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MagnificentCircle

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Carlos Hilado Memorial State University

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literary criticism literature cultural studies humanities

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 B. EXPLORE LITERATURE s a term used to describe written and sometimes spoken material. Derived from the Latin word Litera meaning “letters,” that deals with ideas, thoughts, and emotions of man, thus, literature can be said as the story of man. literature most commonly re...

 B. EXPLORE LITERATURE s a term used to describe written and sometimes spoken material. Derived from the Latin word Litera meaning “letters,” that deals with ideas, thoughts, and emotions of man, thus, literature can be said as the story of man. literature most commonly refers to works of the creative imagination, including poetry, drama fiction, non-fiction, and in some instances journalism. Literature introduces us to new worlds of experience. We learn about books and literature; we enjoy the comedies and the tragedies of poems, stories, and plays; and we may even grow and evolve through our literary journey with books. According to Perez (2015), literature, a common term and concept in our vocabulary, seems to defy any simplistic, single-sentence definition through the years. It remains to be so even up to the present, and whether or not such a definition can really be phrased to everybody’s occurrence, only time can tell. WHY IS LITERATURE IMPORTANT? People read literature for information, for amusement, for higher and keener pleasure, for cultural upliftment and for discovery of broader dimensions in life(. Nuggets, 2004). According to Gutierrez-Ang (2016), it is important to study Philippine literature in order to appreciate our own literary heritage. Also, it is for us to realize our literary limitations conditioned by certain historical factors so we can take steps to overcome them. Literature can vary from generation to the next LITERATURE AND HISTORY Literature and history are closely interrelated. In discovering the history of a race, the feelings, aspirations, customs and traditions of a people are sure to be included... and these feelings, aspirations, customs and traditions that are History can also be written and this too, is literature. Events that can be written down are part of true literature. Literature, therefore, is part of history. Literature and history, however, Literature may be figments of the imagination or events devoid of truth that have been written down, while history is made up of events that really happened. Real events were recounted as stories to teach the younger generation wisdom or lessons about their origins. These stories sometimes stretched the truth to entertain the audience or make them reflect further. The main difference between history and literature is the purpose of each: History intends to record events as accurately as possible, while literature interprets historical or everyday events in an imaginative way. Critical Approaches to Literature According to Kaskon et al (2009), critical approaches to literature reveal how or why a particular work is constructed and what its social and cultural implications are. Understanding critical perspectives will help you to see and appreciate a literary work as a multilayered construct of meaning. Reading literary criticism will inspire you to reread, rethink, and respond. Soon you will be a full participant in an endless and enriching conversation about literature. 1. Reader-Response -  Focuses on the reader (or "audience") and his or her experience of a literary work, in contrast to other schools and theories that focus attention primarily on the author or the content and form of the work. 2. Feminist Criticism-  Focuses on female representation in literature, paying attention to female points of view, concerns, and values. Three underlying assumptions in this approach are: Western Society is pervasively patriarchal, male centered and controlled, and is organized in such a way as to subordinate women; the concept of gender is socially constructed, not biologically determined; and that patriarchal ideology pervades those writings which have been considered “great works of literature.” 3. Queer Theory-  Combined area of gay and lesbian studies and criticism, including studies of variations in biological sex, gender identity, and sexual desires. Emphasis on dismantling the key binary oppositions of Western culture: male/ female, heterosexual/ homosexual, etc. by which the first category is assigned privilege, power, and centrality, while the second is derogated, subordinated, and marginalized. 4. Marxist Criticism- Focuses on how literary works are products of the economic and ideological determinants specific to that era. Critics examine the relationship of a literary product to the actual economic and social reality of its time and place (Class stratification, class relations, and dominant ideology). 5. Historical Criticism- Focuses on examining a text primarily in relation to the historical and cultural conditions of its production, and also of its later critical interpretations. Cultural materialism, a mode of NHC, argues that whatever the “textuality” of history, a culture and its literary products are always conditioned by the real material forces and relations of production in their historical era. 6. Psychological Criticism- 1.Focuses on a work of literature primarily as an expression, in fictional form, of the state of mind and the structure of personality of the individual author. In other words, a literary text is related to its author’s mental and emotional traits. Furthest extension is Psychoanalytic Criticism, emphasis on phallic symbols, wombs,  breasts, etc. Theorists include Lacan and Klein. 7. New Criticism- 1. -The proper concern of literary criticism is not with the external circumstances or effects or historical position of a work, but with a detailed consideration of the work itself as an independent entity. Emphasis on “the words on the page.” Study of poetry focuses on the “autonomy of the work as existing for its own sake,” analysis of words, figures of speech, and symbols. Distinctive procedure is close reading and attention to recurrent images; these critics delight in “tension,” “irony,” and “paradox.” (Similar to Formalism or Neo-Aristotelian) 8. Deconstruction- 1.-Focuses on the practice of reading a text in order to “subvert” or “undermine” the assumption that the text can be interpreted coherently to have a universal determinate meaning. Typically, deconstructive readings closely examine the conflicting forces/meanings within the text in order to show that the text has an indefinite array of possible readings/significations. 9. Archetypal/Mythic Criticism- 1.- Focuses on recurrent narrative designs, patterns of action, character types, or images which are said to be identifiable in a wide variety of literary works, myths, dreams, and even ritualized modes of behavior. Critics tend to emphasize the mythical patterns in literature, such as the death-rebirth theme and journey of the hero. 10.  This Cultural Criticism lens examines the text from the perspective of cultural attitudes and often focuses on individuals within society who are marginalized or face discrimination in some way. Cultural criticism may consider race, gender, religion, ethnicity, sexuality or other characteristics that separate individuals in society and potentially lead to one feeling or being treated as “less than” another. It suggests that being included or excluded from the dominant culture changes the way one may view the text. 11. Modernism? Post-Modernism Modernism is a rejection of traditional forms of literature (chronological plots, continuous narratives, closed endings etc.) in favor of experimental forms. They have nostalgia for the past that they feel is lost so Modernist texts often include multiple allusions. Post-Modernists follow the same principles but celebrate the new forms of fragmentation rather than lamenting them. -Analyze fragmentation and a mixing of genres and forms -Blurs the line between “high” literature (classics) and popular literature (NY Times Bestsellers) 12. Mythological Criticism This  approach emphasizes “the recurrent universal patterns underlying most literary works.” Combining the insights from anthropology, psychology, history, and comparative religion, mythological criticism “explores the artist’s common humanity by tracing how the individual imagination uses myths and symbols common to different cultures and epochs.”  One key concept in mythological criticism is the archetype, “a symbol, character, situation, or image that evokes a deep universal response,” which entered literary criticism from Swiss psychologist Carl Jung. According to Jung, all individuals share a “‘collective unconscious,’ a set of primal memories common to the human race, existing below each person’s conscious mind”—often deriving from primordial phenomena such as the sun, moon, fire, night, and blood, archetypes according to Jung “trigger the collective unconscious.” Another critic, Northrop Frye, defined archetypes in a more limited way as “a symbol, usually an image, which recurs often enough in literature to be recognizable as an element of one’s literary experience as a whole.” Regardless of the definition of archetype they use, mythological critics tend to view literary works in the broader context of works sharing a similar pattern. 13. Post-Colonialism Criticism Post-colonialism literature is most commonly written about countries that have been previously colonized. A post-colonial lens would approach literature and look for what effects colonization has left on a society or on individual characters. This criticism looks through literature with the post-colonial theory. It shows history and the effects that colonization can leave on a civilization even after they have gained independence. 14. Moral/Ethical Criticism The moral/intellectual critical approach is concerned with content and values. The approach is as old as literature itself, for literature is a traditional mode of imparting morality, philosophy, and religion. The concern in moral/intellectual criticism is not only to discover meaning but also to determine whether works of literature are both true and significant.

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