a school of thought or style of literary analysis that gives readers a means to critique the ideas and principles of literature.
Literary theory is the systematic study of the nature of literature and of the methods for literary analysis
Literary theories were developed as a means to understand the various ways people read texts. ... All literary theories are lenses through which we can see texts.
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NEW CRITICISM
Practical Criticism
Anglo-American
Eliot, Leavis, I.A. Richards
Intentional fallacy
Affective Fallacy
Never trust the artist, trust the tale
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Structuralism
Levi Strauss and Roman Jacobson
Intellectual movement begins in France in 1950’s
Influence of Ferdinand de Saussure
Considered language as ‘system of signs’
Structures ----- PART 1 + PART 2 + PART3 +….
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MARXISM
“The Communist Manifesto” 1848
Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx
Capitalism, Socialism and Communism
Social, political, economic theory
Struggle between Capitalist and Working Class
Bourgeoisie and proletariat
Material Dialect
Louis Althusser (1918-1996)
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How it works?
Paradoxes, imagery, ambiguity, metaphors
Look for lexical tension
etc
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Cont…
Socio-economic status of classes
Power relations among various segments of society
Economic determinism
Class struggle
Alienation
It explores the ways in which the ruling influencers of the society can be said to oppress the lower class in some shape or form
Class conflict
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FEMINISM
Gyno-criticism
2 basic premises of feminism
Feminism in literature
Feminist, feminism and femininity
1st Wave, 2nd Wave and 3rd wave of feminism
Radical Feminism, cultural feminism, psychoanalytic feminism and many more
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Cont…
Feminist Critics: Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinem, Simone de Beauvior, Gayatri Spivak, Julia Kristeva, Helene Cixous
Gender construction, stereotypical representation, objectifying women, suppressing feminine creativity, oppression in patriarchy, power relationships and many more.