Literary Criticism

Literary Criticism is a way of viewing or

interpreting literature by using different lens
(perspectives)
5 types of Literary Criticism covered in ENG IV:
 Reader Response Criticism (Unit 1)
 Cultural Criticism (Unit 1)
 Feminist Criticism (Unit 2)
 Marxist Criticism (Unit 2)
 Archetypal Criticism (Unit 2)
Review: Reader Response

 Individual Response to Reading a text

 Reader’s background, experiences and
knowledge are used to gain comprehension
 Interpretation of text relies only on the reader
Example: “My Papa’s Waltz” can be
interpreted as a poem about a fun romp
before bed between father and son, or as a
poem about child abuse.
Review: Cultural Criticism

 Elements of a particular culture must be

considered when interpreting a text
 A culture’s religion, values and prevailing
issues must be understood in order to gain
meaning from the text
Example: The presence of two religions in
Beowulf is explained by the fact that
Christianity was slowly replacing the pagan
beliefs of the Anglo-Saxons.
Feminist Criticism

 Cultural issues due to “patriarchal”

society (dominated by man)
*Sexual stereotypes/place of woman
and man in society
*Issues that prevent women from
achievement
*Recognizes that society views
women as being “other” to man
Example: Applying Feminist
Criticism to Cinderella
 Girl is waiting to be “rescued” from her horrible life by
the handsome prince
*shows women are the weaker sex and depend on
men for everything (man is dominant and woman is
subordinate)
 “Good girl” is beautiful and “wicked girls” are ugly
*shows that a woman’s worth is only in her beauty, or
lack of beauty
Marxist Criticism

 Economic Power
Who has money? Who does not?
Money=happiness
 Class Conflict
Dominant class controls the subordinate
class/subordinate class accepts the
control
Example: Apply Marxist
Criticism to Cinderella
 Cinderella must do all chores and wait on
stepmother and stepsisters hand and foot
*Shows the oppression of the lower class
by the upper class
 Cinderella desires to marry the prince
and live “happily ever after”
*Shows the need for the lower class to join the
ranks of the upper class in order to be happy
Archetypal Criticism

 Archetypes are universal (widely

recognized) symbols that are present in
literature, myth, songs and film
These include:
 Archetypal characters
 Archetypal symbols
 Archetypal situations
Example: Apply Archetypal
Criticism to Cinderella
 The wicked step-mother and step-sisters
terrorize Cinderella
*Archetypal villains
 The handsome prince rescues Cinderella
by marrying her
*Archetypal knight in shining armor
 Cinderella has to be rescued from her life
*Archetypal damsel in distress
Identify the Appropriate Criticism to
use in the following examples from
“A Knight’s Tale”
 William is jailed for pretending to be a
knight.
 Jocelyn is treated like an object to be
owned instead of a person by Count
Adamar.
 William, a peasant, depends on the Sir
Ector, a knight, for everything. He is not
allowed to better himself or “change his
stars.”