Literary Criticism Approaches: Formalism & Structuralism

Literary Criticism Approaches

• Literary criticism involves evaluating, analyzing, describing, or interpreting literary works.
• Two key approaches are Formalism and Structuralism.

Formalism

• Focuses on the text itself as a unique form of knowledge.
• Analyzes intrinsic features like characters, setting, plot, point of view, theme, and symbolism.
• Characters: Individuals or animals in the story; can be static (unchanging) or dynamic (changing).
• Setting: Time and place of the story, including weather and social conditions.
• Plot: Sequence of events, conflict, resolution.
• Point of View: Perspective from which the story is told (first, second, or third person).
• Theme: Central idea or message of the story.
• Symbolism: Objects, people, situations, events, or actions with deeper meanings.

Structuralism

• Interprets and analyzes a literary piece by focusing on contrasting ideas and their relationships within the whole structure.
• Treats the text as a linguistic construct, open to interpretation based on the reader's understanding.

Moralist Approach

• Judges a literary work's value based on its moral or ethical teachings.
• Aims to determine if a work conveys a lesson or message and improves readers' understanding of the world and life.

Feminism and Literature

• Feminism is a collection of movements fighting for equal rights for women.
• Gender roles are socially constructed norms for each sex, varying across cultures.
• Gender identity is how a person self-identifies in terms of gender.
• Gender-based differentiation is the idea that certain jobs, attitudes, or skills are associated with one gender over another.
• Feminist literary criticism examines how patriarchal cultures affect literature, exposing misogyny (prejudice against women).
• Feminist criticism aims to show how women are disadvantaged by patriarchal societies in economic, political, social, and psychological ways.
• It recognizes the distinction between biological sex and culturally defined gender roles.
• Aims to change the world by promoting gender equality, recognizing gender issues' role in all aspects of human experience, including literature.

The Story of an Hour

• Chopin's short story is mentioned as a piece to examine.
• The moralist approach to this story is highlighted.

Example Questions (Multiple Choice)

Note: These examples are broad and provide a base concept. More comprehensive questions are needed to match the provided material precisely. Actual questions should be specific and cover all facets of Literary Criticism and Feminism as applied to literature.

• In Formalism, the primary focus is on: a) The historical context b) The societal impact c) The intrinsic elements of the text d) The reader's interpretation

• A dynamic character is one who: a) Does not change. b) Remains the same throughout the story. c) Changes due to the events in the story. d) Is not relatable to other characters in the story.