Synopsis of Course Material V: Through the Looking Glass (at Literature)

Through the Looking Glass: Peering at Literature

In the approach to analyzing literature, there are many different “lenses” through which you can look.  Critics have grouped themselves into many teams, all with very strong opinions on what you should consider when finding the meaning of the work.

·         New Criticism/Formalists: They believe that only the words on the page matter when analyzing a work.  Not the creator’s intentions and background, the time at which the work was created, or public response.  Just the words on the page.  DO NOT LOOK AWAY FROM THE WORDS ON THE PAGE.  For art, the piece has to be initially constructed with the intention of being art and with the intention of being aesthetically pleasing.

·         New Historicism: they say that the author needs to be taken into account, but the events going on outside the creator’s head.  They look at the life of the creator as it relates to the historical events and culture of the creator’s time.

·         Feminism: in short, they ask the gender questions.  What is the relationship between men and women in this work?  How are women represented?  If the author of this work was the opposite gender, would it have been taken seriously?

·         Marxism: They’re a lot like New Historicism critics, but they look specifically at economic issues of the time, and view things in a very “power to the masses” Communist sort of way (well, they’re called Marxist critics, for goodness sakes). 

·         Post Colonialism: they agree with Feminists, Historicism critics, and the Marxists, but they have a theory of their own.  They look at imperialism and colonization, demonization, hegemony, alienation, exoticism, subalterns, mimicry, appropriation, and stereotyping and how that shapes the work.  Basically, how is one cultural group presented in the work, either by that group or by an outside observer.  Post Colonialism critics take a look at how cultures blend.

·         Psychoanalytic: tries to psychoanalyze the creator, and what caused them to create the work they did.  They also look at the reaction of the audience to the piece.  Psychoanalytic critics stemmed from Freud, so often view things through the lens of his ideas.  One idea considered was the idea of the Id, the Ego, and the Super ego: that people are constantly engaging in an internal struggle to balance the ideals of society with their desires. 

·         Archetypal/Mythological: they look to similarities between and references to mythology, and archetypal plots or characters.

·         Reader Response: they believe that meaning is only assigned by the viewer.  It only exists when there is an interaction between work and audience; therefore, it is totally individualized. 

·         Literary Darwinism: they believe that all art is a by-product of culture, which comes from genetic traits that cause human behavior. 

·         Structuralism and Post Structuralism: they came up with the idea that you have to look at a text while considering the cultural structure of the audience.  They’re a bunch of “super important French philosophers” (Holmes).