Literary Theory

Learning Target: I can identify and define different literary theories by taking notes and working with a partner to assess different thesis statements.

Expectations:

Students will keep their electronic devices put away.

Students will engage in note taking.

Students will work collaboratively and equally during identification.

September 2015

Anticipation Guide – Literary Theory

Reply to each statement using either agree or disagree.

1. There is only one way to analyze literature.

2. A literary analysis may involve reading outside sources.

3. Literary critics tend to belong to certain “schools” of thought and continue to analyze different works of literature in the same way.

4. One way of analyzing literature involves analyzing the reader.

5. Literary analysis often combines multiple disciplines (history, science, economics, psychology).

Psychoanalytic CriticismPsychoanalytic literary criticism involves

analyzing literature through the lens of psychology.

Critics analyze the psychological state of the author or character(s) in a work of literature.

Example paper topics:The lack of parents in his civilian life

triggers Jack’s savagery on the island.Atticus’s actions as a father provoke’s

Scout’s tomboyish characteristics.

Feminist CriticismFeminist literary criticism, or feminist

theory, views literature through either a female perspective, the writings of women, or the representation of women in writing.

Example paper topics:In spite of the predominance of males in

her novel, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird embodies a female text, centering on relationships.

Even though Okonkwo dominates the women in his life, Ekwefi and Ezinma represent feminine strength.

Ec0-CriticismEco-Criticism connects literature to the

natural world.A critic will analyze human perceptions of

nature in connection to a work of literature or how the environment is championed in a work of literature.

Example paper topics:“A Sound of Thunder” demonstrates the

need to preserve the environment.“I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” clearly

shows Wordsworth’s idealization of the idyllic world.

Historical CriticismNew Historicism dissects literature by

looking at it through its historical context.Critics strive to understand the historical

context of a piece of literature.

Example paper topics:William Golding’s Lord of the Flies reflects

the post-World War II mindset.To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee,

displays the tensions of the Civil Rights Movement.

AestheticismAestheticism examines the ideal beauty

within works of art and literature.

Example paper topics:The sonnets of Sir Thomas Wyatt present

the perfect form of love poems of the Elizabethan era.

“The Gift of the Magi” represents an ideal ironic story.

Marxist Literary CriticismMarxist criticism, named after Karl Marx,

evaluates the issues of class conflict and economics within literature.

Example paper topics:The treatment of the littleuns in Lord of

the Flies echoes the class issues of Britain after World War II.

To Kill a Mockingbird illustrates the struggles of the lower classes in a capitalist America.

Reader-Response CriticismIn reader-response criticism, the focus lies on the

audience (or readers) experience rather than on the author or the text.

Critics utilizing this theory believe that to develop meaning of a text, one must look to the readers’ processes.

Example Paper Topics:Lord of the Flies forces its readers to identify

with one type of character and investigate their own darkness.

As one reads To Kill a Mockingbird, the reader relives his childhood, where the adult world encroaches upon innocence.

1. Things Fall Apart, with its beautiful natural scenes, glorifies the natural world.

2. To Kill a Mockingbird illustrates the struggles of the lower classes in a capitalist America.

3. “The Cask of Amontillado” represents a perfect, dark short story.

4. George Orwell’s Animal Farm and 1984 are a response to the brutal dictatorships of the 1930s and 1940s.

5. Atticus’s actions as a father provoke Scout’s tomboyish characteristics.

Identify the Type of Criticism

4. Animal Farm, by George Orwell, presents another downside of industrialization: the loss of nature for no discernable benefit.

5.To Kill a Mockingbird, through Scout and Dill, shows that people do not need to be defined by their gender.

6.Things Fall Apart displays the tension within modern African literature.

7. The diction within To Kill a Mockingbird reflects the beauty of the vernacular of the American South.

8. The treatment of the littleuns in Lord of the Flies echoes the class issues of Britain after World War II.

9. Lord of the Flies forces its readers to identify with one type of character and investigate their own darkness.

10. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, displays the tensions of the Civil Rights Movement.

11. Even though Okonkwo dominates the women in his life, Ekwefi and Ezinma represent feminine strength.

12. Napoleon’s actions, in Animal Farm, are a result of his jealousy of Snowball.

13. Due to its use of vivid colors, in addition to being a great movie, The Wizard of Oz embodies a perfect work of visual art.

With your “shoulder buddy,” come up with at least two possible thesis statements for each type of criticism. You may use works of popular culture including books, movies, and comics.

Examples:

Draco Malfoy’s churlish attitude is a result of his insecurities.

Though she is a housewife, Marge Simpson’s ability to run her household and raise her children shows the power of the modern female.

Psychoanalytic, Feminist, Eco, Historical, Aestheticism, Marxist, and Reader-Response

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