Asian Literature
• Feminist
Parts of a Critical Analysis
 Introduction
 Summary
 Analysis
 Conclusion
Literary Criticism
- a comparison, analysis, interpretation, and/or
evaluation of works of literature. It is essentially
an opinion, supported by evidence, relating to
theme, style, setting, or historical or political
context
Functions of Literary Criticism:
 to analyze, study, and evaluate works of
literature
 to form general principles for the examination
of works of literature
Literary Criticism Approaches
• Formalistic
- stresses items like symbols, images, and
structure and how one part of the work relates
to other parts and to the whole (Literary
elements, devices, structure and language)
• Philosophical
- focuses on themes, views of the world, moral
statements, and author’s philosophy
• Biographical
- aims to find connection between the piece and
the author’s personal experiences
• Historical
- focuses on the connection of work to the
historical period in which it was written; literary
historians attempt to connect the historical
background of the work to specific aspects of
the work
• Psychological
- focuses on the psychology of characters
• Sociological
- focuses on man’s relationship with others in
society, politics, religion, and business
- examines images of women and concepts of
the feminine in myth and literature: often
focuses on female characters who have been
neglected in previous criticism
• Reader-Response
- argues that the meaning of a text is dependent
upon the reader’s response to it
• Marxism
- the struggle between social classes. It analyses
the impact of the ruling class of laborers,
leading to uneven distribution of wealth and
privileges in the society
• Post Colonialism
- looks at these colonial countries and sees how
being colonized has affected their political,
economical, and social climate
- asks the reader to analyze and expound on the
effects of colonization and imperialism on the
characters
Literary Genres, Traditions and Forms
JAPANESE
Literature
- examines works of literature such as stories,
novels, poetry and plays to research the
workings of the human condition in Japan
Major Themes of Classic Japanese Literature
 Loyalty
 Obligation
 Self-sacrifice
 Elements of supernatural
• Ancient Literature (until 794)
- the earliest Japanese literary works date to the
8th century and mostly deal with Japanese
legends and myths
- Kojiki by O no Yasumaro (early 8th century)
 • Classical Literature (794-1185)
- during the Heian period the Japanese literature
reached its golden age
- The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu (early
11th century) is considered the world’s first
novel
• Medieval Literature (1185-1603)
- medieval Japanese literature was greatly
influenced by civil wars and the emergence of
the warrior class, resulting in the rise of war
tales
• Modern Literature
- the early modern Japanese literature saw the
rise of the many new genres including:
 kabuki - Japanese dance-drama
 haiku (hokku) - 5-7-5 poetry
 yomihon - a type of Japanese books
 kusazoshi - illustrated literature
- japanese literature has managed to retain its
distinct style as well as remained a breeding
ground for new literary forms
- ex: manga comic books
Tradition and Culture
- japanese culture is a set of values that puts
importance on social harmony and hard work
- rich cultural heritage by practicing tea
ceremony, wearing kimono and studying
traditional arts and crafts from early childhood
- japanese people always display modesty and
humility.
- people often bow to convey the message
- japanese people have two religions at the same
time: they are both Buddhist and Shintoist
Literary Genres
• Fiction • Drama
- Short Story - Comedy and Tragedy
- Novel
• Non-Fiction • Poetry
- Essay - Haiku
- Biography
CHINESE
Literature
- Chinese Civilization - one of the few ancient
civilizations to have its individual writing
concept
- the chinese language has over 20,000
characters. the average chinese only learns
about 5,000 of those in his lifetime
- the religions and beliefs of chinese people are
Islam, Catholicism and Protestant, there are also
Atheist
- Confucianism - an ethical teaching founded by
Confucius
- Confucius - he embraces the well-known
principle; “Do not do unto others what you
don’t want others do unto you.”
Culture and Traditions
- Chinese New Year or Lunar New Year or Spring
Festiva - the most important festival in China
and a major event in some other East Asian
countries
- traditional chinese culture respects the
importance of rites and has special rites for
various occasions, such as the emperor’s
sacrifice to heaven, the common people’s
sacrifice to ancestors, weddings, funerals, and
courteous exchanges
- chinese zodiac, lucky and unlucky numbers,
ancient marriage customs
- traditional chinese clothes were an evolution of
their long, loose, straight-cut jackets and pants
or gowns
Literary Genres
• Poetry
- principal genre of chinese literature
- early folk songs established the shi (shih) form
that crystallized during the Han dynasty and
dominated for the next 1,200 years
• Short Story
- began to develop during the Tang dynasty
- at first emphasized either historical events or
supernatural happenings which could not be
related in a formal historical work
• Drama
- one of china's least well-developed genres, had
its origins also in popular entertainment (Yuan
dynasty)
INDIAN
Literature
• India Caste System

Culture and Traditions

- Hinduism - says we create karma by our actions
on earth. If you live a good life, you create a
good karma. If you live a bad life, you create bad
karma
- Reincarnation - the belief that the soul
repeatedly goes through a cycle of being born
into a body, dying and being reborn again in a
new body
- Karma - a force that determines the quality of
each life, depending on how well one behaved
in a past life

Literary Genres
- Sanskrit literature - oral tradition produced the
vedic holy text
- Mahabharata and Ramayana - two great books
- The Vedas - oldest texts of Hinduism
 Rig Veda - book of sacred hymns
 Yajur Veda - book of knowledge and
melodies for the hymns
 Sama Veda - descriptions of the
materials for sacrifice
 Artharva Veda - contains magic spells
Anglo-American Culture
ENGLISH LITERATURE
OLD ENGLISH
• Background of Anglo-Saxon
- english Literature started with Anglo-Saxon
literature
- english was common tongue of Angles and
Saxons before occupied Britaine
- before they occupied Britain they lived along the
coasts of Sweden and Denmark, and the
occupied land was called Engle-land (England).
 the name “England” is derived from the old
english name “Englaland”, which means
“Land of the Angles”
• Characteristics of Anglo-Saxon
- these tribes were fearless, adventurous and
brave
- they sang at their feast about battles, gods and
their ancestral heroes and some of their chiefs
were bards (poets)
- their songs were about religion, wars and
agriculture and english poetry began from these
songs
• 5 Principles of Anglo-Saxon
- they followed five principles in their life:
 love for personal freedom
 responsiveness to nature
 love for religion
 love for womanhood
 struggle for glory
• Literature of Anglo-Saxon
- much of Anglo-Saxon poetry is lost, few
fragments left
- Beowulf - a tale of adventures of Beowulf, the
hero, who is a champion and slayer of monsters.
one of the striking features-the use of
alliteration (oral tradition)
- after the Anglo-Saxon embraced christianity, the
poets took up religious themes as the subject
matter of their poetry
• Famous Poets
- Caedmon sang in series the whole story of fate
of man, from the creation and the fall to the
redemption and the last judgment
- Cynewulf his important poem is Christ, a
metrical narrative of leading events a Christ’s
ministry upon earth, including his return to
judgment
MIDDLE ENGLISH
- works frequently of a religiously didactic
content
- written for performance at court or for festivals
- Geoffrey Chaucer
 the father of the English Literature
 he is widely considered the greatest
English poet of the Middle Ages
• Feudalism
- commoners (peasants) lived on a feudal manor.
the lord of the manor gave his vassals (the
peasants land to farm)
- in return, the vassals received protection from
roving bandits, yet they were taxed and had to
surrender a portion of their crops to the lord
• Chivalry
- the Medieval knight was bound to the chivalric
code to be loyal to:
 God
 His lord
 His lady
- chivalric ideals include:
 Benevolence
 Brotherly love
 Politeness
ENGLISH RENAISSANCE
- it means rebirth or revival of letters
- Humanism - key note of the Renaissance;
emphasis on the dignity of human beings and
the importance of present life
• William Shakespeare
- he was one of the first playwrights to bring the
Renaissance's core values to the theater.
- 38 plays, 154 sonnets and 2 long narrative
poems
THE AGE OF REASON
- love sonnets were substituted for satirical EDWARDIAN PERIOD
verses intended toward reforming the individual - edwardian era writers also examined the fears
and society and social anxiety surrounding technological
advances
• Francis Bacon
- Father of English Essay
- an English Philosopher, he remained extremely MODERN PERIOD
influential through his works, especially as - literature begins with the 20th century and
philosophical advocate continues till 1965. the period saw an abrupt
- According to Francis Bacon the three important break away from the old ways of interacting
uses of studies are: with the world
 for delight
 for ornament
 for ability

• Drama AMERICAN LITERATURE

- the highest glory of the English Renaissance Major Themes in American Literature
with Christopher Marlowe, Shakespeare and • American Individualism
Ben Jonson - also known as the self-made man
- celebration of ambition and achievement

THE RESTORATION PERIOD • The American Dream

- the restoration was an age of poetry as poems
affected political events and immediately
reflected the times. it was, to its own people, an
age dominated only by the king, and not by any
single genius
- the idea that anyone can become whatever he
or she wants to become through hard work,
determination, and perseverance

ROMANTIC PERIOD
- Romanticism – it designates a literary and
philosophical theory which tends to see that
individual as the very center of all life and all
experience

• William Wordsworth
- the father of Romanticism

• Edgar Allan Poe

- the father of short stories

VICTORIAN PERIOD
- the novel was the dominant form of literature
during the Victorian era, poets continued to
experiment with style and methods of story-
telling in their poems