Critical Lenses Theories

B27
Pepito,Christian S.
Critical Approaches to Literature and Criticism
1. Reader-Response—Focuses on the reader (or "audience") and his or her experience of a literary
work, in contrast to other schools and theories that focus attention primarily on the author or the
content and form of the work.
2. Feminist Criticism—Focuses on female representation in literature, paying attention to female

points of view, concerns, and values. Three underlying assumptions in this approach are: Western
Society is pervasively patriarchal, male centered and controlled, and is organized in such a way as to
subordinate women; the concept of gender is socially constructed, not biologically determined; and
that patriarchal ideology pervades those writings which have been considered “great works of
literature.”
3. Queer Theory—Combined area of gay and lesbian studies and criticism, including studies of
variations in biological sex, gender identity, and sexual desires. Emphasis on dismantling the key
binary oppositions of Western culture: male/ female, heterosexual/ homosexual, etc. by which the first
category is assigned privilege, power, and centrality, while the second is derogated, subordinated, and
marginalized.
4. Marxist Criticism—Focuses on how literary works are products of the economic and ideological
determinants specific to that era. Critics examine the relationship of a literary product to the actual
economic and social reality of its time and place (Class stratification, class relations, and dominant
ideology).
5. Historical Criticism—Focuses on examining a text primarily in relation to the historical and

cultural conditions of its production, and also of its later critical interpretations. Cultural materialism, a
mode of NHC, argues that whatever the “textuality” of history, a culture and its literary products are
always conditioned by the real material forces and relations of production in their historical era.
6. Psychological Criticism—Focuses on a work of literature primarily as an expression, in fictional

form, of the state of mind and the structure of personality of the individual author. In other words, a
literary text is related to its author’s mental and emotional traits. Furthest extension is Psychoanalytic
Criticism, emphasis on phallic symbols, wombs, breasts, etc. Theorists include Lacan and Klein.
7. New Criticism—The proper concern of literary criticism is not with the external circumstances or
effects or historical position of a work, but with a detailed consideration of the work itself as an
independent entity. Emphasis on “the words on the page.” Study of poetry focuses on the “autonomy
of the work as existing for its own sake,” analysis of words, figures of speech, and symbols.
Distinctive procedure is close reading and attention to recurrent images; these critics delight in
“tension,” “irony,” and “paradox.” (Similar to Formalism or Neo-Aristotelian)
8. Deconstruction—Focuses on the practice of reading a text in order to “subvert” or “undermine”

the assumption that the text can be interpreted coherently to have a universal determinate meaning.
Typically, deconstructive readings closely examine the conflicting forces/meanings within the text in
order to show that the text has an indefinite array of possible readings/significations.
9. Archetypal/Mythic Criticism—Focuses on recurrent narrative designs, patterns of action,

character types, or images which are said to be identifiable in a wide variety of literary works, myths,
dreams, and even ritualized modes of behavior. Critics tend to emphasize the mythical patterns in
literature, such as the death-rebirth theme and journey of the hero.
10. Cultural Criticism—This lens examines the text from the perspective of cultural attitudes and
often focuses on individuals within society who are marginalized or face discrimination in some way.
Cultural criticism may consider race, gender, religion, ethnicity, sexuality or other characteristics that
separate individuals in society and potentially lead to one feeling or being treated as “less than”
another. It suggests that being included or excluded from the dominant culture changes the way one
may view the text.
11. Modernism/Post-Modernism—Modernism is a rejection of traditional forms of literature

(chronological plots, continuous narratives, closed endings etc.) in favor of experimental forms. They
have nostalgia for the past that they feel is lost so Modernist texts often include multiple allusions.
Post-Modernists follow the same principles but celebrate the new forms of fragmentation rather than
lamenting them.
 Look for ironies within a text
 Analyze fragmentation and a mixing of genres and forms
 Blurs the line between “high” literature (classics) and popular literature (NY Times
Bestsellers)
12. Mythological Criticism—This approach emphasizes “the recurrent universal patterns underlying
most literary works.” Combining the insights from anthropology, psychology, history, and comparative
religion, mythological criticism “explores the artist’s common humanity by tracing how the individual
imagination uses myths and symbols common to different cultures and epochs.” One key concept in
mythological criticism is the archetype, “a symbol, character, situation, or image that evokes a deep
universal response,” which entered literary criticism from Swiss psychologist Carl Jung. According to
Jung, all individuals share a “‘collective unconscious,’ a set of primal memories common to the human
race, existing below each person’s conscious mind”—often deriving from primordial phenomena such
as the sun, moon, fire, night, and blood, archetypes according to Jung “trigger the collective
unconscious.” Another critic, Northrop Frye, defined archetypes in a more limited way as “a symbol,
usually an image, which recurs often enough in literature to be recognizable as an element of one’s
literary experience as a whole.” Regardless of the definition of archetype they use, mythological critics
tend to view literary works in the broader context of works sharing a similar pattern.
13. Post-Colonialism Criticism—Post-colonialism literature is most commonly written about

countries that have been previously colonized. A post-colonial lens would approach literature and look
for what effects colonization has left on a society or on individual characters. This criticism looks
through literature with the post-colonial theory. It shows history and the effects that colonization can
leave on a civilization even after they have gained independence. The post-colonialism critical lens
interprets the challenges and changes of a previously colonized nation as the effects of colonization.
The major important symbols are oppression and power. There is an identity between the colonizer and
the colonized. The goal of the critical lens is to seek to understand the behavior of characters or the
society. It can be analyzed by the setting and the actions or behaviors depicted by characters in
literature can be attributed to their country being previously colonized. Characters or society can feel
torn between the identities of their native culture and the culture of the colonizing country. A reader
needs to have a good grasp of historical knowledge in order to fully apply the post colonialism lens to
literature. A reader has to be aware of the previous or current colonial status of any countries or
societies that are presented in a work of literature.
14. Moral/Ethical Criticism—The moral/intellectual critical approach is concerned with content and
values. The approach is as old as literature itself, for literature is a traditional mode of imparting
morality, philosophy, and religion. The concern in moral/intellectual criticism is not only to discover
meaning but also to determine whether works of literature are both true and significant. To study
literature from the moral/intellectual perspective is therefore to determine whether a work conveys a
lesson or message and whether it can help readers lead better lives and improve their understanding of
the world: What ideas does the work contain? How strongly does the work bring forth its ideas? What
application do the ideas have to the work’s characters and situations? How may the ideas be evaluated
intellectually? Morally? Discussions based on such questions do not imply that literature is primarily
a medium of moral and intellectual exhortation. Ideally, moral/intellectual criticism should differ from
sermonizing to the degree that readers should always be left with their own decisions about whether to
assimilate the ideas of a work and about whether the ideas—and values—are personally or morally
acceptable. Sophisticated critics have sometimes demeaned the moral/intellectual approach on the
grounds that “message hunting” reduces a work’s artistic value by treating it like a sermon or political
speech; but the approach will be valuable as long as readers expect literature to be applicable to their
own lives.

Critical Lenses Theories

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Critical Lenses Theories

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Critical Lenses Theories

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

B27

Critical Approaches to Literature and Criticism

2. Feminist Criticism—Focuses on female representation in literature, paying attention to female

5. Historical Criticism—Focuses on examining a text primarily in relation to the historical and

6. Psychological Criticism—Focuses on a work of literature primarily as an expression, in fictional

8. Deconstruction—Focuses on the practice of reading a text in order to “subvert” or “undermine”

9. Archetypal/Mythic Criticism—Focuses on recurrent narrative designs, patterns of action,

11. Modernism/Post-Modernism—Modernism is a rejection of traditional forms of literature

13. Post-Colonialism Criticism—Post-colonialism literature is most commonly written about

You might also like