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(Week 2) Literary Theory and Criticism Handout

The document discusses the definitions and differences between literature, theory, and criticism. It provides the following key points: - Literature is defined by some as using imaginative/fictional elements, beautiful language, and being non-pragmatic. However, these definitions are not definitive as literature can also be non-fictional or fictional texts that are not considered literary. - Literary theory forms a system of ideas and principles for analyzing, evaluating, and classifying literary texts. It examines frameworks for reading texts and relations between text and other elements. Theory is both analytical and speculative. - Literary criticism is the dynamic process of assigning value and meaning to literary works by determining what works/doesn't work in

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Codruța Elena Cociug
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79 views

(Week 2) Literary Theory and Criticism Handout

The document discusses the definitions and differences between literature, theory, and criticism. It provides the following key points: - Literature is defined by some as using imaginative/fictional elements, beautiful language, and being non-pragmatic. However, these definitions are not definitive as literature can also be non-fictional or fictional texts that are not considered literary. - Literary theory forms a system of ideas and principles for analyzing, evaluating, and classifying literary texts. It examines frameworks for reading texts and relations between text and other elements. Theory is both analytical and speculative. - Literary criticism is the dynamic process of assigning value and meaning to literary works by determining what works/doesn't work in

Uploaded by

Codruța Elena Cociug
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Theory and Criticism

What is and is not literature?

According to some, literature:

- should be “imaginative”/fictional (imaginative value)


- should use language in a special way: beautiful, interesting language (aesthetic value)
- should be non-pragmatic: we read it for the aesthetic and imaginative effect, not for a
particular gain (non-pragmatic value)

*the aesthetic value of a text may not only be found in the language, but also in the
“arrangement” of the story: the way a plot is organized, the way the events come together,
the way a character jumps off the page and feels real etc. (the aesthetic and imaginative
components work together)

If none of the above helps us identify a literary work, it can be identified by its context (its
genre, its format, its author etc.)
However, we encounter difficulties when we examine all of the above statements. They are all
true, yet not definitive, for literature is the realm of subjectivity and ambiguity. Some texts may
be literary without being fictional, or they can be fictional without being literary, for example:
(Exercise: Literary vs. Non-Literary/ Fictional vs. Non-Fictional / see handout)

“Some texts are born literary, some achieve literariness, and some have literariness thrust upon
them.” (Terry Eagleton)

What is (Literary) Theory?


Usually, by theory we refer to an abstract set of interrelated principles, ideas, and methods
that form a system of thought (for instance, “the theory of evolution”, “the theory of
relativity”, “Kant’s ethical theory”, “conflict theory” (sociology), “political theory” etc.) These
systems can be bigger or smaller, depending on the topic.
We are interested in theories which have been assessed and determined by thinkers, but even
when we casually say “I have a theory about that…” we are connecting several ideas that, when
put together, form a system of thought that confirms our conclusions.
Literary theory forms a system of ideas, principles, and methods by which to analyse,
evaluate and classify literary texts. Literary theory sometimes wants to find common traits
that show up in several texts, or it wants to examine the function of a text, or it explores the
text’s relation to itself, the text’s relation to the author, the text’s relation to the reader, or
the text’s relation to society and culture. Literary theory analyses the framework(s) by which
we read a text (do we read it through the framework of language, of genre, of narrator, of culture
etc.?). Theory is both analytical and speculative: new theories may emerge to contradict or add
to an established theory.

What is (Literary) Criticism?


“What do you think about this text?” – the essential question of criticism
Literary criticism is the dynamic activity of assigning value and meaning to a literary work.
We “criticize” a text in the sense that we figure out what works and doesn’t work, what is
beautiful, what is ugly, what is clever, what is boring etc.
Criticism is considered more dynamic than theory, even though it also tends to classify and
analyse texts. That is why, sometimes, literary theory and literary criticism can become
interchangeable terms. Ideally, criticism is the application of theory onto a text or several
texts. But we can criticize works of art and literature without necessarily making use of theory.
Both criticism and theory are as old as Ancient Greece. Some thinkers like Aristotle or Plato
gave their opinions on various classical works of the time and tried to assign them value.
Aristotle even tried to formalize and systematize his literary criticism into theory (see his
Poetics). The Latin poet Horace in his “Ars Poetica”, talked about the purpose of literature,
which is to instruct and delight. He also advised writers to start their stories in medias res (in
the middle of things), for a better effect. Meanwhile, an 18 th century writer like Alexander Pope
advised writers to give the impression of harmony and order. All such critics create
conventions, which can either be followed or broken. Literary theory formalizes and
(re)examines these conventions. Theory looks at the ways in which we criticize literary
works. Theory, in a sense, criticizes the criticism.
Most of us deal with criticism more than theory. We watch a film or read a book and we want to
share our thoughts on it, we want to assess whether it was good or bad, whether it did what it was
supposed to do. If we wanted to engage with literary theory, we would have to do a more
systematic study of the text and its conventions.
This semester, we will look at schools of literary theory, examine the theory and apply it to
various texts, as a form of criticism.

*A Note on Literature and Morality


Criticism has often been concerned with the moral or ethical quality of a text.
Plato, for instance, believed that fiction influenced people negatively because it forced them to place
themselves in the shoes of wicked people and because literary works often focus on the irrational,
whereas people must strive to be rational and disciplined. Aristotle, on the contrary, believed that literary
works helped people experience the extremes of human emotion (both wicked and good) in a safe and
creative environment. Through purging/catharsis, people would be liberated from their own passions in
fiction. We still consider the question today; whether literary texts help us be better people, or whether it
matters if they do. Literature can be moral and offer moral insights, but it does not have to teach us
something in order to be of value. What do you think?

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