THE EXTRINSIC

APPROACH
LITERATURE AND ITS EXTERNAL RELATIONS
one of the oldest and most widespread rnethods of
studying literature
in general, extrinsic factors are used to interpret
literary works
in discussing a literary work, a critic may focus on
the life of the author.
the biographical critic assumes that a literary work
cannot be properly understood unless one has an
adequate knowledge of the author's life
in trying to illuminate other aspects of the work,
another critic might focus on the time and setting of
the work---when and where it appeared
he might also delineate the characteristics of the
milieu (or social environment) which is assumed to
have an intimate connection with the work
 Most Prevalent Extrinsic Approaches to Literature

1. The biographical approach - emphasizes that the

literary work is primarily the product of a unique
individual. It therefore seeks to interpret the work in
terms of the author's life or personality.
2. The sociological approach - regards the work as
the product of social institutions. It therefore seeks to
interpret the work in terms of its connection to social,
political, and economic forces.
3. The historical approach - “seeks to understand a
literary work by investigating the social, cultural, and
intellectual context that produced it—a context that
necessarily includes the artist’s biography and milieu.” A
key goal for historical critics is to understand the effect
of a literary work upon its original readers.
THE BIOGRAPHICAL APPROACH
 involves the use of biography as a tool in literary analysis
 uses events from the author’s life to illuminate the text
 by far the most popular way of studying a literary work
 this approach begins with the simple but central insight
that literature is written by actual people and that
understanding an author’s life can help readers more
thoroughly comprehend the work (
http://home.olemiss.edu/~egjbp/spring97/litcrit.html

 its purpose is simply to arouse the interest of the students

in the literary work that has to be studied
 is not simply a matter of reconstructing or reading the
biography of an author to elicit or heighten interest in a
literary work
 it entails the use of biographical information to illuminate
various aspects of the text
Ways by which biography can help us understand a
literary work:
1. It may be used to explain certain aspects or features of the
work.
2. Biography is especially helpful in clarifying the meaning of
allusions.
3. Biography may also be used to explain the thematic
concerns of a writer. Many authors have favorite themes
which they delineate in many of their works.

The biographical approach is truly useful only when we

can show, through this method, how certain facts about
the author's life or personality have become artistic
elements in the final product which is the literary work
itself.
THE SOCIOLOGICAL APPROACH
 considers the literary work as the product of social
institutions. Its task is to interpret the work in terms of
its connection to social, political, and economic forces
 examines literature in the cultural, economic and
political context in which it is written or received,”
exploring the relationships between the artist and society
 sometimes it examines the artist’s society to better
understand the author’s literary works; other times, it
may examine the representation of such societal elements
within the literature itself
 one influential type of sociological criticism is Marxist
criticism, which focuses on the economic and political
elements of art, often emphasizing the ideological content
of literature
 A literature that is totally divorced from society is
unimaginable. Wellek and Warren (as cited by Tolentino)
cite a number of reasons why literature may be considered
inseparable from its social context:
1. The medium of literature is language, and language is
a product of society. Language did not exist prior to the
appearance of human society. It developed when people saw the
need to adopt a means by which they could communicate with
each other through meaningful sounds Language, therefore, is
a social creation. By extension, literature itself is a product of
society.
2. Literary conventions are social in nature. In every
society, people have a number of set ideas about how different
types of literature should be written. These ideas also dictate
how the literary works should be read. These ideas become
conventions only when they are accepted and applied by a large
number of people.
3. The writer is a member of society. Writers-even the most
individualistic or alienated--are part of a social group. Whatever
their situation is, they have a definable relationship with that
group. Writers write to express themselves, but they also write to
communicate with other people. Moreover, writers occupy a
definite position in society, they too have a social status.
4. Literature has a social function. This is the case whether its
objective is to give pleasure, to instruct, or to move people into
action. The mere fact that literature is a form of communication
indicates that its function has something to do with what it
seeks to do to its readers. Literature, in one way or another,
influences society.
5. Social reality is, to a large extent, the subject of
literature. This social reality is not the exclusive focus of
literature-there are many literary works which focus on the
inner or subjective world of individuals, and there are some
which focus on nature. But by and large, literature deals with
the life of men and women in society.
 The first approach deals with the literary work as a social
document. Those who use this approach focus on how literature
reflects various aspects of society. The second and third
approaches move away from the literary work and concentrate on
the external circumstances of literature, such as the ways by
which it is produced and disseminated, the status of writers in
society (i.e., their relationship to other social groups and the
nature of their work as a profession), and lastly, the relationship
of writers to people or agencies who support them and how
literary works are received by the reading public.
Clearly, the sociology of literature covers a wide range of
problems related to the social dimensions of literature. However,
from the point of view of literary criticism, many of the concerns
of the sociology of literature are not directly pertinent because
their fundamental objective is not the interpretation and
evaluation of the literary work as a work of art.
 Thank you for
listening! God
bless

rsbaldonado