Introduction to Modern Literary Theory Literary Trends and Influences PDF

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In t r o d u ct io n t o M o d e r n Lit e r a r y Th e o r y Lite rary Tre n d s an d In flu e n ce s * * Disclaim er: W hen theories are explained briefly , a necessary reduction in their com plexity and richness occurs. The inform ation below is m eant m erely as a guide or introduction to m oder...

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In t r o d u ct io n t o M o d e r n Lit e r a r y Th e o r y Lite rary Tre n d s an d In flu e n ce s *

* Disclaim er: W hen theories are explained briefly , a necessary reduction in their com plexity and richness occurs. The inform ation below is m eant m erely as a guide or introduction to m odern literary theories and trends. Ple a s e n o t e : Site is in the process of being updated and expanded - January 20 0 6.

Lin ks to Critical/ Th e o re tical Ap p ro ach e s : • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

N e w Criticis m Arch e typal/ Myth Criticis m Ps ych o an alytic Criticis m Marxis m Po s tco lo n ialis m Exis te n tialis m Ph e n o m e n o lo gy, an d H e rm e n e u tics Ru s s ian Fo rm alis m / Pragu e Lin gu is tic Circle / Lin gu is tic Criticis m / D ialo gis m Avan t-Gard e / Su rre alis m / D ad ais m Stru ctu ralis m an d Se m io tics Po s t-Stru ctu ralis m an d D e co n s tru ctio n Po s tm o d e rn is m N e w H is to ricis m Re ce p tio n an d Re ad e r-Re s p o n s e Th e o ry Fe m in is m Ge n re Criticis m Au to bio grap h ical Th e o ry Trave l Th e o ry Lin ks to Oth e r Ge n e ral Lite rary Th e o ry W e bs ite s Ge n e ral Re s o u rce s - Biblio grap h y o f Critical Th e o ry Te xts

N e w Criticis m A literary m ovem ent that started in the late 1920 s and 1930 s and originated in reaction to traditional criticism that new critics saw as largely concerned with m atters extraneous to the text, e.g., with the biography or psychology of the author or the work's relationship to literary history. New Criticism proposed that a work of literary art should be regarded as autonom ous, and so should not be judged by reference to considerations beyond itself. A poem consists less of a series of referential and verifiable statements about the 'real' world beyond it, than of the presentation and sophisticated organization of a set of com plex experiences in a verbal form (Hawkes, pp. 150 151). Majo r figu re s of New Criticism include I. A. Richards, T. S. Eliot, Cleanth Brooks, David Daiches, William Em pson, Murray Krieger, J ohn Crowe Ransom , Allen Tate, F. R. Leavis, Robert Penn Warren, W. K. Wim satt, R. P. Blackm ur, Rene Wellek, Ausin Warren, and Ivor Winters. Ke y Te rm s : In te n tio n al Fallacy - equating the m eaning of a poem with the author's intentions. Affe ctive Fallacy - confusing the m eaning of a text with how it makes the reader feel. A reader's em otional response to a text generally does not produce a reliable interpretation. H e re s y o f Parap h ras e - assum ing that an interpretation of a literary work could consist of a detailed sum m ary or paraphrase. Clo s e re ad in g (from Bressler - see General Resources below) - "a close and detailed analysis of the text itself to arrive at an interpretation without referring to historical, authorial, or cultural concerns" (263). Fu rth e r re fe re n ce s : • • • • • • • • • • •

Brooks, Cleanth. The W ell-W rought Urn. New York: Reynal & Hitchcock, 1947. Brooks, Cleanth and Robert Penn Warren, eds. Understanding Poetry . New York: Holt, 1938. Em pson, William . Seven Ty pes of Am biguity . New York, 1955. Lentriccia, Frank. After the New Criticism . See chapter 6. Eagleton, Terry. Literary Theory : An Introduction. See chapter 1. J efferson, Anne and David Robey. Modern Literary Theory : A Com parative Introduction. See chapter 3. Ransom , J ohn Crowe. The New Criticism . New York: New Directions, 1941. Richards, I. A. Practical Criticism . London: Routledge & Paul, 1964. Wim satt, W. K., and Monroe C. Beardsley. The Verbal Icon. Lexington: U of Kentucky P, 1954. Winters, Ivor. In Defense of Reason. Denver: Swallow P, 1947. See also the works of Robert D. Denham , J ohn Fekete, and William J . Kennedy.

Su gge s te d W e bs ite s : • •

"New Criticism Explained" by Dr. Warren Hedges (Southern Oregon University) "Definition of the New Criticism " - virtuaLit (Beford-St. Martin's Resource)

Arch e typ al/ Myth Criticis m A form of criticism based largely on the works of C. G. Ju n g (YOONG) and Jo s e ph Cam pbe ll (and m yth itself). Som e of the school's m ajo r figu re s include Robert Graves, Francis Fergusson, Philip Wheelwright, Leslie Fiedler, Northrop Frye, Maud Bodkin, and G. Wilson Knight. These critics view the genres and individual plot patterns of literature, including highly sophisticated and realistic works, as recurrences of certain archetypes and essential m ythic form ulae. Archetypes, according to J ung, are "prim ordial im ages"; the "psychic residue" of repeated types of experience in the lives of very ancient ancestors which are inherited in the "collective unconscious" of the hum an race and are expressed in myths, religion, dream s, and private fantasies, as well as in the works of literature (Abram s, p. 10 , 112). Som e com m on exam ples of archetypes include water, sun, m oon, colors, circles, the Great Mother, Wise Old Man, etc. In term s of archetypal criticism , the color w hite m ight be associated with innocence or could signify death or the supernatural. Ke y Te rm s : An im a - fem inine aspect - the inner feminine part of the m ale personality or a m an's im age of a wom an. An im u s - m ale aspect - an inner m asculine part of the fem ale personality or a wom an's im age of a m an. Arch e typ e - (from Makaryk - see General Resources below) - "a typical or recurring im age, character, narrative design, them e, or other literary phenom enon that has been in literature from the beginning and regularly reappears" (50 8). N o te - Frye sees archetypes as recurring patterns in literature; in contrast, J ung views archetypes as prim al, ancient im ages/ experience that we have inherited. Co lle ctive U n co n s cio u s - "a set of prim al m em ories com m on to the hum an race, existing below each person's conscious m ind" (J ung) Pe rs o n a - the im age we present to the world Sh ad o w - darker, som etim es hidden (deliberately or unconsciously), elem ents of a person's psyche Fu rth e r re fe re n ce s : • • • • • • • • •

Bodkin, Maud. Archetypal Patterns in Poetry . London: OUP, 1934. Cam pbell, J oseph. Hero w ith a Thousand Faces. New York: Pantheon Boos, 1949. Frazer, J . G.The Golden Bough. Frye, Northrop. Anatom y of Criticism and Fables of Identity . Graves, Robert. Greek My ths and The W hite Goddess. J ung, Carl Gustav. Spirit in Man, Art, and Literature and various other works Knight, G. Wilson. The W heel of Fire: Interpretations of Shakespearean Tragedy . Lentriccia, Frank. After the New Criticism . See chapter 1. Pratt, Anais. Archety pal Patterns in W om en's Fiction. Bloom ington: Indiana UP, 1982.

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Seboek, Thom as A., ed. My th: A Sy m posium . Bloom ington: Indiana UP, 1955. See also the works of Derek Brewer, Shirley Lowry, J une Singer, and Laurens Van der Post

Su gge s te d W e bs ite s : • • • • •

"Archetypal Criticism" from the Literary Encyclopedia "Mythological and Archetypal Approaches" (from Guerin et al - see General Resources below) J ohns Hopkins' Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism : Archetypal Theory and Criticism "Carl J ung" - Wikipedia "Handout on Carl Gustav J ung" - Dr. Victor Daniels (Psychology Dept. - Sonom a University)

Ps ych o an alytic Criticis m The application of specific psychological principles (particularly those of Sigm u n d Fre u d and Jacqu e s Lacan [zhawk lawk-KAWN]) to the study of literature. Psychoanalytic criticism may focus on the writer's psyche, the study of the creative process, the study of psychological types and principles present within works of literature, or the effects of literature upon its readers (Wellek and Warren, p. 81). In addition to Freud and Lacan, m ajo r figu re s include Shoshona Felman, J ane Gallop, Norm an Holland, George Klein, Elizabeth Wright, Frederick Hoffm an, and, Sim on Lesser. Ke y Te rm s : U n co n s cio u s - the irrational part of the psyche unavailable to a person's consciousness except through dissociated acts or dream s. Fre u d 's m o d e l o f th e p s ych e : • • •

Id - com pletely unconscious part of the psyche that serves as a storehouse of our desires, wishes, and fears. The id houses the libido, the source of psychosexual energy. Ego - m ostly to partially (...