BASIC EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL PURPOSES MODULE

SY 2022-2023 I SECOND QUARTER

Date: November 7-11, 2022

I. LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of the lesson the students should be able to:
 define literary theories;
 identify critical approaches to literature;
 identify appropriate critical writing approach to be used in a particular literary piece.

II. TOPIC:
Critical Approaches to Literature

III. RESOURCES
Document from the Web

IV. VALUES/CHARACTER INTEGRATION

Being able to analyze and judge correctly is a good sign of learning. This topic will teach you
how to analyze a literary piece based on different perspective which is truly useful not only in
dealing with literature but also in life. Analyzing and interpreting an object or a person could
also be tricky, so we better see to it that we view them using the correct lens.

V. INTRODUCTION
What is a Literary Theory?
“Literary theory” is the body of ideas and methods we use in the practical reading of
literature. By literary theory we refer not to the meaning of a work of literature but to the
theories that reveal what literature can mean.

VI. BODY
Critical Approaches to Literature
 Critical approaches are sometimes called lenses.
 Different perspectives we can consider when looking at a piece or several pieces of
Literature.
 Helps the reader to know the following:
o What do we read?
o Why do we read?
o How do we read?

Important Critical Approaches to Consider

ACAD-BED-FM-045 Rev 1 Effective 15 Nov 2021

 • Reader – Response Criticism
• Formalist Criticism
• Psychological / Psychoanalytic Criticism
• Sociological Criticism:
o Feminist/Gender Criticism and Marxist Criticism
• Biographical Criticism
• New Historicist Criticism

1. Reader-Response Criticism
• Reader-Response Criticism asserts that a great deal of meaning in a text lies with
how the reader responds to it.
• Deals more with the process of creating meaning and experiencing a text as we read.
A text is an experience, not an object.
• The text is a living thing that lives in the reader’s imagination.
• READER + READING SITUATION + TEXT = MEANING

2. Formalist Criticism
• It emphasizes the form of a literary work to determine its meaning, focusing on
literary elements and how they work to create meaning.
• Examines a text as independent from its time period, social setting, and author’s
background. A text is an independent entity.
• Focuses on close readings of texts and analysis of the effects of literary elements
and techniques on the text.

3. Psychological Criticism
• It views a text as a revelation of its author’s mind and personality. It is based on the
work of Sigmund Freud.
• Also focuses on the hidden motivations of literary characters.
• Looks at literary characters as a reflection of the writer.

4. Sociological Criticism
• It argues that social contexts (the social environment) must be considered when
analysing a text.
• Emphasizes the economic, political, and cultural issues within literary texts.
• Core Belief: Literature is a reflection of its society.

Sociological Criticism: Marxist Criticism

• It emphasizes economic and social conditions. It is based on the political theory of
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.
• Concerned with understanding the role of power, politics, and money in literary texts.

Sociological Criticism: Feminist/Gender Criticism

• It is concerned with the role, position, and influence of women in a literary text.
• Asserts that most “literature” throughout time has been written by men, for men.

ACAD-BED-FM-045 Rev 1 Effective 15 Nov 2021

 • Examines the way that the female consciousness is depicted by both male and
female writers.

5. Biographical Criticism
• This emphasizes the importance of the author’s life and background into account
when analysing a text.
Three Benefits:
• It can help a reader decide how to interpret a text.
• A reader can better appreciate a text by knowing a writer’s struggles or difficulties in
creating that text.
• A reader can understand a writer’s preoccupation.

6. New Historicist Criticism

● It is a method of literary criticism that emphasizes the history of the text by relating it
to the configurations of power, society, or ideology in a given time.
● New historicist critics often compare the language in contemporary documents and
literary texts to reveal cultural assumptions and values in the text.

VII. SUMMARY/CONCLUSION
Sometime it is hard to understand a literary piece specially if it is written in a different era
and place. That is when critical approaches to literature come into play. They serve as our
lenses to be able to analyze a literary piece.

VIII. ASSESSMENT
• From the movie you reviewed last quarter for your performance task, identify the
correct critical approach to literature to be used to analyze the piece. Explain
thoroughly.

IX. REFERENCES
https://www.slideshare.net/LeahCondina1/critical-approaches-to-literature

Submitted by:

CAROL C. SANTOS
Subject Teacher

Checked by:

LYDIA G. CALIPDAN

ACAD-BED-FM-045 Rev 1 Effective 15 Nov 2021

Language Coordinator

Noted by:

TITA C. AGSUNOD, LPT, PhD

Basic Education Principal

ACAD-BED-FM-045 Rev 1 Effective 15 Nov 2021