Literary Criticism Overview
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Questions and Answers

Which character is featured in the trilogy play entitled 'The Orestia'?

  • Agamemnon (correct)
  • Antigone
  • Hector
  • Oedipus

    • What notable award did Arthur Miller win for 'The Death of a Salesman'?

  • The Tony Award and the Pulitzer Prize (correct)
  • The Academy Award
  • The Olivier Award
  • The Nobel Prize

    • Which of the following works was authored by Oscar Wilde?

  • A Streetcar Named Desire
  • The Glass Menagerie
  • The Importance of Being Earnest (correct)
  • Death of a Salesman

    • What genre is Nora Ephron best known for?

    <p>Romantic Comedies</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which film marked Nora Ephron's first attempt at making and directing a film?

    <p>This is My Life</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the primary focus of Sociological Criticism?

    <p>The cultural, economic, and political context of a literary piece</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which type of criticism emphasizes the impact of the reader's mind while interpreting a literary work?

    <p>Reader-Response Criticism</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does Gender Criticism explore in literary works?

    <p>The influence of sexual identity on the creation of literature</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a key concern of Biographical Criticism?

    <p>How the author's life experiences relate to their writing</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What aspect does Formalist Criticism primarily focus on?

    <p>A close reading of the text's structure and elements</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Feminist Approach in Gender Criticism aims to address what issue?

    <p>Achieving gender equality in literary criticism</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following questions would a Formalist Critic likely ask?

    <p>How does the plot build to a suspenseful resolution?</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What unique perspective does Masculinist Approach bring to literary criticism?

    <p>It examines male desires and challenges in literature</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the primary purpose of the introduction in a critique paper?

    <p>To provide the author’s name, book title, and thesis statement</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which step is NOT part of the process of writing a literary criticism?

    <p>Determine the audience’s preference</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the role of dialogue in a drama?

    <p>To reveal character traits and advance the plot</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the term 'intertextuality' refer to in literature?

    <p>A literary device using textual references within a text</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following is NOT a component of drama?

    <p>Plot development</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the primary function of 'stage directions' in a drama?

    <p>They provide actor interpretations for scenes</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following best describes a 'One Act Play'?

    <p>A representation of life arousing emotion in an audience</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Who is known as the 'Father of Tragedy'?

    <p>Aeschylus</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which statement is true about the playwright William Shakespeare?

    <p>He mixed tragedy and comedy in his later works</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In the context of drama, what does 'climax' refer to?

    <p>The moment of greatest tension in the plot</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the primary aim of the body section in a critique paper?

    <p>To discuss strong and weak points of the literary piece</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In the context of a one act play, what must be introduced through dialogue?

    <p>The development of the plot and conflict</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which playwright is known for his tragic themes such as betrayal and moral failure?

    <p>William Shakespeare</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the term 'denouement' refer to in the structure of a play?

    <p>The final resolution of the plot</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Study Notes

    Literary Criticism

    • Aims to compare, analyze, interpret, and/or evaluate literary works.
    • Essentially criticising, evaluating, or judging a literary work based on its form.

    Types of Literary Criticism

    • Sociological/Historical Criticism: Examines literary works within their cultural, economic, and political context. Links author to society.
    • Reader-Response Criticism: Focuses on the reader's experience and interpretation while reading. Aims to understand the reader's impact.
    • Gender Criticism: Explores how sexual identity shapes literary works, including potentially conscious or unconscious gender influences on writing.
    • Feminist Approach: Seeks to correct gender imbalances and empower all genders, including LGBTQ+.
    • Masculinist Approach (Robert Bly): Focuses on men's desires and issues.
    • Biographical Criticism: Examines how an author's life affects their writings. Analyzes the social, cultural, political, and intellectual context influencing the work.
    • Formalist Criticism: Focuses on the work itself, analyzing elements like:
    • Character: Interactions, uniqueness, and development.
    • Setting: Foreshadowing, tension enhancement.
    • Plot: Unusual, unexpected, or suspenseful scenes, leading to resolutions and conflict.
    • Point of View: Omniscient (all-knowing) or limited; who tells the story.

    Steps to Write a Literary Criticism

    1. Read and understand the literary work.
    2. Determine the author's purpose.
    3. Analyze each segment/section.
    4. Choose a literary criticism approach.
    5. Compose a critique paper with:
    • Introduction: Author, title, source, thesis statement.
    • Body: Strong and weak points in a logical, clear manner.
    • Conclusion: Overall opinion, approval or disapproval.
    • Literary criticism improves reading comprehension to understand broader literature.

    Elements of Drama

    • Drama: Fictional representation through dialogue and performance. Presents a story with character conflict.
    • Dramatist/Playwright: Person writing for stage directions.
    • Character: People (or animals) portrayed by actors/actresses. Drives play's action.
    • Protagonist: Main character.
    • Antagonist: Villain.
    • Secondary Characters: Supporting characters.
    • Setting: Place, time, and environment where events occur.
    • Stage Directions: Notes (italics/parentheses) guiding actor interpretations.
    • Plot: Storyline structure showing what happens.
    • Exposition: Introduces background.
    • Inciting Incident: Event triggering conflict.
    • Rising Action: Building dramatic tension.
    • Climax: Peak of action.
    • Falling Action: Events following the climax.
    • Denouement: Resolution.
    • Dialogue: Conversation between characters. Reveals character, suggests action.

    Script for One Act Play

    • One Act Play: Orderly representation of life arousing emotion in an audience.
    • Steps in Writing a One Act Play:
      1. Prewrite: Define play, its components, desired characters, intended audience impact, outline of 3-4 scenes involving main characters, conflict, problem to climax, resolution.
      2. Write the Play: Develop characters through insightful dialogue, advance the plot through dialogue, include stage directions, suggest settings, props, lightning.
      3. Read through Draft: Observe natural language flow, character development, and conflict. Evaluate values of movement and gestures, and whether the play causes the intended reactions.
      4. Walk-through the Play: Assess feasibility of action (classroom/theater). Determine minimum props, costumes, lighting, and performance time.

    Intertextuality

    • Intertextuality: Literary device using textual references within a text. Shows complex interrelationship between the text and other texts used as basis.
    • Often builds upon existing stories/texts. (e.g., A Tempest by Aimé Césaire is an adaptation of Shakespeare's The Tempest, reimagining characters with a postcolonial perspective).

    Playwrights

    • Playwright: Person who writes dramatic literature (plays). Can be intended for stage performance or as "closet dramas" (not meant for performance). Creates stories through character dialogue and action.
    • William Shakespeare: Considered the greatest English playwright and writer.
    • Known for tragedies like Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, King Lear, and mixing tragedy and comedy in tragicomedies (The Tempest, Cymbeline, The Winter's Tale).
    • Aeschylus: "Father of Tragedy."
    • Greek tragedian.
    • The Persians (472 BC), Seven Against Thebes, The Orestia (trilogy: Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, The Eumenides).
    • Arthur Miller: 20th-century American playwright.
    • Known for honesty and edginess in his work.
    • Death of a Salesman (most successful, Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize win).
    • Oscar Wilde: 19th-century intellectual playwright.
    • Poems, The Importance of Being Earnest (farcical comedy), The Picture of Dorian Gray, other plays about upper-class society.
    • Nora Ephron: American journalist, novelist, playwright, screenwriter, producer, columnist, and director.
    • Known for romantic comedies like Sleepless in Seattle, When Harry Met Sally, You’ve Got Mail. Created plays, films, and directed films.

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    Description

    This quiz delves into various types of literary criticism, exploring methodologies such as sociological, reader-response, and gender criticism. Gain insights into how these approaches analyze literary works and their cultural contexts. Perfect for literature enthusiasts looking to deepen their understanding of critical theories.

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