the time in which they are read. Closely related to the psychological approach, this method maintains that "classics" involve mythological images (quest, initiation, scapegoat, etc.) that are universally recognized and that these myths are symbolic projections of people's hopes, values, fears, aspirations, etc. 7. Exponential: Holds that, since language itself is symbolic, works of literature are symbolic, too; therefore, the reader must consider patterns of images, themes, and symbols. Concentrates on the artistic weaving of these instances into patterns to create meaning. Theme, then, is a major consideration of this approach. |
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READING / LITERATURE INDEX LITERATURE ON LINE |