What is Literary Criticism?

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Criticism
• When you hear “criticism,” you
might automatically think about
pointing out weaknesses or failures.
• However, criticism can be
favorable as well as unfavorable. 

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Literary criticism
• Literary criticism helps interpret the
meaning of a short story, poem, or play.
• Literary criticism is an attempt to
understand and ultimately evaluate
what an author has created.

Let me explain
this to you…

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Literary criticism
Literary criticism of a work usually offers:
interpretation of its meaning
analysis of its structure and style
judgment of its worth by
comparison with other works
estimation of its likely effect on
readers

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Literary criticism
• Literary criticism can be applied to a…
–genre

–an author's writings

as a whole

–a specific literary
work
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The Critical Process – Basic Steps
1) Understanding what the text says
Wow…she The book begins
really gets with…and then…in
this! the end…

2) Analyzing literary elements such

as plot, character, point of view,
symbolism, irony etc…

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The Critical Process – Basic Steps
3) Interpreting the literature by making
broad observations or generalizations
of the theme

4) Evaluating the literature by applying

specific criteria 

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 Literary Criticism…
What’s the Purpose?

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What purpose does literary criticism serve?

Literary criticism helps to explain a work

and its underlying principles to readers
who may not fully understand the
text
I’m having a little
difficulty with
Hemingway’s A
Farewell to Arms…

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What purpose does literary criticism serve?

Literary criticism helps interpret works

to readers who might otherwise fail
to understand or appreciate them

Without Literary Criticism (Before) With Literary Criticism (After)

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 What purpose does literary criticism serve?

Literary criticism helps discover

and apply principles that
describe “good literature”

Literature

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What purpose does literary criticism serve?
Literary criticism examines how
• Culture
• Politics
• Gender
• Popular ideologies
• History
• Psychology
• Author’s life
affect interpretation of literature.
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What purpose does literary criticism serve?

• Literary criticism helps establish

clearly defined standards of
evaluation
ture
it era ation
L
v alu
E

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 What purpose does literary criticism serve?

• Literary criticism helps to

justify imaginative literature in
a world that finds its value
questionable
Imaginative
literature…who
needs it??

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 Types of
Literary Criticism

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Types of Literary Criticism
Literary criticism helps the
reader view the text
through a different
lens.

Imagine how your view

would change with
each colored lens…

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In Summary...
Types of Literary Criticism include:
Reader-Response Criticism
Formalist/New Criticism
Feminist Criticism
Marxist Criticism
Historical Criticism
Psychoanalytic Criticism
Authorial Criticism

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Reader Response Criticism
Text-------Meaning------Reader

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Reader Response Criticism
•Reader Response stresses the
importance of the reader's role in
interpreting texts.
•No single, fixed meaning is inherent
in every literary work.
The protagonist
The protagonist
is afraid of
moving
is playing it
forward… safe…

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Reader Response Criticism
• The reader creates his or her own meaning through a
"transaction" with the text.
• Readers bring emotions, concerns, life experiences, and
knowledge to their reading; therefore, each interpretation
is subjective and unique.

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Reader Response Criticism

Besides Reader Response,

what other types of literary
criticism can be applied to
texts?

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Formalist / or “New” Criticism
The whole text and nothing but the text

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Formalist / or “New” Criticism
•New Critics treat a work of literature as if it
were a self-contained, self-referential
object.
I alone
have the
meaning…

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Formalist / or “New” Criticism
•New Critics do not look at:
the reader’s response
the author’s stated intentions
historical contexts
author’s life
I am the book,
and the book
stands alone

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Formalist / or “New” Criticism
• New Critics perform a close reading,
concentrating on the words and
structures within the text that give it
its own distinctive character or form.

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Formalist / or “New” Criticism
The formalist critic would
• Closely read the words in the text
• Examine the text only, not allowing any
influences outside the text influence
interpretation
Need meaning? Look
no further than right
here…

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Feminist Criticism
It’s all about gender -or- gender means nothing

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Feminist Criticism
A Feminist Critic would approach
the text by assuming:

 that all literature reflects or

promotes patriarchy (Men control a
disproportionately large share of power)

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Feminist Criticism
A Feminist Critic would approach the text
by assuming:
 that the text reflects society’s view of women
as outsiders or inferiors in terms of their
place with men
 that women are sociologically
underrepresented

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 Feminist Criticism
Feminist critics may argue
• that gender determines everything
or just the opposite:

• that all gender differences are imposed by

society, and gender determines nothing

Gender…

ALL?

NOTHING?
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Feminist Criticism
• reinforces the idea that
literature is a profound element
in the maintenance of male
power and privilege.

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Feminist Criticism
• provides a new perspective
on literature and the canon
from the point of view of an
oppressed, excluded
minority

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Feminist Criticism
• has expanded the
canon to include
many previously
excluded women
authors

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Marxist Criticism
To have or have not

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Marxist Criticism
What is Marxism?
• Marxism is an economic and social
system based upon the political and
economic theories of Karl Marx and
Friedrich Engels.

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Marxist Criticism
Marxist Criticism
Marxist literary critics focus upon:
– economic issues
– plight of working class
– capitalist control

VS.
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Marxist Criticism
Marxist literary critics focus upon:
– ideological oppression of a dominant
(wealthy) class over subordinate (poorer)
classes

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Marxist Criticism
What do Marxist literary critics do
with texts?
• Examine class structure and living
conditions of the poor, working class
• Look for indications that the working poor
are oppressed

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Marxist Criticism
A Marxist critic might ask the
following questions:
– Does the text reflect a dominant
capitalist ideology?
– Does the main character accept or
resist bourgeoisie values?

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Marxist Criticism
– Are lower economic groups
ignored or devalued?
– Are values that support the
dominant economic group given
privilege?

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Historical Criticism
Historical accuracy is key

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 Historical Criticism

Historical critics believe it is necessary to

know about the political, economical,
and sociological context of the stories
to truly understand the meaning.

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Historical Criticism
Historical Criticism

Critics examine actual historical

setting context.
Historical critics see works as the
reflection of the characters' life and
times.

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Historical Criticism
Historical Criticism

Historical Criticism is linked to

Authorial Criticism, as the author’s
environment often manifests in
his/her writing.

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Historical Criticism
Historical Criticism

Historical Critics
examine a piece of
literature in terms of
what it says about a
specific time/place in
history.

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Historical
HistoricalCriticism
Criticism

 Historical Critics often

check the accuracy of
facts and/or look for
new facts that
historians may have
overlooked/ignored.

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Psychoanalytic Criticism
It’s all in your mind

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Psychoanalytic Criticism
Psychoanalytic critics view
literature through the
lens of psychology

• They apply psychological

theory about the
workings of the human
mind to a story’s
characters
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Psychoanalytic Criticism
Psychological critics
– examine psychological
motivations of characters
– do not diagnose, but make
predictions based upon
patterns of psychology

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Psychoanalytic Criticism
• Psychoanalytic Criticism
is often Freudian (based
upon the theories of
Sigmund Freud)

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 Psychoanalytic Criticism
• Psychoanalytic
critics ask:
– why the author
created such a text,
particularly
focusing on what
may have been
unconscious
You say you want a cheeseburger and
fries, but all I hear is “I need love.” motivations
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 Psychoanalytic Criticism
• Psychoanalytic critics ask:
– why the character acted a certain way,
again particularly focusing on
unconscious motivations

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Psychoanalytic Criticism
• Psychoanalytic critics ask:
– how the reader’s unconscious
“motivated” a particular reaction to
the text

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 Authorial Criticism
To know the meaning, you must know the author

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Authorial Criticism
Authorial critics
see works as the
reflection of the
author's life
and times

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Authorial Criticism
Authorial critics believe it
is necessary to know
about the author in
order to truly
understand his works.

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Authorial Criticism
Authorial critics study
the biography of the
author and...
 Relate author’s life to
the text for meaning

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 Authorial Criticism
Authorial critics study the biography
of the author and...
 Examine the author’s
acquaintances, friends, and
relatives for character origins

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Authorial Criticism
Authorial critics study
the biography of the
author and...

 Attempt to determine
what facts from the
author’s life appear in
the text

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In Summary…
A quick review…

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In Summary...
Literary criticism attempts to explain and
evaluate literature. Critics attempt to
create meaning by examining many
factors.

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For more information:
The Internet Public Library (IPL)
Online Literary Criticism Guide
http://www.ipl.org/div/litcrit/guide.html

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Remember that texts can have more
than one meaning.

End of presentation.

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