Approaches to Literary Criticism

Approaches to Literary Criticism

• Formalist Criticism: This approach examines literature as a unique form of human knowledge, analyzing elements of form like style, structure, tone, and imagery to understand the text's impact.
• Gender Criticism: This examines how sexual identity influences literary works' creation and reception, including approaches like feminism and masculinity.
• Historical Criticism: This investigates the social, cultural, and intellectual context of a literary work to understand its effect on the original readers.
• Reader-Response Criticism: This approach focuses on the interaction between the reader and the text, emphasizing the reader's role in interpreting and creating meaning.
• Media Criticism: This approach analyzes media, examining media bias and the impact of how the media disseminates information.

Marxist Criticism

• Focuses on economic and political elements of art, often emphasizing how literature reflects or challenges the status quo.

Structuralism

• Focuses on how human behavior is shaped by social, cultural, and psychological structures, offering a unified approach to human life.

10 Elements in Movie Review

• Plot: Story arc and plausibility
• Attraction: Premise and entertainment value
• Theme: Identity and depth
• Acting: Characters and performance
• Dialogue: Storytelling and context
• Cinematography: Visual language and lighting, setting, and wardrobe
• Editing: Pace and effects
• Soundtrack: Sound design and film score
• Directing: Vision and execution
• "It" Factor: Uniqueness and transcendent qualities

Plausibility

• The plot should be believable within the film's universe, not necessarily logical.

Theme

• Themes give a story character and require the audience to think about themselves. A strong theme is identifiable and present even if not immediately clear.

Acting

• Strong characters are crucial for compelling acting and should be multidimensional and relatable and develop throughout the film.

Dialogue

• Dialogue should help the storyteller reveal characters and move the plot, and avoid seeming inauthentic.

Cinematography

• There should be a consistent visual language, and creative use of lighting, setting, and wardrobe, to help tell the story and evoke feelings.

Editing

• Editing pace helps convey a film's tone. Great editing avoids jumpy scenes or shots out of place.

Effects (VFX/SFX)

• Special effects should seamlessly blend with the story and avoid seeming out of place. Good visual effects don't distract from the story.

Soundtrack

• The sound design and film score should be in harmony with the story. Good sound designs can make the film feel more believable.

Directing

• The director's vision should be consistent throughout.

Concept Paper Parts

• Title in the form of a question
• Description of research topic and background information
• One-sentence statement of the research question
• Demonstration of research question's importance
• Description of how the researcher plans to answer the question including data, analysis, and methodology

Modes of Defining Concepts

• Definition: Ensuring the terms do not overlap with other similar concepts.
• Explication: Providing another perspective by examining the concept and interpreting another work using examples and contrast.
• Explanation: Developing the concept by giving varied examples or situations

Types of Definitions

• Formal Sentence: Includes the term, class, and distinguishing features
• Informal: Excludes distinguishing features
• Extended: A concept paper's length discussing the concept. Can include comparing and contrasting and causes and effects of it.

Charts

• Organizational charts show hierarchical relationships.
• Flow charts illustrate processes and steps.

Tables

• Organize data in rows and columns, making comparison and classifications easier.

Graphs

• Bar graphs compare quantities.
• Line graphs show trends.
• Circle graphs (pie graphs) show proportions/relationships of parts.

Interpreting Visuals

• Read titles, captions, and labels, and understand the purpose of the material.
• Clarify the organization of information, analyze relationships within data.
• Form a conclusion based on data analysis if necessary

Position Paper/Manifesto

• A position paper presents a viewpoint or stance on a specific issue and outlines arguments and a course of action.
• Introductions should have a history/background of the issue and a thesis statement.
• Body should include arguments with supporting evidence and counterarguments, addressing potential weaknesses.
• Conclusions should restate the position and suggest a course of action, with a powerful concluding statement.

Writing a Position Paper

• Include valid knowledge, well-supported arguments, and potential counterarguments. Sources include factual knowledge, statistical inference, and informed opinion. Personal testimony can play a role.

Types of Reports

• Formal: Uses structured language and is often used for major projects or organizations. Includes Informational & Analytical
• Informational: Provides basic information and updates.
• Analytical: Analyses data and concludes the why and how.
• Recommendatory: Offers recommendations based on results and conclusions.
• Informal: Provides casual and short updates about daily business.

Survey Design

• Ask precise, clear, and logical questions appropriate to your audience.
• Create a logical flow for the survey.
• Use clear, concise instructions.
• Include appropriate options for responses.

Survey Administration

• Personal Approach (Face-to-Face): Can be strong in terms of response rates; may be slower, potentially biased, and lacks anonymity.
• Telephone: Suitable for sensitive or consequential questions; may lack visual aids and long surveys are hard.
• Self-Administered (Paper-and-Pencil): Cost-effective and good for those without internet access but can be less organized and requires more administrative effort.
• Online: Best for widely dispersed populations but requires user familiarity with computers. Mail: Less preferred due to low response rates. Use the KISS principle for effective question format.

Observational Studies

• Records observed data without manipulating the population.
• Can identify correlations but cannot prove causation.

Experimental Studies

• Researchers intentionally manipulate a variable.
• Can determine cause-and-effect relationships.

Data Collection

• Primary: Data collected firsthand; can be from interviews, surveys, or focus groups.
• Secondary: Existing data from various sources like databases, company documents, publications, etc.
• Quantitative: Numerical data, easily analyzed.
• Qualitative: Descriptions, interviews, or recordings, requiring interpretation.

Data Presentation

• Tally marks and frequency tables, creating distributions of the data
• Pictographs using images to represent frequencies
• Bar graphs show relationships.

Explore various approaches to literary criticism, including Formalist, Gender, Historical, Reader-Response, and Media Criticism. This quiz helps you understand how each perspective influences the interpretation and evaluation of literary texts. Delve into the ways literature interacts with socio-political contexts and readers' experiences.