LITERARY CRITICISM

( MODULE 4 )

AN OVERVIEW OF LITERARY THEORY

AND CRITICISM
(Weeks 7 and 8)

Michael Alibangbang
Instructor
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

Learning Module in Literary Criticism Page 1 of 19

Teacher’s Contact Number: 09163041728
Email Address: [email protected]

A- represents students with strong connectivity

B- represents students with limited connectivity
C- represents students with no connectivity
1. A &B:
You can edit this file and put your answers on the spaces given in this
module through soft copy access. Then send the file through email.
C: You write your answers on a long bond paper which will be collected every
week in exchange for the next module. There’s no need to copy the
questions in this module, you just have to label your answers properly.
You use one bond paper for each lesson and utilize the back portion if
needed.

2. A: A synchronous session will be scheduled for the discussion of important lessons

and for your consultation.
B: Your consultation will be done asynchronously through messenger, email or sms
chats.
C: For your consultation, you just write your questions or clarifications on a separate
bond paper which will be collected together with your answer sheets.

3. Links are available for your further understanding of each lesson.

4. Some activities have specific directions on their mode of submission so make sure
to follow the instructions faithfully.

5. Your performance task for the first quarter is provided at the last portion of this
module- Concept Transformation. After going through with this module, you then
start working with your requirement for this quarter.

6. If you have questions or comments on the content, write it on the space given at the
end of every lesson. If it is urgent for you, you can send a message at my contact
number.

7. Do not share my contact details or make fun with it!

Learning Module in Literary Criticism Page 2 of 19

 ST. MARY’S COLLEGE OF LABASON, INC.
(Formerly St. Mary’s Academy)
Imelda, Labason, Zamboanga del Norte
Email Add: [email protected]
Contact Nos: 09778109853/09501506596
School ID: 404823

Subject: LITERARY CRITICISM Quarter: 1

Module No: 4 Week: 7 and 8
Instructor: MICHAEL ALIBANGBANG

MODULE 4

INTRODUCTION:
MARXIST CRITICISM
Marxist criticism is based on the social and economic theories of Karl Marx and
Friedrich Engels. Their beliefs include the following: value is based on labour; and the
working class will eventually overthrow the capitalist middle class. In the meantime, the
middle class exploits the working class. Most institutions—religious, legal, educational,
and governmental—are corrupted by middle-class capitalists. Marxist critics apply these
economic and social theories to literature by analyzing first, ideologies that support the
elite and place the working class at a disadvantage, and secondly, class conflict.
Marxist criticism is often interested in unraveling how a literary work reflects
(intentionally or not) the socio-economic conditions of the time in which it was written
and/or the time in which it is set, and what those conditions reveal about the history of
class struggle? According to Kelly Griffith (2002), fully developed Marxist criticism
appeared early in the 20th century, especially in the 1930s during the Great Depression.
This "socialist" criticism applauded literature that depicted the difficulties of the poor and
downtrodden, especially when they struggled against oppressive capitalist bosses.
Examples of literature with such strong "proletarian" elements are works by Emile Zola,
Maxim Gorky, Charles Dickens, Richard Wright, John Steinbeck, Theodore Dreiser,
Ngugi wa Thiongo and Femi Osofisan. Early Marxist critics approved of a socialist
solution to the problems of the oppressed and judged the quality of works on the basis
of their Marxist orientation. The strong ―proletarian elements in the works of African
writers like Ngugi assumed combative dimensions in the late 1970s and 1980s with
street theatre enactments of Marxist oriented plays that shook the establishment
earning him the tag of ―literary guerilla of the masses in his country, Kenya.
Beginning from World War II, however, a new generation of critics infused
Marxist criticism with renewed vigor. A good example is the Hungarian critic Georg
Lukacs, who argues that literature should reflect the real world. By this, Lukacs does not
mean that literature should be a mirror image of society by, for example, giving detailed
descriptions of its physical contents or its patterns of behavior. Rather, literature should
represent the economic tensions in society as described in Marx's writings. Ironically, for
Lukacs, works that accurately represent the real world may be less "real" than works
that emphasize themes (ideas) over description. Lukacs believes that literature might
even have to distort reality in order to represent the "truth" about society. To show the
economic struggles caused by capitalism, for example, an author might have to create
character types one would never meet in real life. This unit examines the theoretical
postulations of Marxism as well as its shortcomings.

BIOGRAPHICAL CRITICISM
An author‘s life, to a large extent, could affect the meaning of a work.
Biographical criticism is a theoretical approach to literature that manifests some interest
in the author. In this unit, you are going to learn how the facts about an author's life
could signpost ideas in his work. You will also learn how an event in the author‘s life

Learning Module in Literary Criticism Page 3 of 19

could affect his or her themes or choice of subject matter. Biographical criticism begins
with the simple but central insight that literature is written by actual people and that
understanding an author's life can help readers comprehend the work more thoroughly.
Anyone who reads the biography of a writer quickly sees how much an author's
experience shapes—both directly and indirectly—what he or she creates. Thus, reading
that biography could change (and usually deepen) our response to the work.
Sometimes, mere knowing a single important fact about an author‘s life could illuminate
our reading of a poem or story. Though many literary theorists have assailed
biographical criticism on philosophical grounds, the biographical approach to literature
has never disappeared because of its obvious practical advantage in illuminating literary
texts.

HISTORICAL CRITICISM
Kelly Griffith (2002) has observed that during the 19th century, the growing faith
in science influenced both literature and the interpretation of literature, making historical
criticism a popular critical approach. Historical criticism emphasises the social and
cultural environment that surrounds a work of art. Historical criticism has several goals
including the study of a particular culture and the evolution of literary tradition. Historical
criticism attempts to understand literary references in the context of the environment in
which they were written since both language and cultures change over time. This unit
introduces you to the origin and theoretical tenets of historical criticism.
Week Content Learning Learning Resources/ Assessment/
Outcomes Activities Media Expected
Outputs
7-8 Lesson1 Writing https:// English Journals
Marxist *discuss the Descriptive www.youtube.co
Theory and theoretical Essay m/watch?
postulations
Criticism v=9FaOKNpAiIM Tweet Sheets
a. The Origin of Marxism Writing a
of Marxist * explain its biography https://
Theory and shortcoming Completed English
www.youtube.co
Criticism s as a Worksheets
Reading of m/watch?
b. theoretical
assignments v=nmIhEWiYE3o
Contributions construct
before the &t=44s
of Karl Marx
class
to Marxist
Criticism *explain discussion https://
Karl Marx‘s www.goodreadbi
c. The
influence on Power point ography.com/
Fundamental
Marxism. presentation randa-jarrar-
Premises of
Marxist biography/
Criticism
d. Criticisms https://
against www.youtube.co
Marxist m/watch?v=qxO-
Criticism yrX5Rks

Lesson 2 https://
Biographical www.youtube.co
Criticism *define m/watch?
a. biographical v=nA876rvJfFo&t
Biographical criticism

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 Criticism: A * discuss =262s
Definition the
b. The postulations
Fundamental of https://
Tenets of biographical www.youtube.co
Biographical criticism m/watch?
Criticism
v=z0MtpRjZ5Ew
c.
Shortcoming
https://
s of
www.youtube.co
Biographical
m/watch?
Criticism
v=SMxkN81QhK
w
Lesson 3 *determine
Historical the
Criticism historical
period of
the work
* consider
major
events,
values,
beliefs, etc.
of the
epoch
* consider
how the
work fits
with, or
stands
apart from,
mainstream
values or
beliefs of
the time
* consider
other texts
of the time
that might
give the
reader
insight into
the time
period.

Lesson 1: MARXIST CRITICISM

A. The Origin of Marxist Theory and Criticism

Learning Module in Literary Criticism Page 5 of 19

B. Contributions of Karl Marx to Marxist Criticism
C. The Fundamental Premises of Marxist Criticism
D. Criticisms against Marxist Criticism

Objectives: At the end of this lesson, you are expected to :

A. discuss the theoretical postulations of Marxism ;
B. explain its shortcomings as a theoretical construct;
C. explain Karl Marx‘s influence on Marxism.

TAKING THE FLIGHT TO LEARNING

VIEW AND WRITE: Making a Descriptive Essay

Directions: A & B: View the documentary and make a descriptive essay

about Karl Marx based from the given link below
C: Make a research about the life of Karl Marx and write on
a paper a descriptive essay about it.

A descriptive essay is an essay that describes something – an object or

person, an event or place, an experience or emotion, or an idea. The goal of this kind
of essay is to provide readers with enough detailed descriptions for them to be able to
picture or imagine the chosen topic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FaOKNpAiIM

SALIENT PONTS
A.The Origin of Marxist Theory and Criticism
As mentioned earlier, Marxist criticism evolves from the philosophies of Karl Marx
(1818-1883) and Friedrich Engels. Marxism views a literary text as the product of an
ideology particular to a specific historical period, not the product of an individual
consciousness. The text, for Marxist critics, is judged on the basis of its portrayal of
social actions. They insist that literature must be understood in relation to historical and
social reality. The central Marxist position is that the economic base of a society
determines the nature and structure of the ideology, institutions and practices, including
literature, that form the superstructure of that society. In Lukacs book, The Historical
Novel, he argues that literature must evoke a revolutionary consciousness in the
common people. In his view, a good artist is one who can effectively represent the
totality of human life. The most effective mode for this representation is literary realism,
which for Lukacs reflects reality in the Marxist sense. Lukacs sees realism as the only
literary mode capable of representing the totality of society by revealing through its
narrative form the underlying. movement of history. Marxism situates literature in its
historical contexts and in its socio-economic development. Marxism describes history as
the history of the conflict between classes. Foremost Marxist critics such as Christopher
Claudwell, Georg Lukacs and Walter Benjamin, see literature as reflecting socio-
economic reality

B. Contributions of Karl Marx to Marxist Criticism

As we noted earlier, Marxist criticism evolves from the philosophies of Karl Marx
(1818-1883) and Friedrich Engels. Marx made a number of important statements on the
nature of human society one of which is that consciousness determines life. A change in
material conditions does lead to changes in the way humans think. He was also
persuaded that the economic system is the most fundamental aspect of any society.

Learning Module in Literary Criticism Page 6 of 19

Other aspects of society; culture, literature, politics, religion, are parts of a
"superstructure" whose characteristics are, at least, to some extent dependent on the
nature of the base. Marx's Philosophy though focusing on history, philosophy, and
economics, has proved to be of special interest to critics of literature and culture.
The concepts of "alienation" and "commodification" have proved useful to Marxist
critics of literature. With division of labor in society, a separation occurs between
individuals who become distanced from each other because of their different skills and
engagements. Individuals also become estranged from society as a whole because they
participate only in small portions of what is going on in the society. As far as Marx is
concerned, a "commodity" is an article produced not for use but for sale. A "commodity"
is valued not for its use but for its price. The individual may become emotionally
attached to the commodity in a way that causes his estrangement from material reality.
The individual is alienated from the fruit of his labor. Marx regards literature as a form of
ideology just like the parliament, judiciary, education, religion, philosophy, politics and
law which can be used for the needs of the capitalists or the proletariat. Necessarily,
literature, the Marxists contend, reflects the reality outside it. This is quite the opposite
of what the formalists believe. The message is more important in Marxist criticism than
the form or the device. Almost all leading Marxists like Lenin, have made significant
pronouncements on literature and society. Lenin, for instance, called for an openly
class-partisan literature. He argued that neutrality in writing is impossible; rather
literature should be linked with the working class movement.

C. The Fundamental Premises of Marxist Criticism

The function of Marxist's literary criticism is to expose how works of literature
represent dominant ideologies. Some Marxist critics, like Louis Althusser, believe that
literature helps readers see the contradic-tions and fault lines in ideology. Others, like
Terry Eagleton, hold that literature furthers ideology by making it seem attractive and
"natural." Eagleton's work, Marxism and Literary Criticism (1976) provides an overview
of recent Marxist criticism while his Literary Theory: An Introduction (1983) surveys
modern critical theory from a Marxist point of view. In Marxism and Literary Criticism,
Eagleton rightly defines Marxist criticism as ―part of a larger body of theoretical
analysis which aims to understand ideologies – the ideas, values and feelings by which
men experience their societies at various times. And certain of those ideas, values and
feelings are available to us only in literature‖. He finally summarises its value
maintaining that ―to understand ideologies is to understand both the past and the
present more deeply; and such understanding contributes to our liberation‖.

D. Criticisms against Marxist Criticism

As you have learnt so far, Karl Marx saw a capitalist society as basically a class
society where the oppression of a class by another is perpetrated. He was an avowed
adversary of oppression in whatever form and joined the proletariat (working class) to
advocate for the abolition of class oppression. You also learnt that the philosophy of
Marxism is rooted in what is known as dialectical materialism, which stresses economic
determinism (economic survival) as an index of social struggles. Marxist ideologues
believe that all social struggles are economy-based whose resolution stirs conflicts
among the different classes inhabiting a social milieu. For the Marxists, human society
is divided into two broad classes; the oppressor and the oppressed, (in Marx‘ parlance
the bourgeoisie and the proletariat). By holding the means of production, the
bourgeoisie becomes dominant thereby oppressing the latter.

EXTEND YOUR KNOWLEDGE!

In this unit, you have learnt in sufficient detail the theory of Marxist criticism.
According to Lois Tyson (2006), literature, for Marxist critics, does not exist in some
timeless, aesthetic realm as an object to be passively contemplated. Rather, like all

Learning Module in Literary Criticism Page 7 of 19

cultural manifestations, it is a product of the socio-economic and hence ideological
conditions of the time and place in which it was written, whether or not the author
intended it to be so. Because human beings are themselves products of their
socioeconomic and ideological environment, it is assumed that authors cannot help but
create works that embody ideology in some form. For Marxists, the fact that literature
grows out of and reflects real material/historical conditions creates at least two
possibilities of interest to Marxist critics: (1) the literary work might tend to reinforce in
the reader the ideologies it embodies, or (2) it might invite the reader to criticize the
ideologies it represents. Many texts do both. And it is not merely the content of a literary
work—the ―action‖ or the theme—that carries ideology, but the form as well or, as
most Marxists would argue. They argue that if content is the ―what‖ of literature, then
form is the ―how‖. Realism, for example, gives us characters and plot as if we were
looking through a window onto an actual scene taking place before our eyes. Our
attention is drawn not to the nature of the words on the page but to the action those
words convey. For some Marxists, realism is the best form for Marxist purposes
because it clearly and accurately represents the real world, with all its socio-economic
inequities and ideological contradictions. It also encourages readers to see the unhappy
truths about material/historical reality, for whether or not authors intend it they are
bound to represent socio-economic inequities and ideological contradictions if they
accurately represent the real world.

REFLECT UPON
Analytic questions:

1. Marxism is rooted in dialectic materialism; how does this relate to the literary text?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

2. What is the position of Marxists in relation to the economic base of any society?

______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

WHAT HAVE I LEARNED SO FAR?

Activity 1: Expand Me!

Directions: Elaborate further the question about Marxist Criticism.

1. Discuss the fundamental premises on which Marxist criticism revolves.

______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

Learning Module in Literary Criticism Page 8 of 19

______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

SOARING INTO REALITY

4- Pronged Integration

Directions:
A & B : Answer the questions below and submit it through audio clip via email.
C : Write your answer on a bond paper.

1. As an education student major in English, Do you think the study of Marxist

Criticism of literature has an effect to you? How?
2. What significant value should you possess in order to be successful in dealing
with Marxist Criticism (Fill the blanks below to answer this.)
Core value/s: _________________________________________
Related value/s: _________________________________________

Biblical text: Deuteronomy 15:11 

For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You
shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your
land.’

SHARE YOUR LEARNING EXPERIENCE!

Exit-slip

Directions: A & B: Fill up the slip provided below.

C: Copy the slip then answer.

Name: __________________________
Date: __________________________

What significant thing/s I learned about the lesson?

______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
How can I make use of these learnings in my daily life?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

Learning Module in Literary Criticism Page 9 of 19

 YOU WILL BE HEARD!
Questions and/or Comments

Lesson 2: BIOGRAPHICAL CRITICISM

A. Biographical Criticism: A Definition

B. The Fundamental Tenets of Biographical Criticism
C. Shortcomings of Biographical Criticism

Objectives: At the end of this lesson, you should be able to :

a. define biographical criticism
b. discuss the postulations of biographical criticism

Review:
Why there is a need to study Marxist criticism?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

TAKING THE FLIGHT TO LEARNING

BIOGRAPHY WRITING
Directions: A & B: Make a biography of Jarrar Randa based from the
given link below.
C: Make a research about the life of Jarrar Randa and write
in a paper the biography of her.

Note:
Biographical writing is a specific form of writing and research that takes as its
subject the lives of individuals. As such it concentrates on constructing personal
histories, and places them within their social, political and historical context, in order to
discover and explain the influences on an individual's life.

https://www.goodreadbiography.com/randa-jarrar-biography/

Process question:

What is the connection of writing the biography of Jarrar Randa to the given topic?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

Learning Module in Literary Criticism Page 10 of 19

 SALIENT POINTS

Biographical Criticism: A Definition

Biographical criticism is the practice of analyzing a piece of literary work through
the lens of the author‘s experience. It considers the ways age, race, gender, family,
education, and economic status inform a writer‘s work. In biographical criticism, a critic
might also examine how a literary work reflects personality characteristics, life
experiences, and psychological dynamics of the author. The thrust of biographical
criticism is that to understand some literary works, readers need knowledge of the
author‘s biographical facts or experiences.
Kelly Griffith (2002) has opined that biographical criticism received intellectual
impetus from 19th and 20th centuries ideas about science and is still very much
practiced. Samuel Johnson is reputed to be the first great biographical critic. His book
Lives of the Poets (1779) provided truthful accounts of authors' lives and astute
assessments of their literary achievements. Biographical criticism provides a practical
assistance of understanding subtle but important meaning in a work. It focuses on
explicating a literary text by using the insight provided by knowledge of the author‘s life.
Among the questions to ask in biographical criticism include: "How does the text reflect
the author's life? Is this text an extension of the author's position on issues in the
author's life?" In this unit, our focus is to identify some of the rudiments of biographical
criticism.

The Fundamental Tenets of Biographical Criticism

As noted in the introductory section above, biographical criticism studies how an
individual author's life and thoughts influence a work. This means that, biographical
criticism is not an attempt to draw parallels between the author's life and his fiction;
rather, it is a study of the author's intention and audience. Biographical criticism seeks
to illuminate the deeper meaning of themes, conflicts, characters, settings and literary
allusions based on the author's own concerns and conflicts. For biographical critics, a
literary work is a reflection of the author‘s life, and should be studied in conjunction for
full meaning and appreciation.
Biographical criticism examines the effect and influence of the writer's life on his
or her work. The premise behind biographical criticism is that knowing something about
the writer's life helps us to more fully understand his or her work. Understanding the
writer's life and influences helps the reader discover the author's intended meaning. The
assumption of biographical criticism is that interpretation of a literary work should be
based on an understanding of the context in which the work was written. Although
biographical criticism is not concerned with retelling the author's life; rather, it applies
information from the author's life to the interpretation of the work. The focus remains on
the work of literature, and the biographical information is pulled in only as a means of
enhancing our understanding of the work. For biographical critics, the writing of literary
works is affected by the lives and experiences of their authors. This, however, is not to
assume that all works are biographical; rather, all works are certainly influenced by the
life experience of the writer.
For a thorough biographical criticism, the reader should research the author‘s life;
use the biographical information to understand the inferential and evaluative levels of
the work; research the author‘s beliefs; relate those systems of belief to the work;
explain how the connections reflect in the work's themes and topics; explain what can
be determined about the author's statements within the text based on the biographical
information. Thus, when doing a biographical criticism, the following questions should
be asked: Are facts about the writer's life relevant to my understanding of the work? Are
characters and incidents in the work versions of the writer's own experiences? Are the
writer's values reflected in the work? How do the connections explain the author's
purpose and the overall meaning of the work?

Learning Module in Literary Criticism Page 11 of 19

Shortcomings of Biographical Criticism
As you have learnt so far, biographical criticism examines to what extent an
author‘s life unintentionally affects his work. One drawback to this approach in literary
criticism is the reliance on source material that may not be accurate or complete. Again,
the New Critics‘ school of literary criticism believe that the biographical approach tends
to reduce art to the level of biography, making it relative (to the times) rather than
universal. Thus, a biographical critic should base his interpretation on what is in the text
itself. In essence, biographical data should simply amplify the meaning of a text and not
to drown it out with irrelevant material.

EXTEND YOUR KNOWLEDGE!

In summary, biographical criticism postulates that all literary works are situated in
specific historical and biographical contexts from which they are generated. It rejects the
concept that literary studies should be limited to the internal or formal characteristics of
a literary work, and insists that it properly includes knowledge of the life of the author
who created the work. The biographical approach allows one to better understand
elements within a work, as well as to relate works to authorial intention and audience.

REFLECT UPON
Analytic questions:

1. What are some of the drawbacks of biographical criticism ?

______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
2. Briefly itemize the tenets of biographical criticism.
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________

WHAT HAVE I LEARNED SO FAR?

Activity 3: Discussio

Directions: Elaborate further the question about Marxist Criticism.

1. What are the shortcomings of Biographical Criticism?

SOARING INTO REALITY

4- Pronged Integration

Directions: Answer the questions below and write it on the space given.

1. As a Marian education student, what is your viewpoint about Biographical

Criticism? Why?

Learning Module in Literary Criticism Page 12 of 19

 ________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
2. What do you think is the greatest contribution of Biographical criticism to the lives
of the readers?.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
3. What significant value/s have you learned from this lesson?
(Fill the blanks below to answer this.)
Core value/s: _________________________________________
Related value/s: _________________________________________

SHARE YOUR LEARNING EXPERIENCE!

3-2-1 Activity

Directions: A & B: Fill all the blanks provided.

C: Copy and answer this on your paper.

1. Things That I Learned from the Lesson

a. ____________________________________________________________
b. ____________________________________________________________
c. ____________________________________________________________
2 Realizations I Have in Mind
a____________________________________________________________
b____________________________________________________________
3 Action I Planned to Take After Learning the Lesson
a. ____________________________________________________________

YOU WILL BE HEARD!

Questions and/or Comments

______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

Lesson 3: HISTORICAL CRITICISM

a. The Emergence of Structuralism
b. Principles and Postulations of Structuralist Criticism
c. Applying Structuralist Criticism to Literary Works
d. Criticisms against Structuralism

Objective: At the end of this unit, you should be able to:

Learning Module in Literary Criticism Page 13 of 19

a. determine the historical period of the work
b. consider major events, values, beliefs, etc. of the epoch
c. consider how the work fits with, or stands apart from, mainstream values or beliefs of
the time
d. consider other texts of the time that might give the reader insight into the time period.

Review:
W What are the attributes of the biographical criticism?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

TAKING THE FLIGHT TO LEARNING

WATCH AND LEARN!
Directions: A & B: Watch the video and learn by defining the words that
follows:
1. External criticism
2. Internal criticism
C: Write in a sheet of bond paper the denotative
meaning of the following words using your dictionary.
1. External criticism
2. internal criticism

For details you can browse to this link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nA876rvJfFo&t=262s

SALIENT POINTS

Overview of Historical Criticism

Historical theory requires that you apply to a literary text specific historical
information about the time during which an author wrote. History, in this case, refers to
the social, political, economic, cultural, and/or intellectual climate of the time. Griffith
states that historical critics believe they could illuminate works of literature by studying
what gave birth to them: the intellectual and cultural environment from which they came,
their sources and antecedents, authors' lives, authors' intentions, and authors'
language. They believed that their approach was "scientific" because they were dealing
with objective reality—historically verifiable facts—and were using a scientific method
for collecting such facts. Two French philosophers who influenced historical criticism are
Auguste Comte and Hippolyte Taine. Taine, in his History of English Literature (1863),
holds that all art is an expression of the environment and time in which the artist lived.
Historical critics concentrated on authors they assumed were "great," not worrying much
about why or what the works meant. A major emphasis of historical criticism is the
historical periods and intellectual movements to which works belonged. To this end,
critics studied the conventions and ideas that characterised movements, such as blank
verse during the Renaissance and an emphasis on free will during the Romantic period.
They placed works within evolving traditions (the novel, Christian literature, allegory,
political fiction, the epic) and compared them to the literature of other countries.

Learning Module in Literary Criticism Page 14 of 19

Historical critics assumed that the ideas associated with a particular age were
manifested in the works of the age.

The Fundamental Tenets of Historical Criticism

As noted above, historical criticism seeks to recognize the influence of the
environment on literature. Among the steps to take when considering the historical
context in literary criticism are:
 determine the historical period of the work
 consider major events, values, beliefs, etc. of the epoch
 consider how the work fits with, or stands apart from, mainstream values or beliefs of
the time
 consider other texts of the time that might give the reader insight into the time period.

Summing up the fundamental principles of historical criticism, Douglass Bush

(1965) surmises that since the great mass of great literature belongs to the past,
adequate criticism must grow out of historical knowledge, cultural and linguistic, as well
as out of intuitive insight. Every work must be understood on its own terms as the
product of a particular mind in a particular setting, and that mind and setting must be re-
created through all the resources that learning and the historical imagination can muster
—not excluding the author's intention, if that is known. The very pastiness' of a work….
is part of its meaning for us and must be realized to the best of our power . If we do not
pay attention to authors and their historical context, Bush says, we run the risk of
anachronistic misreadings and misunderstandings. We may be limited in our ability to
"re-create the outward and inward conditions in which a work of art was engendered,
but unless we try, we cannot distinguish between its local and temporal and its universal
and timeless elements, indeed we may not be able to understand some works at all."

EXTEND YOUR KNOWLEDGE!

Historical criticism can help one to better understand how the time and place in
which the creation of a literary work affects its meaning and interpretation. A major
emphasis of historical criticism is the historical periods and intellectual movements to
which literary works belonged. To this end, critics studied the conventions and ideas
that characterised movements, such as blank verse during the Renaissance and an
emphasis on free will during the Romantic period. They placed works within evolving
traditions (the novel, Christian literature, allegory, political fiction, the epic) and
compared them to the literature of other countries. Historical critics assumed that the
ideas associated with a particular age were manifested in the works of the age.

REFLECT UPON
Analytic questions:

1. Distinguish between biographical criticism and historical criticism.

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2. What are the fundamental tenets of historical criticism?
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Learning Module in Literary Criticism Page 15 of 19

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WHAT HAVE I LEARNED SO FAR?

Activity 4: Giving the gist!

Directions: Elaborate further the conlusion of the lesson.

In this lesson, you learnt that historical criticism 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. You also learnt that
historical critics are less concerned with explaining a work's literary significance for
today's readers than with helping us understand the work by recreating, as nearly as
possible, the exact meaning and impact it had on its original audience. A historical
reading of a literary work begins by exploring the possible ways in which the meaning of
the text has changed over time.
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Criteria to follow in rating your answer.

10 points content
10 points construction of sentences
10 points using of correct grammar and punctuation marks
10 points connection to the theme
40 points

SOARING INTO REALITY

4- Pronged Integration

Directions: Answer the task below and write it on the space given. Just select
two(2).
Among the steps to take when considering the historical context in literary criticism are:
 determine the historical period of the work

Learning Module in Literary Criticism Page 16 of 19

 consider major events, values, beliefs, etc. of the epoch
 consider how the work fits with, or stands apart from, mainstream values or beliefs of
the time
 consider other texts of the time that might give the reader insight into the time period.

1.

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2.
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3.What important value/s have you developed in learning this lesson?

(Fill the blanks below to answer this.)

Core value/s: _________________________________________
Related value/s: _________________________________________

SHARE YOUR LEARNING EXPERIENCE!

Directions: A & B: Fill all the blanks provided.

C: Copy and answer this on your paper.

1. Things That I Learned from the Lesson

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B____________________________________________________________
C.____________________________________________________________
2 Realizations I Have in Mind
D.____________________________________________________________
E.____________________________________________________________
3. Action I Planned to Take After Learning the Lesson
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YOU WILL BE HEARD!

Questions and/or Comments:
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Learning Module in Literary Criticism Page 17 of 19

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REFERENCES:

National Open University of Nigeria

Headquarters
Plot 91, Cadastral Zone
Nnamdi Azikiwe Expressway
Jabi, Abuja.
Lagos Office:
14/16, Ahmadu Bello Way
Victoria Island
Lagos.
E-mail: [email protected]
URL: www.nou.edu.ng
Published by:
National Open University of Nigeria
ISBN:
All Rights Reserved
Printed by For: National Open University of Nigeria

ENG415
LITERARY THEORY AND CRITICISM
Course Developers/Writer: Dr. Felix Gbenoba & Fidelis Okoroegbe
Directorate of Instructional Resources &
Development
National Open University of Nigeria
Course Editor: Professor Ayobami Kehinde
Department of English
University of Ibadan
Course Coordinator: Dr. Onyeka Iwuchukwu
Department of Languages
Faculty of Arts

Learning Module in Literary Criticism Page 18 of 19

National Open Unversity of Nigeria
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FaOKNpAiIM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmIhEWiYE3o&t=44s

https://www.goodreadbiography.com/randa-jarrar-biography/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxO-yrX5Rks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nA876rvJfFo&t=262s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0MtpRjZ5Ew

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMxkN81QhKw

Learning Module in Literary Criticism Page 19 of 19