Literary Criticism: Critical Approaches Lesson PDF

WHAT IS A CRITIQUE? CRITIQUE a careful judgment in which you shape your opinion about the strengths and weaknesses of a piece of writing or work of art. CRITIQUE It is not a summary of the piece, rather, it is the critical evaluation to further understand validity, worth, effect, use of...

WHAT IS A CRITIQUE? CRITIQUE a careful judgment in which you shape your opinion about the strengths and weaknesses of a piece of writing or work of art. CRITIQUE It is not a summary of the piece, rather, it is the critical evaluation to further understand validity, worth, effect, use of the material that interests readers, and/or the recommendation or appeal for further appreciation. LITERARY CRITICISM a disciplined activity that attempts to study, analyze, interpret, and evaluate work of art using a particular lens, focus and standpoint LITERARY APPROACHES /LITERARY CRITICISM  LESSON 5: CRITICAL APPROACHES IN WRITING A CRITIQUE Since writing a critique requires a thorough, careful presentation, and weighing of arguments, it is necessary to use a lens or a systematic and critical analysis to serve your purpose in writing. One approach may be enough, however, it is not merely exclusive with other approaches. You may use one or a mixture of approaches depending on the length and depth of your critique. However, it is still easier for a beginner to simply focus with one approach. 1. FORMALISM/ NEW CRITICISM FORMALISM claims that all that are important in analyzing and understanding the text can be found in the piece of writing or text itself Outside information regarding the author, society of the time, politics or any other external context are no longer needed text is independent, has a fixed meaning, is timeless and universal requires a close and intent reading of the text concentrating on the relationships within the text that showcases its distinct characteristics or form  GUIDE QUESTIONS: 1.What is the title, setting, other elements etc. and to what extent it is symbolic? 2.What kind of language does the author use? 3. How is the work’s structure unified? 4. How do various elements of the work reinforce its meaning? 5. What recurring patterns (repeated or related words, images, etc.) can you find? What is the effect of these patterns or motifs? 6. How does repetition reinforce the theme(s)? 7. How does the writer’s diction reveal or reflect the work’s meaning? 8. What is the effect of the plot, and what parts specifically produce that effect? GUIDE QUESTIONS: 9. What figures of speech are used? (metaphors, similes, etc.) 10. Note the writer’s use of paradox, irony, symbol, plot, characterization, and style of narration. 11. What effects are produced? Do any of these relate to one another or to the theme? 12. Is there a relationship between the beginning and the end of the story? 13. What tone and mood are created at various parts of the work? 14. How does the author create tone and mood? What relationship is there between tone and mood and the effect of the story? 15. How do the various elements interact to create a unified whole? 16. What is the argument or thesis? 17. Who is telling the story in the piece? Sample of Formalist Critique of “Dead Stars” by Paz Marquez Benitez The title of the work already gives an idea as to what it means. In physics, it is stated that the light and energy of the stars have to travel light years to reach us. Since they are millions of miles away and light has to travel this large distance, it is highly possible that the star has already exploded while its light is still travelling towards us. Therefore it is possible that a bright light we see at night actually comes from a dead star. In the story, this metaphor is used to refer to Alfredo’s love for Julia, a woman he meets and falls for one fateful summer. Not only is the title an indicator of what is to come, even the fate of the characters in the story can already be seen through their names. Alfredo’s name means counselor of elves in Spanish and suggests someone who is wise. In the story, it is indicated that Alfredo is a lawyer, a person who counsels. Still, his name denotes a certain irony; despite his supposed wisdom, Alfredo’s actions, especially his covert courtship with Julia while being engaged to another, are anything but sensible. Julia’s name, on the other hand, refers to someone who is youthful, which is how Alfredo sees her for eight years until he is confronted by reality. 2. FEMINISM FEMINISM importance or relevance of women as subjects and how gender been perceived in the piece images of women and the underlying concepts of femininity including economic, societal, psychological and archetypal nature of women are examined stresses equality for a male dominated society  GUIDE QUESTIONS: 1. How are women’s lives portrayed in the work? 2. Is the form and content of the work influenced by the writer’s gender? 3. How do male and female characters relate to one another? Are these relationships sources of conflict? Are these conflicts resolved? 4. Does the work challenge or affirm traditional views of women? 5. How do the images of women in the story reflect patriarchal social forces that have impeded women’s efforts to achieve full equality with men? 6. What marital expectations are imposed on the characters? What effect do these expectations have? 7. What behavioral expectations are imposed on the characters? What effect do these expectations have? 8. If a female character were male, how would the story be different (and vice versa)? GUIDE QUESTIONS: 9. How does the marital status of a character affect her decisions or happiness? 10. How does culture view women vs. men? 11. How is the relationship between men and women portrayed? 12. What are the power relationships between men and women (or characters assuming male/female roles)? 13. Do characters take on traits from opposite genders? How so? How does this change others’ reactions to them? 14. What does the work reveal about the operations (economically, politically, socially, or psychologically) of patriarchy? 15. What does the work imply about the possibilities of sisterhood as a mode of resisting patriarchy? 16. What role does the work play in terms of women's literary history and literary tradition? Sample of Feminist Critique of “Dead Stars” by Paz Marquez Benitez The story is a study of power imbalance brought about by gender. In the beginning, Dead Stars already clearly illustrates the gender roles ingrained in Filipino Society: Don Julian and the judge are portrayed as the male leaders of the household, taking up lofty professions such as business and law while the women are portrayed accomplishing domestic tasks such as tending the children and preparing food. The most note-worthy display of imbalance in power, however, lies on the central theme of Alfredo’s love for Julia as simply a dead star. Eight years after their forbidden love and after getting married to another woman. Alfredo still holds Julia as an object of affection, thus creating a distance between him and his wife, Esperanza. In their relationship as a wedded couple, the power lies in Alfredo , not only because patriarchal society designates him as the head of the household, but also because he remains unreachable to his wife by harboring feelings for another woman. Moreover, the realization that his love for Julia is simply a dead star is brought about by his treatment of Julia as simply an illusion and an object of affection, and not as a woman. This gender imbalance leads to a tragic epiphany for the characters, but is also a reflection of how men are viewed to dominate not only in the household but also in their relationship with women. 3. MARXISM MARXISM unfold how socioeconomic status affects hierarchy or conflicts involving social classes in the masterpiece shows the relationship between literature and the socioeconomic conditions under which it was produced concerned with differences between economic classes & implications of capitalist system, such as the continuing conflicts between the working class and the elite GUIDE QUESTIONS: 1. What are the differences between economic classes? 2. What conflict has arisen between the working class and the elite? 3. What implication may the socioeconomic system bring? 4. What social class has been emphasized and how was this portrayed in the piece? Sample of Marxist Critique of “Dead Stars” by Paz Marquez Benitez The imbalanced societal power play is evident in the short story in the form of the treatment of the characters based on their class. This is most easily evident in the conversation between Alfredo and his fiancée. Esperanza, about Calixta, their note-carrier who grew up in the latter’s family. The scene depicts a parallelism in the circumstance of Alfredo and his new love, Julia, and Calixta and her live-in partner. However, while no one blatantly frowns upon the budding relationship between Alfredo and Julia, except for some whispered rumors that reached Esperanza, Calixta is dubbed “ungrateful” to her master for doing such an act. Alfredo does not have to answer to anyone for his unfaithfulness, but Calixta is responsible not only for what her family might think, but also for the members of her master’s family. despite the same circumstances, the two people are regarded differently based on their positions in life. 4. READER RESPONSE Sample of Reader Response Criticism of “Dead Stars” by Paz Marquez Benitez” Despite being limited in length, Dead Stars manages to evoke various feelings which ultimately build up the ending. While Alfredo is the center of the story, as a woman reader it is hard not to feel greatly for Esperanza. Esperanza can only be seen through the perspective of Alfredo. This does a disservice to her, as we can only know her through the description of someone who does not love her anymore. Still, it is also through Alfredo’s descriptions and his unfaithfulness that Esperanza gains sympathy from the reader. During all the moments when Alfredo and Julia are together, the thought of Esperanza looms in the background—does she know? How will she react? What will happen now? The sympathy only increases when they get married, for it is clear that Alfredo is detached from her and is still harboring feelings for Julia. While the end certainly evokes a feeling of loss at Alfredo’s epiphany, it is the feeling of betrayal for Esperanza that stays. 5. BIOGRAPHICAL APPROACH BIOGRAPHICAL APPROACH focuses on connection of work to author’s personal experiences GUIDE QUESTIONS: 1. What aspects of the author’s personal life are relevant to this story? 2. Which of the author’s stated beliefs are reflected in the work? 3. Does the writer challenge or support the values of her contemporaries? 4. What seem to be the author’s major concerns? Do they reflect any of the writer’s personal experiences? 5. Do any of the events in the story correspond to events experienced by the author? 6. Do any of the characters in the story correspond to real people? 6. HISTORICAL APPROACH HISTORICAL APPROACH focuses on connection of work to the historical period in which it was written; literary historians attempt to connect the historical background of the work to specific aspects of the work  GUIDE QUESTIONS: 1. How does it reflect the time in which it was written? 2. How accurately does the story depict the time in which it is set? 3. What literary or historical influences helped to shape the form and content of the work? 4. How does the story reflect the attitudes and beliefs of the time in which it was written or set? (Consider beliefs and attitudes related to race, religion, politics, gender, society, philosophy, etc.) 5. What other literary works may have influenced the writer? GUIDE QUESTIONS: 6. What historical events or movements might have influenced this writer? 7. How would characters and events in this story have been viewed by the writer’s contemporaries? 8. Does the story reveal or contradict the prevailing values of the time in which it was written? Does it provide an opposing view of the period’s prevailing values? 9. How important is it the historical context (the work’s and the reader’s) to interpreting the work? 7. PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACH PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACH focuses on the psychology of characters  GUIDE QUESTIONS: 1. What forces are motivating the characters? 2. Which behaviors of the characters are conscious ones? 3. Which are unconscious? 4. What conscious or unconscious conflicts exist between the characters? 5. Given their backgrounds, how plausible is the characters’ behavior? 6. Are the theories of Freud or other psychologists applicable to this work? To what degree? 7. Do any of the characters correspond to the parts of the tripartite self? (Id, ego, superego) 8. What roles do psychological disorders and dreams play in this story? GUIDE QUESTIONS: 9. Are the characters recognizable psychological types? 10. How might a psychological approach account for different responses in female and male readers? 11. How does the work reflect the writer’s personal psychology? 12. What do the characters’ emotions and behaviors reveal about their psychological states? 13. How does the work reflect the unconscious dimensions of the writer’s mind? 14. How does the reader’s own psychology affect his response to the work? 8. SOCIOLOGICAL APPROACH SOCIOLOGICAL APPROACH focuses on man’s relationship to others in society, politics, religion, and business GUIDE QUESTIONS: 1. What is the relationship between the characters and their society? 2. Does the story address societal issues, such as race, gender, and class? 3. How do social forces shape the power relationships between groups or classes of people in the story? Who has the power, and who doesn’t? Why? 4. How does the story reflect urban, rural, or suburban values? 5. What does the work say about economic or social power? Who has it and who doesn’t? Any Marxist leanings evident? 6. Does the story address issues of economic exploitation? What role does money play?  GUIDE QUESTIONS: 7. How do economic conditions determine the direction of the characters’ lives? 8. Does the work challenge or affirm the social order it depicts? 9. Can the protagonist’s struggle be seen as symbolic of a larger class struggle? How does the microcosm (small world) of the story reflect the macrocosm (large world) of the society in which it was composed? 10. Do any of the characters correspond to types of government, such as a dictatorship, democracy, communism, socialism, fascism, etc.? What attitudes toward these political structures/systems are expressed in the work? 9. STRUCTURALISM STRUCTURALISM focuses on finding binary oppositions – good vs. evil