LITERARY APPROACHES REVIEWER

STRUCTURALISM

In literary theory, structuralism is an approach analyzing the narrative material by

examining the underlying invariant structure. For example, a literary critic applying a
structuralist literary theory might say that the authors of the West Side Story did not write
anything "really" new, because their work has the same structure as Shakespeare's Romeo and
Juliet. In both texts, a girl and a boy fall in love (a "formula" with a symbolic operator between
them would be "Boy + Girl") despite the fact that they belong to two groups that hate each
other ("Boy's Group - Girl's Group" or "Opposing forces") and conflict is resolved by their death.

The versatility of structuralism is such that a literary critic could make the same claim
about a story of two friendly families ("Boy's Family + Girl's Family") that arrange a marriage
between their children despite the fact that the children hate each other ("Boy - Girl") and then
the children commit suicide to escape the arranged marriage; the justification is that the second
story's structure is an 'inversion' of the first story's structure: the relationship between the
values of love and the two pairs of parties involved have been reversed.

Structuralistic literary criticism argues that the "novelty value of a literary text" can lie
only in new structure, rather than in the specifics of character development and voice in which
that structure is expressed. One branch of literary structuralism, like Freudianism, Marxism, and
transformational grammar, suggest both a deep and a surface structure. In a Freudian literary
interpretation, the literary text is based on the deep structure grounded in the life and death
instincts; the Marxist reading will interpret the conflict between classes in the text as rooted in
the deep structure of the economic "base."

 It recognizes that the significance of each word within a text is determined by

internal as well as external factors; i.e. historical, biographical and cultural
contexts.
 Structuralist critics analyzed material by examining underlying structures, such as
characterization or plot, and attempted to show how these patterns were
universal and could thus be used to develop general conclusions about both
individual works and the systems from which they emerged.
 Structuralism regarded language as a closed, stable system, and by the late
1960s it had given way to post structuralism.
FORMALISM

Formalism viewed literature as a distinct and separate entity, unconnected to historical

or social causes or effects. It analyzed literature according to devices unique to literary works
and focused on the “literariness” of a text: words were not simply stand-ins for objects but
objects themselves. Formalists advanced the concept of defamiliarization, arguing that
literature, by calling attention to itself as such, estranged the reader from ordinary experience
and made the familiar seem new. Formalism’s tendency to collapse form and content is
somewhat similar to New Criticism’s approach, though its main influence was on structuralism.

 It refers to critical approaches that analyze, interpret, or evaluate the inherent

features of a text.
 Its features include not only grammar and syntax but also literary devices such
as meter and tropes.
 This approach reduces the importance of a text’s historical, biographical, and
cultural context.

What is Marxist Literary Criticism?

Marxist literary criticism is a loose term describing literary criticism based on socialist
and dialectic theories. It views literary works as reflections of the social institutions.

It 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).

Who is the proponent of Marxism Theory?

Marxism Theory originates from the works of 19th-century German philosophers Karl
Marx and Friedrich Engels.

Karl Heinrich Marx (5 May 1818 in Trier – 14 March 1883 in London) was a German
political thinker who wrote about economics and politics. Marx thought that if a place that
works together runs on wage-labor, then there would always be class struggle.

Theory of Marxism

Marxism is a social, political, and economic theory originated by Karl Marx, which
focuses on the struggle between capitalists and the working class. He believed that this conflict
would ultimately lead to a revolution in which the working class would overthrow the capitalist
class and seize control of the economy.

Marxists believe that if the working class makes itself the ruling class, and destroys th e
basis for class society (private property, or what Marx called "Bourgeois Property"), there will be
a "classless society." In a Marxist society, no social classes are in conflict, and there is no
government anymore. In this theory, those who own property and the means of production are
the bourgeois while working class is called proletariat.
Goals of Marxist criticism

The simplest goals of Marxist literary criticism may include:

• an assessment of the political 'tendency' of a literary work, determining whether its

social content or its literary form are 'progressive'.

• analyzing the class constructs demonstrated in the literature.

What is Moralist Literary Approach?

A moralistic literary approach focuses individuals, couples, families, and professionals on

a moralistic definition of relationship, life, and family processes that presumes a moral
ascendancy of one value system over others. This theory, then, explains why a certain action is
wrong - or why we ought to act in certain ways. In short, it is a theory of how we determine
right and wrong conduct. It also provides the framework upon which we think and discuss in a
reasoned way, and so evaluate, specific moral issues.

What is moralist criticism?

Moralist Criticism is a type of literary critique that judges the value of the literature
based on its moral lessons or ethical teachings. It is also an approach use to judge literary
works according to moral rather than formal principles. Literature that is ethically sound and
encourages virtue is praised while literature that misguides and corrupts is condemned.

What are the principles of moralist literary approach?

1. Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of conduct from
a particular philosophy, religion or culture, or it can be derived from a standard that a person
believes should be universal. Morality may also be specifically synonymous with "goodness" or
"rightness".

2. Quality of human acts by which we call them right or wrong, good or evil. ( Panizo,
1964)

3. Human action is right when it conforms with the norm, rule or law of morality.

What are the considerations in writing a moralist criticism?

1.This approach stresses the close reading of the text with sensitivity to the words and
their various meanings.

2.It searches for structures, patterns, imagery and motifs, and figurative language along
with the juxtaposition (the fact of two things being seen or placed close together with
contrasting effect) of scenes, tone, and other literary techniques in order to come to
conclusions about the meaning of the work and insists that all statements about the work be
supported by references to the text.

3.Philosophical (or moral) criticism evaluates the ethical content of literary works.
However, these critics evaluate the work in its totality, not passages taken out of context.
What is feminist criticism?

Feminist criticism is concerned with "the ways in which literature (and other cultural
productions) reinforce or undermine the economic, political, social, and psychological
oppression of women" (Tyson 83). Apart from this, the goal of feminist criticism is to bring
awareness about the sexual politics and to analyze the writings of women writers from the
feminist perspective. It also includes the language and style of writing to determine the
relationship between the genders in terms of power.

How is it used in analyzing a literary text?

• We use it by closely examining the portrayal of the characters, both female and male.

• We investigate the language of the text, the attitude of the author, and the
relationship between the characters.

• We also consider the comments the author seems to be making about society as a
whole. For example, feminist critics may claim that certain male writers address their readers as
if they were all men and exclude the female reader.

What are the principles of feminist approach?

• It uses the principles and ideology of feminism to critique the language of literature.
This thought seeks to analyze and describe the ways in which literature portrays the narrative of
male domination by exploring the economic, social, political, and psychological forces
embedded within literature.

• The specific goals of feminist criticism include both the development and discovery
female tradition of writing, and rediscovering of old texts, while also interpreting symbolism of
women's writing so that it will not be lost or ignored by the male point of view and resisting
sexism inherent in the majority of mainstream literature. (merge to the first part)

What are the basic methods in critiquing a literary text in a feminist approach?

The basic methods of feminist literary criticism include:

• Identifying with female characters: By examining the way female characters are
defined, critics challenge the male-centered outlook of authors. Feminist literary criticism
suggests that women in literature have been historically presented as objects seen from a male
perspective.

• Reevaluating literature and the world in which literature is read: By revisiting the
classic literature, the critic can question whether society has predominantly valued male authors
and their literary works because it has valued males more than females.
What is historical criticism?

Historical criticism is the historical approach to literary criticism. It involves looking

beyond the literature at the broader historical and cultural events occurring during the time the
piece was written. An understanding of the world the author lived in (events, ideologies,
culture, lifestyle etc.) allows for a more comprehensive understanding of the work. (transitions,
trivia related to feminist literary approach)

What are the considerations in writing a historical approach?

• Author's biography and social background.

• When the work was written.

• Ideas circulating at the time of writing.

• Events occurring at the time of writing.

• What the work meant to the people who first read it.