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Introduction: What Is Literary Criticism?: The Formalistic Approach
Introduction: What Is Literary Criticism?: The Formalistic Approach
Literary criticism is the study, analysis, and evaluation of imaginative literature. Everyone who
expresses an opinion about a book, a song, a play, or a movie is a critic, but not everyone's opinion is
based upon thought, reflection, analysis, or consistently articulated principles. As people mature and
acquire an education, their ability to analyze, their understanding of human beings, and their appreciation
of artistic craftsmanship should increase. The study of literature is an essential component in this- growth
of reflection.
Sometimes students object to analysis and ask, "Why do we have to analyze everything? Why
can't we just enjoy the books we read in English?" These are good questions, and there are some good
answers for them. First, talking about an experience, actual or vicarious, is one way of increasing
enjoyment. Second, sometimes talking about an experience involves recreating it in words, but it can also
involve the search for meaning, in short, analysis. Finally, as Socrates said, "The life which is
unexamined is not worth living." Analysis, or examination, increases awareness and understanding; it is
part of the maturation process. The analysis of literature has always been part of a liberal education.
When a work of literature is studied without reference to history or to the life of the author, the approach
is intrinsic, or formalistic. However, literature is related to two other humanistic disciplines: philosophy
and history. Philosophy explores basic, general ideas, such as truth, beauty, and goodness. History
attempts to ascertain what happened in the past and why it happened. Philosophy may help readers to
understand the general ideas, or themes, of a literary work. History helps to elucidate the life and times of
the author.
Traditionally, literary studies were conducted within the three humanistic disciplines of literature,
history, and philosophy. In the twentieth century, the social sciences have been used to develop new
approaches to criticism. Psychology has helped to illuminate the motivations of characters and the
writers who create them. Sociology has revealed the relationships between the works the author produces
and the society that consumes them. Anthropology has shown how ancient myths and rituals are alive
and well in the plays, poems, and novels that are popular today.
Literary criticism has been a social institution for many centuries. Different ages take different
approaches, but the activity is constant. Authors are aware of criticism so that it is probably not entirely
fair to say that the literary critic reads meanings into the texts that were never intended by the author.
Literary criticism is not "reading between the lines" -it is reading the lines very carefully, in a disciplined
and informed manner. This is why it is possible to speak of some of the approaches discussed in this
booklet as elements of literature. That is, it is valid to speak of archetypal elements in a literary text,
sociological elements in a literary text, and formal elements in a literary text. The approaches to literature
do not put the elements there; they are already there. The approaches help to reveal and clarify them.
Examples
• A formalistic approach to John Milton's Paradise Lost would take into account the physical
description of the Garden of Eden and its prescribed location, the symbols of hands, seed, and
flower, the characters of Adam, Eve, Satan, and God, the epic similes and metaphors, and the
point of view from which the tale is being told (whether it be the narrator's, God's, or Satan's).
• But such an approach would not discuss the work in terms of Milton's own blindness, or in terms
of his Puritan beliefs.
• Therefore when the narrator says "what in me is dark / Illumine," a formalistic critic could not
interpret that in light of Milton's blindness.
• He would have to find its meaning in the text itself, and therefore would have to overlook the
potential double-meaning.
• Literature is seen both a reflection and product of the times and circumstances in which it was
written.
• It operates on the premise that the history of a nation has telling effects on its literature and that
the piece can be better understood and appreciated if one knows the times surrounding its
creation.
• Historical / Biographical critics see works as the reflection of an author's life and times (or of the
characters' life and times).
• They believe it is necessary to know about the author and the political, economical, and
sociological context of his times in order to truly understand his works.
Advantages
• This approach works well for some works--like Edgar Allan Poe’s works;
• It also is necessary to take a historical approach in order to place allusions in their proper
classical, political, or biblical background.
Disadvantages
• New Critics refer to the historical / biographical critic's belief that the meaning or value of a work
may be determined by the author's intention as "the intentional fallacy."
• They believe that this approach tends to reduce art to the level of biography and make it relative
(to the times) rather than universal.
Historical criticism seeks to interpret the work of literature through understanding the times and
culture in which the work was written. The historical critic is more interested in the meaning that the
literary work had for its own time than in the meaning the work might have today. For example, while
some critics might interpret existential themes in Shakespeare's Hamlet, a historical critic would be more
interested in analyzing the play within the context of Elizabethan revenge tragedy and Renaissance humor
psychology.
Biographical criticism investigates the life of an author using primary texts, such as letters,
diaries, and other documents, that might reveal the experiences, thoughts, and feelings that led to the
creation of a literary work. For example, an investigation of Aldous Huxley's personal life reveals that
Point Counterpoint is a roman a clef: the character Marc Rampion is a thinly disguised imaginative
version of Huxley's friend, D.H. Lawrence.
Historical criticism and biographical criticism are used in tandem to explicate literary texts.
Sometimes the very premise of a novel may seem more probable if the circumstances of composition are
understood. For example, students often wonder why the boys in Lord of the Flies are oil the island.
Their plane has crashed, but where was it going, and why? The book may be read as a survival
adventure, but such a reading would not account for the most important themes. Knowing that William
Golding was a British naval commander in World War II and knowing some of the facts of the British
involvement in the war help in an understanding of the novel. The most important fact relating to the
premise of the novel is that during the London Blitz (1940-1941) children were evacuated from the
metropolitan area: some were sent to Scotland, some to Canada and Australia. Golding imagines a
similar evacuation happening during his scenario of World War III. The itinerary of the transport plane is
detailed at the beginning of the novel: Gibraltar and Addis Ababa were stops on an eastward journey,
probably to Australia or New Zealand. The aircraft was shot down, and the boys are stranded on a Pacific
atoll. In the age of the intercontinental ballistic missile, the evacuation seems impossible, but the novel
was published in 1954 when atomic weapons were still delivered principally by bombers. The history of
the rise of Hitler and World War n also helps readers to understand why Ralph's democratic appeasements
crumble under the ruthless aggression of Jack's regime.
In short, the historical approach is vital to an understanding of literary texts. Sometimes,
knowledge of history is necessary before the theme of the work can be fully grasped.
Feminist Criticism
During the 1960s a new school of criticism arose from the struggles for women's rights. While
social and economic justice were the most obvious goals of the feminist cause, many women realized that
the roots of the inequality were cultural. This perception led to the development of feminist literary
criticism. Using psychological, archetypal, and sociological approaches, feminist criticism examines
images of women and concepts of the feminine in myth and literature.
Feminist critics have shown that literature reflects a patriarchal, or male dominated, perspective
of society. Patriarchalism is an ideology that causes women to be depicted in two ways: as goddesses
when they serve the patriarchal society in the role of virtuous wives and mothers as prostitutes and
witches when they do not. Plays and novels often reveal both views of women. Thornton Wilder
parodies these stereotypes with the characters of Mrs. Antrobus and Lily Sabina in the play The Skin of
Our Teeth. Wilder does not spare the patriarchal Mr. Antrobus, whose foibles are plain for all the
audience to see.
A fresh approach to the investigation of literature, feminist criticism often focuses on characters
and issues that have been neglected or marginalized in previous studies. So much has been written about
Prince Hamlet, that feminist interpretations of the motivations and conflicts of Queen Gertrude and
Ophelia are often striking in their originality. Similarly, Charlotte Gilman-Perkins "The Yellow
Wallpaper" brings feminist criticism to the foreground. It is this freshness of approach that makes
feminist criticism one of the most exciting contemporary approaches to literature.
As a form of sociological criticism, feminist criticism shares some qualities with Marxist
approaches. Both are critical of society, as it is presently constituted. Both are concerned with the lives
of those oppressed or marginalized by the dominant culture. Both investigate literature as a means of
bringing about changes in attitudes and ultimately in society.
•
The philosophical (or moral) approach to literature evaluates the ethical content of literary works
and concerns itself less with formal characteristics. Philosophical criticism always assumes the
seriousness of literary works as statements of values and criticisms of life, and the philosophical critic
judges works on the basis of his or her articulated philosophy of life. Assuming that literature can have a
good effect on human beings by increasing their compassion and moral sensitivity, this form of criticism
acknowledges that books can have negative effects on people as well. For this reason, philosophical
critics will sometimes attack authors for degenerate, decadent, or unethical writings.
While this description may make philosophical critics seem similar to censors, these critics rarely
call for burning or banning of books. Unlike censors, they try to deal with the whole literary work rather
than with passages taken out of context. Some people might criticize J .D. Salinger's The Catcher in the
Rye because Holden Caulfield is a poor role model. The book might also be attacked because of its
profane language. In fact, these aspects of the novel have led to its being banned in many school districts
throughout the United States. Although the philosophical critic may find both of these aspects of the
novel disturbing, he or she might still believe that, on balance, the book was to be commended for its
indictment of hypocrisy and materialism. For the philosophical critic, it is not a question of objectionable
characters and passages; it is a question of the totality of the work. Instead of banning books that they
find to be without redeeming social merit, philosophical critics write scathing reviews explaining why
they consider the books they are attacking to be decadent or unethical. In the twentieth century,
philosophical critics have tended toward a humanistic belief in reason, order, and restraint. This explains
their reluctance to ban books despite their moral concerns: if human beings are rational, as the
philosophical critic believes, they will listen to reason when it is spoken; and they will reject evil and
embrace the good.
The Unconscious
According to Freud, human beings are not conscious of all their feelings, urges, and desires
because most of mental life is unconscious. Freud compared the mind to an iceberg: only a small portion
is visible; the rest is below the waves of the sea. Thus, the mind consists of a small conscious portion and
a vast unconscious portion.
Repression
Observing the conservative, prudish upper middle classes of the late nineteenth century, Freud
came to the conclusion that society demands restraint, order, and respectability and that individuals are
forced to repress (or sublimate) the libidinous and aggressive drives. These repressed desires, however,
emerge in dreams and in art. The artist and the dreamer are both creators; both have a need to express
themselves by creating beautiful or terrifying images and narratives. But the lust and aggression may not
be represented directly. This leads to the use of symbols and subtexts in dreams and literature.
They believe that the Social conditions and notions of the origins and cultures of
humanity affect literature.
What does the writer seem to like or dislike about this society?
Central Sociological Questions:
What sort of society does the author describe? (How is it set up? What
rules are there?
What happens to people who break them? Who enforces the rules?)
What changes do you think the writer would like to make in the society?
And how can you tell?
What sorts of pressures does the society put on its members?
How do the members respond to this pressure?
Sociological criticism focuses on the relationship between literature and society. Literature is
always produced in a social context. Writers may affirm or criticize the values of the society in which
they live, but they write for an audience and that audience is society. Through the ages the writer has
performed the functions of priest, prophet and entertainer: all of these are important social roles. The
social function of literature is the domain of the sociological critic.
Even works of literature that do not deal overtly with social issues may have social issues as
subtexts. The sociological critic is interested not only in the stated themes of literature, but also in the
latent themes. Like the historical critic, the sociological critic attempts to understand the writer's
environment as an important element in the writer's work. Like the moral critic, the sociological critic
usually has certain values by which he or she judges literary work.
5. Cultural Approach
Literature is seen as the manifestations and vehicles of a nation’s or race’s culture and tradition.
It includes the entire complex of what goes under “culture” - the technological, artistic, sociological,
ideological aspects; and considers then literary piece in the total cultural milieu.
The thrust is to make full use of the reciprocal function between culture and literature.
One of the richest ways to arrive at the culture of the people.
The most pleasurable ways of appreciating the literature of the people.
Marxist Criticism
One of the most important forms of sociological criticism is Marxist criticism. Karl Marx (1818-
1883) developed a theory of society, politics, and economics called dialectical materialism. Writing in
the nineteenth century, Marx criticized the exploitation of the working classes, or proletariat, by the
capitalist classes who owned the mines, factories, and other resources of national economies. Marx
believed that history was the story of class struggles and that the goal of history was a classless society in
which all people would share the wealth equally. This classless society could only come about as a result
of a revolution that would overthrow the capitalist domination of the economy.
Central to Marx's understanding of society is the concept of ideology. As an economic
determinist, Marx thought that the system of production was the most basic fact in social life. Workers
created the value of manufactured goods, but owners of the factories reaped most of the economic
rewards. In order to justify and rationalize this inequity, a system of understandings or ideology was
created, for the most part unconsciously. Capitalists justified their taking the lion's share of the rewards
by presenting themselves as better people, more intelligent, more refined, more ethical that the workers.
Since literature is consumed, for the most part, by the middle classes, it tends to support capitalist
ideology, at least in countries where that ideology is dominant.
Marxist critics interpret literature in terms of ideology. Writers who sympathize with the working
classes and their struggle are regarded favorably. Writers who support the ideology of the dominant
classes are condemned. Naturally, critics of the Marxist school differ in breadth and sympathy the way
other critics do. As a result, some Marxist interpretations are more subtle than others. Take the Marxist
approach to Shakespeare's The Tempest for example. The standard Marxist party line would be to
interpret Prospero as the representative of European imperialism. Prospero has come to the island from
Italy. He has used his magic (perhaps a symbol of technology) to enslave Caliban, a native of the island.
Caliban resents being the servant of Prospero and attempts to rebel against his authority. Since Prospero
is presented in a favorable light, the Marxist critic might condemn Shakespeare as being a supporter of
European capitalist ideology. A more subtle Marxist critic might see that the play has far more
complexity, and that Caliban has been invested with a vitality that makes it possible for audiences to
sympathize with him. Certainly, the Marxist view of the play brings out ideas that might be overlooked by
other kinds of critics and, thus, contributes to the understanding of the play.
Sociological criticism, then, reflects the way literature interacts with society. Sociological critics show us
how literature can function as a mirror to reflect social realities and as a lamp to inspire social ideals