critical theory e iv

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Critical

Perspectives

Feminist,

Psychoanalytical/Freudian,

Mythological/Archetypal, Marxist,

New Historicism,

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Three Main Points of Study



Differences between men & women

› Assumption that gender determines everything

› Literary canon must be expanded to include “traditional” female dominant genres

 _Journals  _Diaries

 _{Personal letters}

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Three Main Points of Study

 Women in power or power relationships between

men & women

› _{Note the social, economic, and political exploitation}

of women

 _{Do women have power and what type is it?}

› _{Society’s treatment of all constituents with equality,}

and literature as a means b which inequities are identified, protested, & perhaps rectified

› _{Division of labor and economics between men &}

women

› _{Interaction between men & women with each other in}

variety of relationships

 _{Female subservience}

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Three Main Points of Study



The female experience

›

Examine aspects of feminine life

 _{Point of view—from male or female POV}  _{Narrator’s (male or female) treatment of}

events

›

Female personality stands independently

from male personality

›

Examine the creative and life-giving role of

femininity

›

Explore concept that men & women are

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View One:

Main Points of Study



Examine conflicts, characters,

dreams, symbols—similar to

formalist approach



Character’s outward behavior

›

Conflict with inner desires

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View One:



Examine any Oedipal connotations

›

Son’s desire for mother

›

Father’s envy of and rivalry of son &

mother’s attention

›

Daughter’s desire for father (Electra

complex--Jung)

›

Mother’s envy of and rivalry of daughter &

father’s attention



All operate on subconscious level to

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View One:



Meaning of dreams: review Freud’s

Interpretation of Dreams



In dreams, a person’s

subconscious desires are revealed

›

What a person cannot express due to

societal rules is expressed in dreams

›

People unaware until subconscious

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View One:



Subconscious—largest part of human

personality

› Id: basic desire—no sense of conscience—inner child—no guilt—demand immediate gratification

› Superego: opposite of id—sense of conscience —guilt—learned through parental instruction & societal rules

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View Two:



Essential relationship exists between

author & the work—similar to

biographical approach



Psychoanalysts argue that there is

always something of the author in the

work



This aspect of psychoanalytic view is

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View Two:



What is known about author’s personality

is used to explain or interpret a literary

work



Reference to a literary work establishes an

understanding of the author’s mindset



Studying the work of an author means

knowing the author as a person



Author may put his/her repressed desires

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MYTHOLOGICAL/ARCHETYPAL

CRITICAL THEORY

Closely related to Psychoanalytical

theory

Archetypes developed by Jung, a student

of Freud

Looking for symbols

Humans were born innately knowing

certain archetypes

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Three Main Points of Study

 Archetypal Characters

› _HERO

 _{Search for self-identity results in own destruction}  _{“orphaned” prince: ignorant of heritage until}

rediscovered

› SCAPEGOAT

 _{Innocent character on whom blame is placed or}

assumes blame

 _{Punished in place of guilty party—which is often society}

› LONER/OUTCAST

 _{Separated from society}  _Underdog

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Three Main Points of Study

 Archetypal Characters

› VILLAIN

 _{Personification of evil}  _{Unmotivated malice}  _{“Mad scientist” or bully}

› TEMPTRESS

 _{Possesses what the male (HERO) desires & uses it as} means to his destruction

› EARTH MOTHER

 _{Nurturing, life-giving aspects of femininity}

› SAGE

 _{Wise one, teacher, mentor}  _{Stern authority figure}

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Three Main Points of Study

 Archetypal Images

› COLORS

 Red—blood, anger, passion, violence

 Gold—greatness, wealth, value

 Green—fertility, luxury, growth

 Blue—holiness, peace, serenity

 White—purity, divine, blessed

› NUMBERS

 3 = Christian trinity; 4 = seasons; etc.

› WATER

 Source of life, sustenance, cleansing, purification, baptism

› _FIRE

 Both protective & destructive

 Symbolizes human knowledge & industry

› FOUR ANCIENT ELEMENTS

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Three Main Points of Study

 Archetypal Images

› GARDENS

 _{Natural abundance, New birth, Hope, Eden}

› SHAPES

 _{Triangle = trinity; circle = eternity}

› CELESTIAL BODIES

 _{Sun: masculine—giver /destroyer of life}

 _{Moon: feminine—passage of time/controls course of} human events—seedtime, harvest, etc.

› MASCULINE: columns, towers, boats, trees, etc.

› FEMININE: bodies of water, caves, doorways, windows

› CAVES

 _{Represents the womb & the grave, entrance to underworld}

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Three Main Points of Study



Archetypal Situations

› QUEST

 _{Hero’s endeavor to fulfill destiny}

› RENEWAL OF LIFE

 _{Death & rebirth; resurrection in cycle of}

seasons or day

› INITIATION

 _{Coming of age; rites of passage}

› THE FALL

 _{Loss of innocence; devolution of paradisiacal}

life to a tainted life

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Three Main Points of Study



Archetypal Situations

›

CATALOG OF TASKS

 _{i.e. labors of Hercules}

›

END OF THE WORLD

 _{Apocalyptic battle between good & evil}  _{Armageddon; Ragnarok; Great Flood}

›

TABOO

 _{Culturally forbidden act—incest, patricide,}

etc.

›

BANQUET

 _{Fellowship, nourishment of body & soul,}

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MARXIST CRITICAL

THEORY

Based on the philosophy of Karl Marx, a

German philosopher and economist.

“Dialectical Materialism”

 Major argument was that the means of

production in society controlled the society— whoever owned the factories “owned” the culture.

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MARXIST CRITICAL

THEORY

Marxism asserts that literature is a reflection of culture and that culture can be affected by

literature. (Marxists believed literature could instigate revolution.)

Marxism is linked to Freudian theories by its concentration on the subconscious

 _{Freud dealt with the individual subconscious, while}

Marx dealt with the political subconscious.

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Four Main Points of Study



Economic Power

› A society is shaped by its forces of production.

 Those who own the means of production dictate

› Two main classes of society according to the Marxist framework

 Bourgeoisie (the people with the means of production and wealth)

 Proletariat (the people who operate the means of production and are controlled by the bourgeoisie).

› Since the bourgeoisie own the means of production, and,

therefore, the money in a society, they can manipulate politics, government, education, art, and the media.

› Capitalism is bad because it makes people want things.

 people shop for commodification (wanting things not for their innate

usefulness but for their social value). When one has money, one shows it by buying things—jewelry, large houses, fancy cars, etc.

› Commodification is one way the bourgeoisie keep the proletariat down.

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Four Main Points of Study



Materialism v. Spirituality

› Society is not based on ideals or abstractions, but on things.

› The material world shows us reality.

 _{The material world is the only non-subjective element}

in a society.

 _{Money and material possessions are the same by}

every measure within a society, whereas spirituality is completely subjective.

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Four Main Points of Study



Class Conflict

› Any Capitalist society will be at odds between classes.

› The owners and the workers will have different ideas about the division of the wealth generated, and the owners will

ultimately make the decision.

› This constant conflict, or “dialectical materialism,” is what instigates change.

 Commodification is one way the bourgeoisie keep the proletariat down. › The bourgeoisie make the system seem like the only logical

one, so the proletariat are trapped.

 They are led to have pride in their station, thus preventing them from wanting to overthrow their bosses (the smaller and actually less-powerful group).

› Marx called on the proletariat to reject the social structure of the bourgeoisie, the rules that would keep them subservient forever, and form their own values.

 Such a course would be the only way to escape the oppression, for the proletariat could never defeat the bourgeoisie on its own terms.

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Four Main Points of Study



Art, Literature, and Ideologies

› _{Art and literature are vehicles for the bourgeoisie to}

instill their value system on the proletariat.

 _{The arts can make the current system look attractive and logical,} thus luring the workers into complacency.

› Works of art and literature are enjoyable to

experience, so the audience is unaware of being swayed, which is dangerous.

› _{The bourgeoisie can easily take control of artistic}

output because they are the entity that is funding it.

 _{Since the bourgeoisie are bankrolling the writers and the painters} by publishing the books and buying the art, the artist must take pains not to offend them.

 _{Anything that is offensive to the bourgeoisie will simply not be} published or sold.

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NEW HISTORICISM

CRITICAL THEORY

New Historicism asserts that a direct comparison between the culture as

presented in the text and as that culture really was is impossible for two reasons:

 First, the “truth” of a foreign or past culture can never

be known as established and unchangeable.

• _{“Unknown” histories often contradict “traditional” (i.e., the} winner’s) history, there is no way to really know the ironclad truth.

 Second, while the text under consideration does

indeed reflect the culture in which it was written (and to some degree in which it is set), it also participates in the culture in which it is written.

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Main Points of Study



Traditional history is, by its nature, a

subjective narrative, usually told from

the point of view of the powerful.

› _{The “losers” of history do not have the means} to write their stories, nor is there usually an audience interested in hearing them.

› Most cultures, once dominated by another, are forced to forget their past.

› To maintain its sovereignty, the dominant

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Main Points of Study



Traditional history is not only

subjectively written, it is also

read and discussed

subjectively.

›

Although modern readers say they

take history at face value, no one

can help but compare the past to

the present as a means of

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

The powerless also have “historical

stories” to relate that are not to be

found in official documents, mostly

because they played no hand in

creating them.



No reader can claim to have the

“truth” of a text or event; or even

that an understanding of the “truth”

is possible. At best, one can

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Main Points of Study



The questions to ask are not:

› “Were the characters based on real people?” › _{“Are any characters or events in the text drawn}

from the author’s life and experiences?” or › _{“Is the text an accurate portrayal of the time}

period in which it is set?”



Instead, ask:

› _{“What view or understanding of the relevant} culture does this text offer?” and

(31)

Main Points of Study



The text, rather than being a

static artifact of a definable

culture, is a participant in a

dynamic, changeable

culture.

›

Every time it is read, the reader brings a

unique set of experiences and points of

view that change the meaning of the

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FORMALIST CRITICAL

THEORY

•

Concerned primarily with FORM.

•

Places great emphasis on HOW

something is said rather than

what

is

said.

•

Work is a separate entity

 Not dependent on author’s life or culture in

which it’s created.

 No paraphrase used  No reader reaction

•

Critics study recurrences, repetitions,

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FORMALIST CRITICAL

THEORY

•

Lack of form indicates something

•

Absurdity is in itself a form---used to

convey a specific meaning (even if the

meaning is a lack of meaning)

•

Smaller parts work together to convey

meaning

 diction

 punctuation  _syntax

(34)

Three Main Areas of Study



Form

›

Cadence

 _{How words sound}

›

Repetition

 _{Same word, phrase, or concept restated over}

and over

›

Recurrences

 _{An event or theme happens more than once}

›

Relationships

(35)

Three Main Areas of Study



Diction

› Denotation

 _{Dictionary meaning of a word}

› Connotation

 _{Implied meaning of a word}

› Etymology

 _{Study of a word’s evolution and use}

› Allusions

 _{Links from the text at hand to other works}

› Ambiguity

 _{Open-ended word or phrase with multiple meanings}

› Symbol

 _{Concrete word or image used to represent an abstract}

(36)

Three Main Areas of Study



Unity

› Use of a symbol, image, figure of

speech, etc. throughout a work serves as a thread to connect one instance with every other occurrence of that symbol

 _{Reminds reader of what has happened and how}

what is currently happening relates to earlier events or forthcoming events

› There is no perfect unity

 _{Tension and conflict}  _{Irony and paradox}