Approaches to Criticism

Traditional, Formalistic, Mythological and Archetypal

Traditional

The work of art frequently appeared to be of secondary importance, before 30’s something that merely illustrated “background”

Studying literature was basically biography or history rather than an art

New criticism is a reaction to the traditionalists Avoid danger of interpreting a literary work solely as

biography and history—the end result of the traditional method

Literature is primarily an art; art does not exist in a vacuum. It is a creation by someone at some time in history, and it is intended to speak to other human beings about some idea or issue that has human relevance

Types of Traditional Approaches

Textual-linguistic Not precisely a method of criticism but important tool in

literary analysis Correct meaning of words in their historical context.

Authenticity of text Reader may assume text has come down unchanged Poe’s original verse from “To Helen”

“To the beauty of fair Greece And the grandeur of old Rome.”

Revision:• “To the glory that was Greece• And the grandeur that was Rome.

Types of TraditionalHistorical-biographical Reflection of author’s life and times or the life and times

of the characters in the work. The Jungle, Poe, Oliver Twist Additional approaches

Expressive, which sees literature as a source of unique knowledge deriving from the artist’s imagination and therefore glorifies “self-expression” as the true function of art

Impressionist is what the critic feels in presence of a work of art

Poets have from earliest times been the historians, the interpreters of contemporary culture, and the prophets of their people. Remember Emerson and the “poet owns the landscape”

Moral-philosophical

An approach as old as classical Greek and Roman critics

The larger function is to teach morality Critic is not aware of form, figurative language,

other aesthetic considerations, but are secondary.

The important thing is the moral or philosophical teaching.

All great literature teaches in the larger sense Less likely to err on side of over-interpretation

Formalistic approach

The object of formalistic criticism is to find the key to the structure and meaning of the literary work

We search for form which is necessary for real understanding A unifying pattern is the pattern that as modern critics say, informs

or shapes the work inwardly and gives its parts a relevance to the whole

We must narrow our attention to what the literary work says but we must first consider how it is said

Suggests that the reader see what is in the poem, novel, or the play rather than to consider what is outside it.

First step in explaining the literary work is to discover what the words actually mean in their full denotative and connotative value.

Find point of view used by author Principle by which content and form inseparable—

Imagery, tone, meters, rhymes, etc

Psychological approach

Most controversial, most abused, for the most part the least appreciated

Trad. Overlooks structure, Formal neglects historical and biographical, Psychological’s limitation is its aesthetic inadequacy.

Abuses and Misunderstandings: Aristotle used it to define tragedy Psychoanalytic theories of Sigmund Freud and followers mistrust from abuses because sexual in nature

Freud’s theories

Emphasis on unconscious aspects of the human psyche

Most actions are motivated by psychic forces over which we have limited control

Most of the individual’s mental processes are unconscious

All human behavior is motivated ultimately by sexuality

Freud

Id—primary source of psychic energy Ego—protects the individual; rational governing

agent of the psyche; the conscious mind Super-ego—to protect society, moral censoring

agency. Acting either directly through the Ego, the super-ego serves to repress or inhibit the drives of the Id, to block off and thrust back into the unconscious those impulses toward pleasure that society regards as unacceptable. Parental influence develops super-ego.

Freud

Concerning child psychologyInfancy and childhood a period of intense

sexual experience

Mythological and Archetypal approaches

Myth critic seeks out those mysterious artifacts built into certain literary forms which elicit dramatic and universal human reactions.

To discover how it is that certain works of literature, image a kind of reality to which readers give response

A close connection between mythological criticism and the psychological approach: both are concerned with the motives underlying human behavior

Archetype cont.

Psychology tends to be experimental and diagnostic; its is related to biological sciences

Mythology tends to be speculative and philosophic; its affinities are with religion, anthropology, and cultural history

Mythology is wider in scope Psychoanalysis attempts to disclose about the individual

personality, the study reveals about the mind and character of the people.

Myths are symbolic projections of a people’s hopes, values, fears, and aspirations.

The common misconception of the term, myths are merely primitive fictions, illusions, or opinions based on false reasoning

Mythology encompasses more than grade-school stories about the Greek and Roman deities or clever fables invented for the amusement of children.

Myths do not meet our current standards of factual reality, they reflect a more profound reality. Metaphoric truth.

Cont.

“Myth is fundamental, the dramatic representation of our deepest instinctual life, of primary awareness of man in the universe, capable of many configurations, upon which all particular opinions and attitudes depend.”—Mark Schorer

“Myth is to be defined as a complex of stories—some no doubt fact, and some fantasy—which, for various reasons, human beings regard as demonstrations of the inner meaning of the universe and of human life.”

Archetypes

Similar motifs and themes may be found among many different mythologies.

Images that widely separated have a common meaning or, tend to elicit comparable psychological responses and to serve similar cultural functions.

Universal symbols The myth critic is interested more in pre-history and the

biographies of gods. Form concentrated on the shape of the work itself. The myth critic probes the inner spirit which gives that

form its vitality, its enduring appeal.

archetypes

This approach is relatively new and poorly understood:

Proper interpretive tools become available through the development of such disciplines as anthropology, psychology, and cultural history.

Cont.

As with psychological approach, the reader must take care that his enthusiasm for a new-found interpretive key does not tempt him to discard other valuable critical instruments or to try to open all literary doors with this single key.

Myth critic tends to forget that literature is more than a vehicle for archetypes and ritual patterns. He runs the risk of being distracted from the essential experience of the artifact itself; he forgets that literature is above all else, art.

Jungian psychology and its archetypal insights Primary contribution to myth criticism is his theory of

racial memory and archetypes. Beneath the personal unconscious—primeval, collective

unconscious shared in the psychic inheritance of all members of the human family.

Jung believed: “Mind is not born as a tabula rosa (clean slate). Like the body, it has its pre-established individual definiteness; namely forms of behaviour. They become manifest in the ever-recurring patterns of psychic functioning.”

“Myth-forming” structural elements are ever-present in the unconscious psyche; he refers to the manifestations of these elements as “motifs” “primordial images,” or “archetypes.”

Jung cont.

Theorized that myths do not derive from external factors such as the seasonal or solar cycle but are the projections of innate psychic phenomena.

Myths are the means by which archetypes become manifest

Archetypes reveal themselves in dreams; dreams are personalized myths/myths are personalized dreams.

Jung cont.

Personal unconscious is private to the individual—experiences which have been forgotten, suppressed, repressed, ignored. Includes fantasies and dreams

Joseph Campbell

Four functions of myth: 1. Mystical/spiritual Faith is believing in something when there is no reason

to or when there is no scientific explanation. 2. Scientific function: This explains the physical

workings of nature and natural phenomena according to the scientific understanding of the time.

3. Sociological function: Supports and validates social order of the society in which the myth took place. It conservatively defends the status quo.

4. Pedagogical/Instruction: Shows how one should live one’s daily life; rules to live by.

The Archetype of the hero

Part I: Departure The Call to Adventure Refusal of the call—not always Supernatural aid—benefit of wisdom of others, can’t

succeed entirely by self, the force which is within. Crossing the first threshold—separation from home,

present comforts of home Belly of the whale—death experience—death of old self.

The whale is the unconscious unknown fears. Usually there is a mentor or wise person somewhere in here.

Part II: Initiation

The road of trials: the adventure—to prove status

Meeting with the goddess/woman—not enslaved to lust—avoiding temptations

Atonement with the father—must in course of journey to adulthood be on same level

Apotheosis—transformationThe Ultimate Boon—reward—sometimes

physical sometimes knowledge

Part III: The Return

Refusal of the return—not always, but must return to society and responsibility

Magic Flight—sign of favor

Common Archetypes

Golden Age or Garden—early man Loss of innocence—the “fall”--childhood The flood—destructive but cleansing; renewal The hero—model for us; standard to judge our lives by; of man but apart Wise old man/wizard—helpful to man Trickster—achieves goal by cunning; not always good Metamorphosis—transformation into something else Giants—Neanderthals Dragons—Western world=greed; Eastern world=wealth and wisdom Snake/serpent—knowledge and immortality Tree/tree of life—symbol of connection of all levels from underground to heavens—

Christ’s cross God teacher—bridge between man and God; brings gift to man but with

consequences Demon god—not in all Woman: Maiden/Wife/Mother Magic Objects: rings, staves, swords, etc.