EL 113 Literary Criticism Past Paper PDF 2023-2024

EL 113 MID & FINAL TERMS BSED-ENGLISH LITERARY CRITICISM...

EL 113 MID & FINAL TERMS BSED-ENGLISH LITERARY CRITICISM 1st Semester | 2023-2024 Topic Outline can be analyzed through psychoanalytic theory to uncover repressed emotions and desires. I. Psychoanalytic Criticism II. Marxist Criticism III. Feminist Criticism Examples: IV. New Criticism V. Lesbian, Gay, and Queer Criticism  calling your current partner by your ex's name VI. Structuralist Criticism  calling your teacher your mom  saying the wrong word I. PSYCHOANALYTIC CRITICISM  misinterpreting a written or spoken word. SIGMUND FREUD TYPES OF FREUDIAN SLIPS Born in 1856 in Austria, was a neurologist and the founder of psychoanalytic theory. 1. REPRESSION – happens when repressed memories His theories on the unconscious mind, the Oedipus make their way into conscious awareness. complex, and the id, ego, and superego have had a 2. MENTAL ERRORS – Other misstatements happen significant impact on literary criticism. simply because you are distracted, forgetful, or not thinking clearly. You might mix up facts or misremember details, leading to verbal errors. WHAT IS PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY? 3. AVOIDANCE – reveal things you've intentionally Focus: Mind-Body connection to personality. repressed because you don't want to deal with them. Main Parts: The conscious mind and the unconscious 4. THOUGHT SUPPRESSION – bringing the very mind thoughts we are trying to keep hidden to the forefront of our minds. THE UNCONSCIOUS MIND 5. LANGUAGE PROCESSING – the process failed and a (Key concept in psychoanalytic theory) mistake slipped out before the brain was able to catch it. Contains thoughts, feelings, and desires that are not DREAM ANALYSIS accessible to our conscious awareness, but nonetheless influence our behavior and perceptions. (windows into the unconscious mind) In literature, the unconscious mind can be seen in the Dreams are symbolic representations of our deepest symbols and imagery used by authors, as well as in the desires, fears, and anxieties, and can reveal important actions and motivations of their characters. insights into our psyche. One’s inability to face reality can be interpreted as a manifestation of her repressed desires and traumatic DREAM CONTENT experiences. a. Manifest Content (actual matter) "We need to understand what happens to us inside" b. Latent Content (underlying meaning) One can gain a deeper understanding of the workings of the unconscious mind and its impact on human behavior. DREAM “Things that happen to people during childhood can Dreams are a series of thoughts, images, and contribute to the way they later function as adults.” sensations occurring in a person's mind during sleep. 3 PARTS OF THE HUMAN PSYCHE According to Freud (1900), sources of dreams include stimuli from the external world, subjective experiences, organic stimuli within the body, and mental activities during sleep ID, EGO, & SUPEREGO – These three different parts of personality interact to influence the decisions a person makes and how that person behaves. DREAM SYMBOLS Symbols in dreams usually serve the purpose of a. A person's id seeks instant gratification and telling the dreamer what he or she needs to pleasure. achieve or needs to get over with in order for his b. At the opposite extreme, the superego seeks to or her life to improve. follow the rules of society and morality. A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur c. The ego is in a constant struggle to balance the id involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of and superego sleep. When we sleep, it is believed that our defenses do “We need to learn how to manage our emotions” not operate in the same manner they do when we In literature, these concepts can be seen in characters are awake. During sleep, we are unconscious. who struggle with their inner conflicts and desires The practical task of transforming the manifest– dream to latent–dream and explaining how the latter has become the former is known For example, in William Shakespeare's play Macbeth, as dream interpretation or dream work. the title character is driven by his ambition (id) to become king but is also haunted by his sense of guilt and morality In literature, dreams are often used to convey (superego) after committing murder. important themes and ideas. This internal conflict drives the plot and adds depth to the character's development. 1. MALE IMAGERY, or phallic symbols, can include towers, rockets, guns, arrows, swords, and the like. 2. FEMALE IMAGERY can include caves, rooms, FREUDAN SLIPS (parapraxis) walled-in gardens (like the ones we see in Unintentional errors in speech or behavior that reveal paintings representing the Virgin Mary), cups, an unconscious thought or desire. This supposedly reveals or enclosures and containers of any kind. secret thoughts and feelings that people hold. These slips EL 113 Dian S. | Page 1 of 14  FOUR ASPECTS OF DREAMWORK modifying our memories so that we don’t feel overwhelmed by them or forgetting painful events entirely. 1. DREAM DISPLACEMENT occurs whenever we use a “safe” person, event, or object as a “stand-in” to to remember only what one wants to remember. represent a more threatening person, event, or object. intentional forgetting 2. CONDENSATION occurs during a dream whenever we use a single dream image or event to represent more 3. DENIAL than one unconscious wound or conflict. believing that the problem doesn’t exist or the 3. REPRESENTABILITY - an object that is absent is unpleasant incident never happened made present in the form of an image. Latent and abstract thoughts are transformed into visual images. blocking external events from awareness. 4. SECONDARY REVISION - the act of putting into refuses to experience a situation when it is too words, the translation of dream images into verbal much to handle. images, and the transformation into a narrative Example: a husband may refuse to recognize structure. obvious signs of his wife’s infidelity. A student may refuse to recognize their obvious lack of preparedness for an exam! PSYCHOANALYTIC CRITICISM A literary theory that explores the unconscious 4. AVOIDANCE elements of a text and how they relate to the human psyche. By applying psychoanalytic theory to literature, we staying away from people or situations that are can gain a deeper understanding of the motivations and liable to make us anxious by stirring up some desires of characters, as well as the underlying themes and unconscious—i.e., repressed—experience or symbols in a work. emotion any behaviors people use to escape or distract themselves from difficult thoughts, feelings, and Importance situations. Psychoanalytic criticism is an important tool in literary analysis as it allows us to delve deeper into the psyche of characters and understand their 5. DISPLACEMENT motivations and behaviors. taking it out” on someone or something less By analyzing the unconscious desires and conflicts threatening than the person who caused our fear, of characters, we can gain a richer understanding hurt, frustration, or anger of the text and its themes. Transferring one's emotional burden or emotional Critiques reaction from one entity to another It can be overly focused on the author's biography Example: Someone who is frustrated by his or her and personal experiences, rather than on the text superiors may go home and kick the dog, beat up itself. This can lead to a subjective interpretation a family member, or engage in cross-burnings. of the work, as the critic's own biases and assumptions may influence their analysis. 6. PROJECTION Psychoanalytic criticism can be reductionist, reducing complex works of literature to simple ascribing our fear, problem, or guilty desire to psychological explanations. Critics argue that this someone else and then condemning him or her for approach ignores the many other factors that it, in order to deny that we have it ourselves contribute to a work's meaning, such as historical unwanted feelings are attributed to someone else. context, social commentary, and literary devices. Example: you might hate someone, but your superego tells you that such hatred is THE ROLE OF THE READER unacceptable. You can ‘solve’ the problem by believing that they hate you. Psychoanalytic criticism emphasizes the reader's unconscious desires and motivations as they interact with the text- the reader's own experiences and psychological 7. REGRESSION makeup can greatly influence their interpretation of a work the temporary return to a former psychological of literature. state, which is not just imagined but relived. an immature way of responding to stress or going DEFENSES backwards. Are the processes by which the contents of our unconscious are kept in the unconscious. 8. REPRESSION When experience or think things that may be threatening, they may choose to repress them Why do we need Defenses? instead. To protect ourselves from feelings of anxiety or guilt, memory, feeling, or thought, these things are no which arise because we feel threatened. longer accessible in the consciousness Defenses operate at an unconscious level and help Example: Jacob cannot remember certain painful ward off unpleasant feelings or make good things feel memories as a child. To protect himself, he better for the individual. unconsciously represses these memories from his consciousness. Instead, he displays anxious TYPES OF DEFENSES behaviors toward other items that he associates with these original painful memories. 1. SELECTIVE PERCEPTION 9. SUBLIMATION hearing and seeing only what we feel we can handle takes place when we manage to displace our unacceptable emotions into behaviors which are unconsciously screen people, and select, and constructive and socially acceptable, rather than notice objects in their environment. destructive activities. pick and choose according to needs. Example: Many great artists and musicians have only focus on things you need to notice had unhappy lives and have used the medium of art of music to express themselves. Sport is another example of putting our emotions (e.g., 2. SELECTIVE MEMORY aggression) into something constructive. EL 113 Dian S. | Page 2 of 14 10. RATIONALIZATION involving a cognitive distortion of “the facts” to FEAR OF ABANDONMENT make an event or an impulse less threatening. The unshakable belief that our friends and loved We do it often enough on a fairly conscious level ones are going to desert us or don’t really care when we provide ourselves with excuses. about us. Example: When a person finds a situation difficult The overwhelming worry that people close to you to accept, they will make up a logical reason why will leave. it has happened. For example, a person may Feel intense anxiety when they think about or explain a natural disaster as “God’s will”. confront the possibility of a relationship ending or of being alone. 11. REACTION FORMATION called “believing the opposite,” is a FEAR OF BETRAYAL psychological defense mechanism in which a The nagging feeling that our friends and loved ones person goes beyond denial and behaves in the can’t be trusted. Fear of betrayal opposite way to which he or she thinks or feels. Afraid of giving trust to another person Usually, marked by exaggerated behavior, such as showiness and compulsiveness. Violation of a person's trust or confidence, of a moral standard, etc. the id is satisfied while keeping the ego in ignorance of the true motives. Proditiophobia 12. ARCHETYPE LOW SELF-ESTEEM is a perfect or representative example of The belief that we are less worthy than other something and may be used as a default mental people and, therefore, don’t deserve attention, image. love, or any other of life’s rewards. Indeed, we often believe that we deserve to be punished by is a universally understood symbol, term, or life in some way. pattern of behavior, a prototype upon which others are copied, patterned, or emulated. INSECURE/ UNSTABLE SENSE OF SELF 13. SYMBOLS The inability to sustain a feeling of personal identity, to sustain a sense of knowing ourselves. is a word or object that stands for another word or object. Identity disturbance Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) 14. COLLECTIVE UNCONSCIOUS Your self-image, goals, and even your likes and dislikes may change frequently in ways that represent a form of the unconscious (that part of feel confusing and unclear. the mind containing memories and impulses of which the individual is not aware Example: the mother child relationship. Nobody OEDIPAL FIXATION tells us what a mother is, but we react in a certain A dysfunctional bond with a parent of the opposite way to a mothering figure, regardless where we sex that we don’t outgrow in adulthood and that were born in the world or what our culture, religion, doesn’t allow us to develop mature relationships or race is. with our peers. Refers to a child’s attraction to their parent of the 15. COMPROMISE FORMATION opposite sex and jealousy of their parent of the same sex. the conscious form of a repressed wish or idea that has been modified or disguised, as in a dream or symptom, so as to be unrecognizable. a. OEDIPUS COMPLEX - a boy's attraction It represents a compromise between the demands toward the mother of the ego’s defenses and the unconscious wish. b. ELECTRA COMPLEX - a girl's attraction to the This serves to protect the person from the father perceived feeling of anxiety, conscious or unconscious. Example: Panic attacks represent such II. MARXIST CRITICISM compromise formations, often an attempt to compromise between angry feelings and fantasies PROPONENTS OF MARXISM and fears of abandonment. 1. KARL MARX ANXIETY Jewish philosopher and political scientist. Marx is known as one of the most influential When defenses break down temporarily causing more socialist thinkers in the 19th century. psychological problems. 2 major works of Karl Marx: The Communist Anxiety can be an important experience because it can Manifesto and Das Kapital reveal our core issues. 2. FRIEDRICH ENGELS German philosopher, economist, historian, political CORE ISSUES theorist, and revolutionary socialist. Core issues are mental schemas that one has about He shared Marx’s socialist beliefs and provided oneself and the world. They are often unconscious, coming support financially as well as intellectually. to the surface only under specific psychosocial stress. 2 major works of Engels: The Conditions of the Working Class in England and The Manifesto. TYPES OF ANXIETY IDEOLOGY FEAR OF INTIMACY Refers to a system of ideas, beliefs, values, and Afraid of being close to someone. principles that form the basis of a particular social, political, economic, or cultural theory or movement. The chronic and overpowering feeling that Characters’ lives are influenced by ideologies of class emotional closeness will seriously hurt or destroy us and that we can remain emotionally safe only A Marxist critic needs to: by remaining at an emotional distance from others Determine the class identity of characters at all times. EL 113 Dian S. | Page 3 of 14  Analyze how it affects (actions, beliefs, hopes, and MARXIST PRAXIS fears) A methodology, dictates that theoretical ideas can be judged to have value only in terms of their concrete MARXIST CRITICISM applications, that is, only in terms of their applicability to the real world Is a philosophical and ideological belief which originates from the works of 19th century philosophers Karl Marx THE CLASS SYSTEM IN AMERICA and Friedrich Engles Marxist Criticism is concerned with issues of class Classifying people in Bourageoisie and Poletariat seems conflict, wealth, work, and the various ideologies that difficult in America. surround these things We can classify American’s according to their socio- These critics examine literature in its cultural, economic lifestyle economic, and political context. The Marxist perspective is the study of the struggle a. ARISTOCRATS (Extremely Wealthy) among the upper, lower, and the middle class. b. MIDDLE UPPER CLASS (Financially established, well to do) 2 OPPOSING CLASSES IN MARXISM c. LOWER CLASS (The poor) d. UNDERCLASS (Homeless) 1. Bourgeoisie - is the property-owning class who own the means of production (e.g., factories) and THE ROLE OF IDEOLOGY employ and exploit the proletariat. Those who control the world’s natural, economic, and human The main purpose behind an ideology is to offer either resources change in society, or adherence to a set of ideals where conformity already exists, through a normative thought 2. Proletariat - those who have nothing to sell but process. their labor-power (their capacity to work). the Undesirable ideologies promote repressive political majority of the global population who live in agendas and, in order to ensure their acceptance substandard conditions and perform the manual among the citizenry, pass themselves off as natural labor ways of seeing the world instead of acknowledging themselves as ideologies. This literary criticism focuses on the analysis of money, “It’s natural for men to hold leadership positions power, and social institutions such as government, because their biological superiority renders them more families, and religion. physically, intellectually, and emotionally capable than “Catch a man a fish, and you can sell it to him. Teach women” a man to fish, and you ruin a wonderful business “Every family wants to own its own home on its own opportunity.” –Karl Marx land” THE FUNDAMENTAL PREMISES OF MARXISM MARXISM For Marxism getting and keeping economic power is the Marxism works to make us constantly aware of all the motive behind all political and social activities (education, ways in which we are products of material/historical religión, philosophy, etc). circumstances and of the repressive ideologies that serve to blind us to this fact in order to keep us CLASS SYSTEM IN MARXISM subservient to the ruling power system. although we could argue that the economic interests of 1. Bourgeoisie (haves) - Those who control the middle-class America would best be served by a world’s natural, economic, and human resources. political alliance with the poor in order to attain a more 2. Proletariat (have-nots) - the majority of the equitable distribution of America’s enormous wealth global population who live in substandard among the middle and lower classes, in political conditions and who have always performed the matters the middle class generally sides with the manual labor wealthy against the poor Economics is the base on which the superstructure of IDEOLOGIES social/political/ideological realities is built Economic Condition - It is referred as the 1. CLASSISM - is an ideology that equates one’s value as material circumstances. a human being with the social class to which one Historical Condition - It is the belongs: the higher one’s social class, the better one is social/political/ideological atmosphere generated assumed to be because quality is “in the blood,” that by material conditions is, inborn 2. PATRIOTISM - is an ideology that leads the poor to see themselves as members of a nation, separate from other nations, rather than as members of a worldwide oppressed class opposed to all privileged classes including those from their own country 3. RELIGION - which Karl Marx called “the opiate of the masses” , is an ideology that helps to keep the faithful poor satisfied with their lot in life, or at least tolerant of it, much as a tranquilizer might do. 4. RUGGED INDIVIDUALISM - is an ideology that romanticizes the individual who strikes out alone in pursuit of a goal not easily achieved, a goal that often involves risk and one that most people would not readily undertake. It is the social/political/ideological atmosphere generated by material conditions 5. CONSUMERISM - or shop-’till-you-drop-ism is an Neither human events nor human productions can be ideology that says “I’m only as good as what I buy.” understood without understanding the specific material/historical circumstances in which those HUMAN BEHAVIOR, THE COMMODITY, AND THE productions and events occur. FAMILY. All human events and productions have specific material/historical causes. No abstract, timeless essences Marx criticized the rise of a capitalist economy, arguing or principles, only concrete conditions that its value becomes impersonal and monetary, determining an object' s relationship to a monetary market. Its value is translated into a monetary " equivalent" - the EL 113 Dian S. | Page 4 of 14 word capital means money and determined not involved in III. FEMINIST CRITICISM terms of its relationship to a monetary market In Anglo-European culture, capitalism replaced a barter FEMINIST LITERARY CRITICISM economy in which labor or goods were exchanged for other It explores the social relationships and roles of men and labor or goods, depending on the abilities and needs of the women. This form of literary criticism draws on the ideas of individuals involved in the exchange. feminist theory to critique literature, considering how literature portrays and is influenced by patriarchal 1. COMMODITY - is something that is bought and sold, narratives. or exchanged. MARTHA WEINMAN LEAR Use Value (Not what is can do) Exchange Value (it can be traded) In 1968, Martha Weinman Lear published an article in Sign-exchange Value (affect social status) the New York Times titled 'The Second Feminist Wave'. This article originated the wave metaphor which categorizes feminism into four waves. 2. COMMODIFICATION - is the act of relating to objects or persons in terms of their exchange value or sign- exchange value. FOUR WAVES OF FEMINISM 3. CONSPICUOUS CONSUMPTION - purchasing goods 1. First Wave - is marked by the suffragette exclusively designed to serve as symbols of wealth movement, beginning in the early 20th century. The key focus of this wave was to obtain equality 4. IMPERIALISM - the military, economic, and/or between men and women through the right to cultural domination of one nation by another. vote. 2. Second Wave - began in the early 1960s and 5. COLONIES - The imperialist nation establishes lasted until the late 1980s. This wave centered on communities in an undeveloped country the legal obstacles to gender equality, such as To colonize the consciousness of subordinate workplace or reproductive rights. peoples means to convince them to see their 3. Third Wave - began in the early 1990s and situation the way the imperialist nation wants them continued until the 2010s. Third-wave feminism to see it and to convince them. expanded the issues the feminist movement worked to address, for instance, intersectionality 6. FAMILY - is a tool of capitalism and its main function became a key part of third-wave feminism. is to maintain capitalism and reinforce social inequalities. 4. Fourth Wave - emerged in the early 2010s. While the fourth wave continued to tackle issues such as legal equality and intersectionality, it focused MARXISM AND LITERATURE heavily on sexual violence against women. In literary theory, a Marxist interpretation reads the text as an expression of contemporary class struggle. “Feminism is not an anti-men movement.” The key concepts of Marxism in literature TRADITIONAL GENDER ROLES involves: Class Struggle Cast men as rational, strong, protective, and decisive; Social Inequality they cast women as emotional (irrational), weak, Historical Materialism nur- turing, and submissive Ideology Alienation PATRIARCHAL WOMAN A woman who has internalized the norms and values of MARXISM AND LITERATURE (Book) patriarchy, which can be defined, in short, as any culture Written by Raymond Williams that privileges men by promoting traditional gender roles. Non-fiction work Published in Oxford University Press at 1977 It has different editions A SUMMARY OF THE FEMINIST PREMISES Women are oppressed by patriarchy economically, Focus: It highlights the socioeconomic realities in politically, socially, and psychologically; patriarchal literature and to reveal hidden messages or critiques of ideology is the primary means by which they are kept the prevailing capitalist system so. In every domain where patriarchy reigns, woman is Key Purpose of Marxism in Literature other: she is objectified and marginalized. Social and Economic Analysis All of western (Anglo-European) civilization is deeply Power Dynamics rooted in patriarchal ideology. Historical Context While biology determines our sex (male or female), Critique of Capitalism culture determines our gender (masculine or feminine). Relevance All feminist activity, including feminist theory and literary criticism, has its ultimate goal to change the Importance of Marxism in Literature world by promoting women’s equality. It emphasizes class, socioeconomic status, power relations among various segments of society, and the representation of those segments. FRENCH FEMINISM It focuses on philosophical dimension of women’s Key Takeaways of Marxism and Literature issues. French Feminism has two different forms: Marxism is a social, political, and economic theory that a. Materialist Feminism came to prominence in the second half of the b. Psychoanalytic Feminism nineteenth century. The ideas and philosophy of Marxism are based on the MATERIALIST FEMINISM works of the German philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. It examines the patriarchal traditions and institutions The central idea of Marxism is that society is structured that control the material (physical) and economic around the economic activity of a society. conditions by which society oppresses women. In any society, there is an economic base based on which other aspects of life (the superstructure) are The Second Sex written by: Beauvoir generated. o It is a theoretical basis for materialist feminists for Marxist literary theory is a type of literary analysis that decades to come. examines works of literature from a Marxist point of o Men are considered as essential subjects view. (Independent and Free will) EL 113 Dian S. | Page 5 of 14  o Women are considered contingent beings community. “Women are not characterized as weak or (Dependent and controlled by circumstances.) inferior. Women and men are valorized for the same qualities of strength, wisdom, and generosity” (Lep‑ Men can act upon the world, change it, give meaning, owsky 158). while women have meaning only in relation to men. The first to argue that women are not born feminine The American gender system is referred to as a binary but rather conditioned to be feminine by patriarchy. system because it consists of two genders, masculine and Delphy offers a feminist critique of patriarchy based on feminine, that are based on two sexes, male and female, Marxist principles. Delphy, who coined the phrase and because those two genders are considered polar materialist feminism in the early 1970s, focuses her opposites. There is no in-between: you’re either masculine analysis on the family as economic unit. Just as the or feminine because you’re either male or female, and if lower classes are oppressed by the upper classes in you’re not one or the other of these two genders, then there society as a whole, she explains, women are the must be something wrong with you. (ENGL A337 Critical subordinates within families. Approaches to Literature by Lois Tyson) In a patriarchy, women do the domestic labor at home that men don’t want to do. The term gender identity implies that one’s gender may not match one’s biological sex—indeed, may not match either primary biological sex—for if it always did, we PSYCHOANALYTIC FEMINISM wouldn’t need the term gender identity. Androgyny tells us It is Interested in patriarchy’s influence on women’s that, regardless of one’s sex, one’s gender identity may psychological experience and creativity. Its focus is on the consist of some combination of feminine and masculine individual psyche, not on group experience. behaviors. Helene Cixous argues that language reveals what she Unfortunately, gender discrimination exists today in a calls patriarchal binary thought, which might be defined as myriad of forms, yet too often the only people aware of it seeing the world in terms of polar opposites, one of which are those who must suffer it themselves or whose loved is considered superior to the other. ones must suffer it. Irigaray, in what many thinkers refer to as the male Feminism and gender studies are intimately related. gaze: the man looks; the woman is looked at. They share some of the same subject matter as well as a desire for justice and a belief in the power of education to MULTICULTURAL FEMINISM change our society for the better. For centuries feminism has worked for gender equality: for a dissolution of the Understands and addresses the needs of all women patriarchal gender roles that, even today, continue to regardless of race, class, sexual orientation, age, physical short-circuit efforts to achieve complete equality between ability, or other characteristics. women and men. FEMINIST LITERATURE White & the Women of color o Women of different ethnic backgrounds may face Encompasses fiction, nonfiction, drama, and poetry similar forms of gender-based mistreatment, such that advocates for equal rights and challenges traditional as gender discrimination and sexism. gender norms. o A white woman is penalized by her gender but has the advantage of race. A black woman is Goals of Feminist Literature disadvantaged by her gender and her race. A Feminist literature aims to define, establish, and Latina lesbian experiences discrimination because defend equal civil, political, economic, and social rights of her ethnicity, her gender and her sexual for women while scrutinizing women's roles in society. orientation. Importance of Feminist Literature Feminist Literature plays a crucial role in reshaping  Example: The Color Purple, novel by Alice Walker, societal perceptions, empowering women, and published in 1982 and won a Pulitzer Prize in 1983. It fostering social change. movingly depicts the growing up and self-realization of Celie, who overcomes oppression and abuse to find KEY THEMES OF FEMINIST LITERATURE fulfillment and independence. a. Gender roles: How literature portrays and critiques traditional roles assigned to women. Gender and Studies of Feminism b. Women's rights: Exploration of issues like Feminist analysis focuses a good deal on the suffrage, reproductive rights, and gender-based enormous role played by gender—that is, by a violence. society’s definitions of femininity and masculinity— in our daily lives. c. Female sexuality: How literature addresses women's sexual agency and societal attitudes An understanding of some of the major issues towards it. addressed by gender studies is a useful and perhaps indispensable part of our understanding of d. The female body: Examination of how the female the ways in which feminist concerns are continuing body is depicted and controlled. to evolve and expand (Tyson, 108-116). e. The patriarchy: Critique of male-dominated power structures. Among other issues that figure prominently in gender studies are the following overlapping topics: NOVELS AUTHOR DESCRIPTION 1. Woman Lualhati explores the 1. Patriarchal assumptions about gender and gender Enough Bautista complexities of roles that continue to oppress women, womanhood in a 2. Alternatives to the current way we conceptualize patriarchal society. gender as either feminine or masculine, 2. The Scent Mina Roces delves into women's 3. The relationship between sex and gender (between of Apples experiences and the ways our bodies are biologically constructed in the challenges. and the genders to which we are assigned), and Lake 4. The relationship between sexuality and gender 3. Dogeaters Jessica critiques post-colonial (between our sexual orientation and the ways in Hagedorn Philippines through a which we are viewed in terms of gender). feminist lens. Maria Alexandra Lepowsky’s example of the 4. The Nick Joaquin explores the struggles people of Vanatinai. Woman of identity and gender. Who Had  A small island near New Guinea, where “[i]deologies of Two male superiority or right of authority over women are Navels notably absent, and ideologies of gender equivalence are clearly articulated” (150). SHORT AUTHOR DESCRIPTION  Men and women in this culture have equal rights over STORIES their own labor and the products of their labor, equal access to the accumulation of material wealth, and equal access to the acquisition of prestige in the EL 113 Dian S. | Page 6 of 14  1. Desire Paz Latorena challenges societal Define the theory and identify its function. Identify expectations of the major thinkers of New Criticism. women's desires.  Example: Hamlet (William Shakespeare) 2. The Edith Tiempo discusses the strength Corals and resilience of THE FOCUS OF THE ANALYSIS IN NEW women CRITICISM 3. The Virgin Kerima explores societal Polotan- pressures on women's Tuvera purity. THE FOCUS OF THE ANALYSIS In New Criticism, the focus of analysis is on examining 4. Love in Aida Rivera- delves into women's the text itself to determine its meaning. This means closely the Ford empowerment. reading and analyzing the language of the text, including CornHusk its formal elements like imagery, symbols, metaphors, POEMS AUTHOR DESCRIPTION rhyme, meter, point of view, setting, characterization, and 1. Muted Cry Trinidad expresses suppressed plot. Tarrosa female voices.  Examples: Poetry Analysis & Novel Study Subido 2. I Am a Ninotchka emphasizes female NEW CRITICISM Woman Rosca identity and strength. New Criticism views a literary work as an unchanging, self-contained verbal entity. Its meaning is as objective as 3. To a Angela celebrates Filipino its physical form on the page because it arises from the Filipina Manalang- women. unique arrangement of words. Gloria 4. The Susan Lara- discusses the women's 1. Close Examination of Formal Elements Feminist Alvarez liberation movement. New Criticism emphasizes meticulous analysis Movement of a literary work's formal elements. These include: a. Imagery: Vivid descriptions that create IV. NEW CRITICISM mental images. b. Symbols: Objects or concepts representing WHAT COMES BEFORE NEW CRITICISM? deeper meanings. c. Metaphors: Figurative comparisons, e.g., BIOGRAPHICAL-Historical Criticism "Time is a thief" d. Rhyme & Meter: Patterns in sound and The Biographical-Historical criticism that dominated rhythm in poetry. literary studies in the nineteenth century and the early e. Point of View: The narrator's perspective. decades of the twentieth. At that time, it was common f. Setting: Time and place where the story practice to interpret a literary text by studying the author’s unfolds. life and times to determine authorial intention, that is, the g. Characterization: Development of meaning the author intended the text to have. characters. h. Plot: Sequence of events in the story. Alice in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll) a. Born in Cheshire, England 2. Timelessness and Autonomy b. He Suffered from a stammer New Criticism sees a literary work as timeless c. He was conservative and self-contained. This means that, regardless of d. Wrote poetry and short stories as a boy. changing readers and interpretations, the text's e. Formed a friendship with a family by the name of meaning remains fixed within the text itself. Liddell; the youngest daughters name was Alice In essence, the meaning of a literary work is Weakness - Turning a character into the author. not influenced by individual readers' opinions; it's an inherent aspect of the text. “THE TEXT ITSELF”  Examples: Timelessness & Autonomy Became the battle cry of the New Critical effort to focus our attention on the literary work as the sole source of OBJECTIVE MEANING evidence for interpreting it. The life and times of the author In New Criticism, a literary text's meaning is as and the spirit of the age in which he or she lived are objective as its physical presence on the page. This certainly of interest to the literary historian, New Critics objectivity results from the precise arrangement of words, argued, but they do not provide the literary critic with creating a unique, unrepeatable web of meaning. information that can be used to analyze the text itself. In the first place, they pointed out, sure knowledge of the author’s intended meaning is usually unavailable (Tyson, LITERARY LANGUAGE & ORGANIC UNITY 136). New Criticism focuses on and examines literary Sometimes a literary text doesn’t live up to the author’s language and organic unity in a literary work. intention. Sometimes it is even more meaningful, rich, and The importance of the formal elements of a literary text complex than the author realized. And sometimes the text’s is a product of the nature of language. meaning is simply different from the meaning the author wanted it to have. Knowing an author’s intention, therefore, What is Literary Language? tells us nothing about the text itself Literary language depends on the connotation of the implication, association, and evocation of meaning and FALLACIES shades of meaning. 1. Intentional Fallacy - New Critics coined the term a. Literary Language (Connotation) – Additional intentional fallacy to refer to the mistaken belief figurative meanings. that the author’s intention is the same as the text’s meaning.  Example: “Father” (Male parent, Dad)  Example: If a 5-year old drew a picture of a b. Scientific Language (Denotation) – The textbook cat, but I thought it looked more like a horse, definition of a term. I can't judge the picture on the 5-year old's  Example: “Father” (responsibility, power, intention for it to be a cat. authority, protector) 2. Affective Fallacies - The affective fallacy Why is Organic Unity important in a literary text? confuses the text with its affects, that is, with the If a text has an organic unity, then all of its formal emotions it produces. The affective fallacy leads to elements work together to establish its theme, or the impressionistic responses (if a reader doesn’t like meaning of the work as a whole. a character, then that character must be evil) EL 113 Dian S. | Page 7 of 14  For New Criticism, the complexity of a text is created by the multiple and often conflicting meanings woven SIMILE  “My brother is like a gem” through it. Is a figure of  “My brother is as valuable speech that compares as a gem” FOUR KINDS OF LINGUISTIC DEVICES two things using the words "like" or "as. " Linguistic Example Devices NEW CRITICISM PARADOX “You must lose your life in order (Intrinsic Vs. Extrinsic) A statement to gain it.” that is seemingly “I must be cruel only to be kind.” contradictory or View of New Critics as Intrinsic opposed to New Critics believed their interpretations were based common sense solely on the context created by the text and the language and yet is provided by the text, they called their critical practice perhaps true. intrinsic criticism, to denote that New Criticism stayed IRONY An example of an ironic event can within the confines of the text itself. Is a situation be seen in Toni Morrison’s The Bluest New Criticism as Intrinsic in which there is Eye (1970) when Pecola finally New critics believed in examining a literary work by a contrast receives the blue eyes she has closely analyzing its internal elements. between wished for so desperately. Her wish has been “fulfilled” only because she View of New Critics to other Criticisms expectation and reality. has lost touch with reality so In contrast, forms of criticism that employ psycho- completely that she believes her logical, sociological, or philosophical frameworks in other brown eyes are blue. words, all criticism other than their own-they called AMBIGUITY Toni Morrison’s Beloved (1987) extrinsic criticism because it goes outside the literary text Occurs when for the tools needed to interpret it. a word, image, Extrinsic Criticism or event is the background information such as: the time period, generates two or the author’s biography, and historical references. Any more different additional data gathered assists with the analysis of the meanings. literary text. TENSION Miller’s Death of a Salesman Which, (1949), the concrete image of Willy’s V. LESBIAN, GAY AND QUEER CRITICISM broadly defined, tiny house, bathed in blue light and means the surrounded by enormous apartment buildings that emanate an angry THE MARGINALIZATION OF LESBIAN AND GAY linking together orange glow, embodies the general MEN of opposites. idea of the underdog, the victim of forces larger and more numerous than itself. Similarly, the concrete Gay/lesbian studies look at the kinds of special image of Linda Loman singing Willy structures and social constructs which define our ideas to sleep embodies the general idea of about sexuality as act and sexuality as identity. the devoted wife, the caretaker, the Gay/lesbians as “bad role models” (Howard, 1993) nurturer. FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE HISTORY OF OPPRESSION Oppression is a process; it is constituted within and Figurative Example through a complicated and dynamic network of Language asymmetrical power relations IMAGERY  I wandered lonely as a cloud Consists of a word  That floats on high o'er or words that refer to vales and hills, LESBIAN CRITICISM an object perceived Lesbian criticism is concerned with issues of personal by the senses or to When all at once I saw a identity and politics analogous to those analyzed by sense perceptions crowd, feminists. themselves: colors, A host, of golden daffodils; shapes, lighting, Beside the lake, beneath sounds, tastes, the trees, Lesbian critics address issues related to both sexism smells, textures, Fluttering and dancing in and heterosexism. In other words, lesbian critics must deal temperatures, and so the breeze. with the psychological, social, economic, and political on. oppression fostered not only by patriarchal male privilege, but by heterosexual privilege as well. SYMBOL  Swamp in Ernest Is an image that Hemingway’s “Big, Two- Reasons Why it's Hard to Define the Term Lesbian has both literal and Hearted River” (1925). figurative meaning. Back in the 19th century letters written to and from The swamp is a literal woman consisted of overly expressed sentimentality swamp—it’s wet, it contains fish and expression and could not be deciphered as two and other forms of aquatic life, woman having any actual sexual desire for the other. and one needs boots and special Due to this some lesbian theorists coined the term equipment to fish in it—but it woman-identified woman: also “stands for, ” or “figures, ” something else: the emotional describes how lesbian identity is not confined to the problems the protagonist does individuals sexual domain. not feel quite ready to face it includes a woman directing most of her attention and emotional energy to another woman as her primary METAPHOR  “my brother is a gem” support of emotional and psychological support. Has only figurative meaning. Is a comparison of two Questions Essential to Lesbian Critical Inquiry dissimilar objects in What is a lesbian? Sexuality is often determined by which the properties ones sexual desire therefore, one way to define a of one are ascribed to the other. EL 113 Dian S. | Page 8 of 14  lesbian is when a woman’s sexual desire is directed LESBIAN WRITERS towards another woman 1. Jeanette 11. June Arnold, What constitutes a lesbian literary text? Due to Winterson, the many difficulties truly defining the term lesbian, it 12. Valerie Miner, 2. Gloria Anzaldúa, is hard to determine whether the writer of the text was 13. Jane Rule, 3. Leslie Feinberg, a lesbian or not and even if you knew their sexual orientation it is hard to tell if what you are reading is a 4. Minnie Bruce 14. Bertha Harris, lesbian text. However, whether or not the writer is a Pratt, 15. Sarah Shulman, lesbian or if what you are analyzing is a lesbian text is 5. Rita Mae Brown, determined by the critics definitions of the term lesbian 16. Nicole Brossard, 6. Paula Gunn Allen, 7. Dorothy Allison, 17. Audre Lorde and CONCEPTS RELATED TO LESBIAN CRITICISM 8. Ann Allen 18. Adrienne Rich Shockley, 1. Affair (Virginia Woolf & Vita Sackville-West) 9. Monique Wittig, Though they may have loved and respected by 10. Jewelle Gomez, their husbands, were passionately attracted to women rather than to men. 2. Romantic Friendships (Boston Marriage) GAY CRITICISM attachment and the tenderest love are expressed, but for which there is no concrete evidence of sexual GAY activity or sexual desire. It is sexually or romantically attracted to someone who 3. A lesbian is a woman-identified woman is the same sex. The term originally denoted being Some lesbian theorists have suggested that lesbian "carefree", "cheerful", or "bright and showy". While identity is not restricted to the sexual domain but scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the consists of directing the bulk of one’s attention and late 19th century, that meaning became increasingly emotional energy to other women and having other common by the mid-20th century women as one’s primary source of emotional sustenance and psychological support. GAY CRITICISM 4. Lesbian Continuum (Adrienne Rich) The kinds of analyses that tend to engage the attention A lesbian continuum, Rich explains, “include[s] a of gay critics often fall under the heading of gay sensibility. range—through each woman’s life and throughout history— of woman-identified experience, not simply the fact that a woman has had or consciously desired How does being gay influence the way one sees the genital sexual experience with another woman”. world, sees oneself and others, creates and responds to art 5. Separatism and music, creates and interprets literature, or experiences and expresses emotion? In a heterosexist culture such as Some lesbians are separatists. They disassociate the one we inhabit at the turn of the twenty‑first century in themselves as much as possible from all men, including America, gay sensibility includes an awareness of being gay men, and from heterosexual women as well. They different, at least in certain ways, from the members of the may also disassociate themselves from lesbians who mainstream, dominant culture, and the complex feelings don’t share their views. that result from an implicit, ongoing social oppression. In other words, part of seeing the world as a gay man includes TASKS OF A LESBIAN CRITIC the ways in which one deals with being oppressed as a gay man. A lesbian critic might argue that a writer known to have been a sexually active lesbian, such as Willa Cather, coded lesbian meaning in an apparently Among others, three important domains of gay heterosexual narrative because she knew that she sensibility, all of which involve responses to heterosexist couldn’t write about lesbian desire openly, at least not oppression, are drag, camp, and dealing with the issue of if she hoped to have her work published and to avoid AIDS. (Tyson 330) public censure if not criminal prosecution Another task a lesbian critic might perform is to argue DOMAINS OF GAY SENSIBILITY that a writer’s literary output establishes her lesbian status even when available biographical material posits 1. Drag only a passionate emotional bond, a “romantic To do drag is to dress up or present yourself differently friendship, ” with another woman. than your everyday gender, usually for expression or Another task a lesbian critic might perform is to show performance. A drag queen is a person (usually a man) who the ways in which a text that is clearly heterosexual in dresses up as a woman, generally to perform a show. its intention nevertheless has an important lesbian 2. Camp dimension. It generally refers to a style of exaggerated effeminate They try to decide what constitutes a lesbian literary behavior. The term “camp” is derived from the French word tradition and what writers and works belong to it. “se camper” meaning “to pose or posture”. They attempt to determine what might constitute a 3. AIDS or Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome lesbian poetics, that is, a uniquely lesbian way of Is a chronic, potentially life-threatening condition writing. caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). They analyze how the sexual/emotional orientation of By damaging your immune system, HIV interferes with your lesbian writers has affected their literary expression; body's ability to fight infection and disease. how the intersection of race and sexual/emotional orientation has affected the literary expression of lesbians of color; and how the intersection of class, THE REAL INSPIRATION BEHIND THE STORY “THE race, and sexual/emotional orientation has affected the LITTLE MERMAID” BY HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN literary expression of lesbians of working-class origins. Lesbian critics also analyze the sexual politics of Andersen didn't quite die of a broken heart, but he did specific texts by examining, for example, how lesbian fall madly in love several times over the course of his life, characters or “masculine” women are portrayed in and he never had his feelings reciprocated. He seems to literature by and about lesbians. have fallen in love with both men and women and based on his journals, many scholars believe that he might have been biromantic and asexual. Andersen appears to have fallen hard for a man named Edvard Collin. And even the scholars who insist that male friendships were just " much more affectionate " back in the EL 113 Dian S. | Page 9 of 14 day have to admit that Andersen’s letters to Collins acknowledges that experiences of queerness are went far beyond platonic: shaped by multiple factors. 4. Fluidity of Identities- Queer criticism recognizes that "I long for you, yes, this moment I long for you as if sexual and gender identities are not fixed but fluid and you were a lovely girl…No one have I wanted to thrash as can change over time. This ideology emphasizes the much as you…but neither has anyone been loved so much complexity and variability of human identities. by me as you... My sentiments for you are those of a woman. The SOME SHARED FEATURES OF LESBIAN, GAY AND femininity of my nature and our friendship must remain a QUEER CRITICISM LESBIAN, GAY, AND QUEER mystery. " CRITICISM Often rely on similar kinds of textual evidence. For Collin did not return Andersen ' s feelings, however, example, in addition to the more obvious forms of textual which "caused the author much suffering," in Collin ’ s cues such as homoerotic imagery and erotic encounters own words. between same-sex characters. "Written when Collin decided to get married, Andersen displays himself as the sexual outsider who lost his Few of the most common examples of these subtle prince to another. " (Norton) cues: QUEER CRITICISM 1. Homosocial bonding- The depiction of strong What is Queer? It is used as an umbrella term to denote emotional ties between same-sex characters can create sexual identity within a particular community. Queer a homosocial atmosphere that may be subtly or overtly community may be made up of people we identify as homoerotic. lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and etc. 2. Gay or lesbian “signs''- Gay or lesbian signs are of two types. The first type consists of characteristics that Lesbian heterosexist culture stereotypically associated with gay Gay men or lesbians, such as might be evident, for example, in the appearance and behavior of “feminine” Trans male characters or “masculine” female characters. The Bisexual second type is coded signs created by the gay or lesbian subculture itself. Pansexual 3. Same-sex “doubles”- A more subtle, somewhat Asexual abstract, form of gay and lesbian signs consists of same-sex characters who look alike, act alike, or have parallel experiences. QUEER THEORY 4. Transgressive sexuality- A text’s focus on is a brand-new branch of study or theoretical transgressive sexuality, including transgressive speculation; it has only been named as an area since about heterosexuality (such as extramarital romance), 1991 by Teresa de Lauretis in her study journal entitled throws into question the rules of traditional “Queer Theory: Lesbian and Gay Sexualities” heterosexuality and thus opens the door of imagination For queer theory, categories of sexuality cannot be to transgressive sexualities of all kinds. defined by such simple oppositions as homosexual/heterosexual. It defines individual sexuality as a fluid, fragmented, dynamic collectivity of possible SOME LITERARY QUESTIONS LESBIAN, GAY, AND sexualities. (Tyson 335) QUEER CRITICS ASKS ABOUT LITERARY TEXTS Queer Theory subverts traditional institutions of society 1. How does the literary text, explicitly or that are based on the heteronormative model of human allegorically, represent various aspects of sexuality and acknowledges the broad spectrum of colonial oppression? sexuality, sexual orientation, and gender identity. Basically, the Queer Theory rejects what is seen as normal in our a. Intersectionality- The question society. acknowledges the intersectionality of identities and experiences. LGBTQ+ individuals, like anyone else, can belong to diverse racial, QUEER CRITICISM ethnic, and cultural backgrounds. Queer criticism follows feminist, and gay/lesbian b. Resistance and Liberation- Just as studies in rejecting the idea that sexuality is an essentialist colonialism is often met with resistance, category, something determined by biology or judged by examining how LGBTQ+ characters or themes eternal standards of morality and truth. resist or challenge colonial oppression within a As an inclusive term, it can refer to any piece of literary text can highlight narratives of resilience and criticism that interprets a text from a non-straight liberation perspective. Queer criticism often focuses on issues of identity, 2. What are the politics (ideological agendas) of power, and social norms, as well as the ways in which specific gay, lesbian, or queer works, and how are society constructs and reinforces certain sexual and gender those politics revealed in the work's thematic categories. content or portrayals of its characters? IDEOLOGIES a. Understanding Social Context- Examining the politics within LGBTQ+ works allows readers to understand the social and political 1. Deconstruction of Heteronormativity- It challenges context in which the work was created. the assumption that heterosexual relationships are the b. Representation and Visibility- The question norm and that all other sexualities are deviations from helps in evaluating the representation of that norm. LGBTQ+ individuals and communities in 2. Performativity- It argues that gender and sexual literature identities are not inherent but are performed and constructed through behaviors, language, and societal norms. 3. What are the poetics (literary devices and strategies) of a specific lesbian, gay, or queer 3. Intersectionality- Queer criticism often adopts an works? intersectional perspective. This means considering how various aspects of identity, such as race, class, ability, and gender, intersect with LGBTQ+ identities. It a. Artistic Appreciation- Understanding the poetics of LGBTQ+ works allows readers to EL 113 Dian S. | Page 10 of 14  appreciate the artistic and literary structured by the system. For example, language, craftsmanship of the text a structural system, is capable of transforming its b. Expression of Identity- Literary devices and basic components (phonemes) into new utterances strategies are powerful tools for expressing (words and sentences) (Tyson, 210). and shaping identity. 3. Self-regulation c. Reader Engagement and Interpretation- means that the transformations of which a The poetics of a work influence how readers structure is capable never lead beyond its own engage with and interpret the text. structural system. The elements engendered by transformations (for example, new linguistic utterances) always belong to the system and obey 4. What does the work contribute to our knowledge its laws (Tyson, 210). of queer, gay, or lesbian experience and history, including literary history? STRUCTURAL LINGUISTICS (by Ferdinand de Saussure, 1913-1915) a. Cultural Documentation- LGBTQ+ literature serves as a valuable form of cultural An approach to Linguistics which treats language as an documentation, capturing the experiences, interwoven structure, in which every item acquires identity struggles, and triumphs of queer, gay, and and validity only in relation to the other items in the lesbian individuals. system. b. Identity Formation- LGBTQ+ literature often According to Saussure, Language is just a complex plays a crucial role in the formation and system of signs. All words we say, all human activities even affirmation of queer identities. our perception and thought are constructed and it is not c. Educational Value- Understanding what a innate. work contributes to our knowledge of queer, gay, or lesbian experience and history 1. Language is Arbitrary enhances its educational value Signifier- Words or sound Signified- Mental concept 5. What sort of support (if any) is given to elements or characters who question the 2. Language is relational masculine/feminine binary? What happens to 3. Binary opposition those elements/characters? 4. Language is constitutive a. Challenge to Gender Norms LANGUE- Larger structure or the system of the language b. Representation of Non-Binary Identities or the language itself. c. Impact on Reader Perspectives PAROLE- Individual expressions of the language or the d. Character Development words we utter. VI. STRUCTURALIST CRITICISM “Structuralism is somehow referred to be a method rather than a thought or theory.” What Is Structure? The arrangement of and relations between the parts or elements of something complex. STRUCTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY (Claude LevI-Strauss) Structuralism shouldn’t be thought of as a field of study. Rather, it’s a method of systematizing human experience Structural anthropology, created by Claude Lévi- that is used in many different fields of study: for example, Strauss in the late 1950s, seeks the underlying linguistics, anthropology, sociology, psychology, and common denominators, the structures, that link all literary studies (Tyson, 209- 210). human beings regardless of the differences among the surface phenomena of the cultures to which they STRUCTURALIST’S TWO FUNDAMENTAL LEVELS belong. OF WORLD: VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE Despite the very different ritual forms in which different cultures express important aspects of community life, 1. The visible world consists of what might be called it seems that all human cultures have some codified surface phenomena: all the countless objects, process. activities, and behaviors we observe, participate in, and interact with every day. The existence of structural similarities among seemingly different myths of different cultures was one 2. The invisible world consists of the structures that of Lévi-Strauss’s particular areas of interest. underlie and organize all of these phenomena so that we can make sense of them. Argued that myths from all cultures as well as human thought across cultures share the same underlying structures, as they are all governed by universal laws. Structures aren’t physical entities; they’re conceptual frameworks that we use to organize and understand He found that the enormous number of myths from physical entities. various cultures reduces itself to a rather limited number of what he called mythemes, the fundamental units of myths. A structure is any conceptual system that has the following three properties: (1) wholeness, (2) transformation, and (3) self-regulation. SEMIOTICS Applies structuralist insights to the study of what it calls sign systems. A sign system is a linguistic or nonlinguistic 1. Wholeness object or behavior (or collection of objects or behaviors) simply means that the system functions as a unit; it’s not merely a collection of independent Signifier - is a word or image items. The whole is different from the sum of its Signified - meaning or concept to which the parts because the parts working together create signifier refers something new. To use a physical example, water Sign - combo of both signifier and signifier is a whole that is different from its component parts (hydrogen and oxygen). 2. Transformation TYPES OF SIGN means that the system is not static; it’s 1. Index- a sign that shows evidence for the existence of dynamic, capable of change. The system is not what it refers. For example, smoke is an index signifier merely a structure (a noun); it also structures (a for fire. verb). In other words, new material is always being EL 113 Dian S. | Page 11 of 14 2. Icon- a pattern that physically resembles what it He tries to provide a skeleton of literature, by observing stands for. that every story has a beginning, a middle and then nd, 3. Symbol- has no resemblance between the signifier and Frye suggests that the law of Nature works uniformly. the signified. The connection between them must be culturally learned. According To Fre