Week 19 Literature was first produced by some of the

April 18, 2022 world’s earliest civilizations - those of Ancient

Literary criticism and literary theories Egypt and Sumeria - as early as the 4th
millennium BC

1. structuralist / formalist
● Taken to include spoken or sung texts, it
2. Moralist
originated even earlier, and some of the
3. Marxist
first written works may have been based
4. Feminist
on a pre-existing oral tradition.
5. Historical
6. Reader - response
● One of the earliest known literary works
is the Sumerian/Babylonian Epic of
Gilgamesh around 210 B.C.

Literature is a body of written works, especially

those considered of superior or lasting artistic
merit.
World Literature is used to refer to the sum total
of the world’s national literatures, but usually it
● It is a collection of written work, but it is
refers to the circulation of works into the wider
also used more narrowly for writings
world beyond their country of origin.
specifically considered to be an art form,
especially prose fiction, drama, and
● Often used in the past primarily for
poetry.
masterpieces of Western European
literature, world literature today is
increasingly seen in global context.

Defining literature

● Literature is any writing on a subject: the

body of published work concerned with
Literary Criticism
a particular subject (Scylar, 1998)

● Is the comparison, analysis,

○ Literature in its simplest version
interpretation, and/or evaluation of
can be defined as an expression
works of literature.
of human culture.

● An opinion supported by evidence,

relating to theme, style, setting, or
Litera (latin)
historical or political context.

● Writing formed with letters (although

● The critic's specific purpose may be to
some definitions include spoken or sung
make value judgments on a work, to
texts)
explain their interpretation of the work,
or to provide other readers with relevant
○ An acquaintance with letters
historical or biographical information.
 ● The critic’s general purpose in most
cases, is to enrich the reader’s
understanding of the literary work
. work means (theme), and how it
● Critics typically engage in dialogue or a
debate. Moreover, critics use the views
of fellow critics to develop their own
points or perspectives.
Structuralist /Formalist
● It is an approach that analyzes what the
conveys its meaning (style) - the relation
of theme to style
● Literature is a form of knowledge with
intrinsic elements, - style, structure,
imagery, tone, and genre

Why do we have to analyze literature? ● Structuralist/formalist approach gives a

literary work status as art, or as a great
● Talking about experiences enhances our work of art, and how all of its elements
enjoyment of them. work together to create the reader’s total
experience.
● Talking about experiences involves the
search for meaning which increases our
understanding of them.

● Literary criticism helps us understand

what is important about the text, its
structure, its contexts: social, economic,
historical; what is written, how the text
manipulates the reader.

● Literary criticism helps us to understand

the relationship between authors,
readers, and texts.

6 Critical Approaches in Literature

a. structuralist /formalist
b. Moralist
c. Feminist
d. Marxist
e. Historical
f. Reader-response