Literary Criticism

Ways to Think About Literature

What is Literary Criticism?

Its easy The breakdown of a literary work for any purpose of analysis or discussion There are many ways to do this

1. Reader Response
The feeling you get from the literature The impression it leaves on you How it changes/affects you How the elements of literature work to affect your reading experience

Reader Response cont...

Things that may affect your reading include: Literary elements like
Plot Setting Characterization Structure Style Atmosphere Tone Mood Theme

Remember: Always bring it back to how it affects YOU!!!

2. Genre Criticism
Genre kind or type of literature

When analyzing, ask:

What genre is this literature? How does the lits genre affect it? Are its genre characteristics well done, poorly done, effective, etc???

 The genre of this course is the Novel (duh)

Novel- extended prose narrative that focuses on characters in the framework of a plot

*There are lots of genres of novels

Novel Genres
A. B. C. D. E. F. Picaresque- social underdog has humorous
adventures and comments on society Historical- uses setting/characters/ situations from history and builds on them Social- depicts how people acted in a certain time period (Novel of Manners) Metaphysical- deals with the Truth; usually religion or philosophy Bildungsroman-(German=formation) coming of age, growing up Psychological- deals with the workings of the mind (mental disorders or struggles)

A. Traditional Romance- ADVENTURE (not love)

Modern Romance- sex and love

A. Gothic- deals with supernatural event and dark

mood/setting

B. Science Fiction- explores the possibilities of

this and other worlds

C. Epistolary- series of letters or diary entries D. Propaganda- encourages readers to take a

certain point of view

E. Utopian/Dystopian- deals with the

complications of mankind in the perfect (utopian) or imperfect (dystopian) world

3. Historical/Biographical Criticism
Looks at the literature as a result of the authors life and times Ask
Is the authors biographical info used in the story? Does the author try to portray a certain historical time period or his own time period? How was the literature received by critics when it was published? Today?

4. Psychological Criticism
Looks at literature through Freuds psychological theories
A. Most mental processes are subconscious (not done on purpose) B. All human behavior is motivated by sex C. We control our desires and instinctive actions because of social pressure to behave D. We repress taboo desires, thoughts and memories (keep them from our thoughts)

 Freud identified three parts of the human mind

A. Id
The center of all urges and subconscious desires Untamed passions, emotions, needs Pleasure principle = instinctive desires/needs

A. Ego
The rational governing agent of the mind Controls your actions to protect the self Reality principle = reason and good sense

A. Superego
The other rational governing agent of mind Controls your actions to protect others/society Morality principle = conformity to social rules

Other psychological principles seen in literature

A. The Oedipus Complex
Inappropriate desire for the parent of the opposite sex Rebelling against parents (especially the father) to assert individuality/power Items in the literature symbolizing the penis usually to assert power/manhood Characters have a need to constantly occupy the mouth (smoke, chew, eat) or are compulsively detail obsessed

A. Parental Rebellion

A. Phallic Symbols

A. Oral/Anal Fixations

5. Myth/Archetype Criticism
Myth- every civilization everywhere tells
stories (ancient times to today)

Archetype- universal symbols in stories

that carry the same meanings no matter when or where they are used
These can be images, themes, patterns or characters

Common Archetypal Images

found in literature

A. Water
Creation; birth-death-resurrection; purification
The Sea (ocean, lake)- mother of all life; eternity; death-rebirth Rivers (any flowing water)- the life cycle; phases of life; flow of time

A. Sun
Creative energy; law in nature; thinkingenlightenment
Rising Sun- birth; creation; enlightenment; new beginning Setting Sun- death; destruction; failure; the end

Archetypal Images cont

A. Colors
Red- blood; sacrifice; power; violence; disorder Green- growth; hope; fertility; greed; money; innocence Yellow- gold; happiness; optimism Brown- reliability; conservativism Blue- truth; religious feeling; security; purity Black (darkness)- chaos; mystery; unknown, death; evil; sadness White (light)- purity; innocence; goodness OR Death; terror; the supernatural; blinding truth (evil so black that it is white)

Think of pink, gray, purple, and orange as combinations of other colors

Archetypal Images cont

A. Circle
Wholeness; unity; cycle of life; end bringing you back to the beginning Energy; force; evil; corruption; sensuality; destruction 3- light; spiritual awareness; unity; the male 4- circle; life cycle; four seasons; the earth; four elements; the female 5- integration (bringing together); wholeness 6- evil; unknown 7- power; most potent of all numbers; luck; union of 3+4; man+woman 13- unlucky; superstitious

A. Serpent (worm, snake)

A. Numbers

Archetypal Images cont

A. Garden
Paradise; innocence Inexhaustible life; growth; phases of life Emptiness; death Striving to attain some goal; inspiration; obstacles to overcome

A. Tree A. Desert A. Mountain

Archetypal Characters
A. Archetypal Hero
Goes on a quest, goes through impossible tasks, solves questions to save the homeland or others Overcomes ordeals/challenges in order to pass from immaturity into adulthood (or ignorance into knowing) Character who must die or be sacrificed so that others can live on

A. Sacrificial Scapegoat (Christ Figure)

A. Archetypal Women
1. Good Mother- life; birth; warmth; nourishment; protection; fertility (good female character) 2. Terrible Mother- witch; siren; whore; femme fatale; evil; corruption (bad female character) 3. Ingenue- perfection; spirituality; angelic goodness (perfectly innocent, beautiful female character)

Archetypal Characters cont

A. Wise Old Man
Supporting character; offers hero knowledge, insight, wisdom, good will, help Supporting character
Antagonist- evil, ill-will, causes problems for hero Jokester- clown, fool, causes harmless pranks on hero or others for the sake of humor; can still help

A. Trickster

Why did I bother writing this down?

Good question Because you will absolutely, positively use it throughout the entire semester Really. Keep it and bring it to class everyday.

The End!