Literary Theories PDF

LITERARY THEORIES STRUCTURALISM AND POST STRUCTURALISM Structuralism, influenced by Ferdinand de Saussure, focused on Consists of ideas and methods used to interpret literature, focusing...

LITERARY THEORIES STRUCTURALISM AND POST STRUCTURALISM Structuralism, influenced by Ferdinand de Saussure, focused on Consists of ideas and methods used to interpret literature, focusing on underlying structures in language, emphasizing "differences" and formal what literature can mean rather than its specific meanings. It explores the analysis over historical or social content, with key figures like Roland relationships between authors, texts, and themes like race, class, and Barthes. Barthes played a pivotal role in the shift to Poststructuralism, gender, considering both biographical and textual analysis. It examines which challenges fixed meanings in language, asserting that meaning is historical context, linguistic aspects, genre evolution, and formal literary deferred and dependent on shifting differences. This movement, through structures. It has emphasized how texts are shaped by culture and how theories like Deconstruction and Lacanian psychoanalysis, emphasizes they, in turn, influence cultural development. Ideas that act as different the fluidity of interpretation and the idea that both the self and language lenses critics use to view and talk about art, literature, and even culture. are shaped by external forces. Michel Foucault further developed these According to Deborah Appleman, all literary theories are lenses through ideas by showing how knowledge and power are constructed through which we can see texts. discourse, influencing New Historicism and highlighting the ideologies behind domination. TYPES OF LITERARY THEORIES NEW HISTORICISM AND CULTURAL MATERIALISM FORMALISM AND NEW CRITICISM "New Historicism," coined by Stephen Greenblatt, analyzes literary texts Formalism and New Criticism emphasize close textual analysis, focusing within their historical and cultural context, rejecting the formalist on form, structure, and literary devices while ignoring authorial intent and approaches of movements like New Criticism and Structuralism. It historical context. Russian Formalists like Roman Jakobson and Viktor emphasizes that texts, both literary and non-literary, are embedded in the Shklovsky aimed for a scientific study of literature by analyzing motifs and material conditions of their time, revealing social power and ideology. New narrative functions. New Criticism, led by figures like Cleanth Brooks and Historicism challenges the traditional separation of high and popular John Crowe Ransom in the 1930s–40s, treated literature as a unified literature and takes interest in marginalized groups and subversive aesthetic object, highlighting elements like paradox, irony, and metaphor. behaviors to understand how power legitimizes itself. Influenced by Though not directly part of the movement, T.S. Eliot shared similar views, theories from Foucault, Gramsci, and Levi-Strauss, it continues to shape and New Criticism’s emphasis on close reading continues to influence literary studies, despite facing criticism from both the political left and literary studies. traditional literary scholars. MARXISM AND CRITICAL THEORY ETHNIC STUDIES AND POSTCOLONIAL CRITICISM Marxist literary theory emphasizes class conflict and economic inequality, “Ethnic Studies” and “Postcolonial Criticism” both stem from the effects of favoring authors who critique capitalism and support the working class. Euro-American imperialism and focus on marginalized ethnic groups, but Georg Lukács studied historical materialism in literary form, while Walter they differ in their historical context and approach. Ethnic Studies Benjamin analyzed aesthetics and art reproduction. The Frankfurt School, examines literature and art produced by subordinated ethnic groups, including Horkheimer, Adorno, and Marcuse, developed Critical Theory, focusing on the identity and cultural experiences shaped by racial arguing that mass culture serves capitalist domination by suppressing oppression, while Postcolonial Criticism investigates the dynamics critical thought. Later theorists like Raymond Williams and Fredric between colonizers and the colonized after the period of colonization. Jameson expanded Marxist literary analysis, influencing movements like Influential theorists like W.E.B. Du Bois, Edward Said, and Gayatri Spivak New Historicism and Cultural Materialism. have shaped both fields, with Postcolonialism offering critiques of Western dominance and the binaries that justify colonialism. Postcolonial Criticism challenges the ideological and economic divides between the West and the East and remains relevant in the context of modern globalization and neo-colonialism. GENDER STUDIES AND QUEER THEORY Lesson 2: Poetry Gender theory, initially rooted in feminist thought, views gender as a social construct enacted through repeated performances, with A: Metrical writing: verse. B: the productions of a poet: poems. theorists like Judith Butler and Simone de Beauvoir challenging writing that formulates a concentrated imaginative awareness of experience in language chosen and arranged to create a specific the biological and cultural distinctions between man and woman. emotional response through meaning, sound, and rhythm. French feminist theorists, including Luce Irigaray and Julia something likened to poetry especially in beauty of expression. Kristeva, critique the male-dominated Western philosophical tradition, offering new theoretical interventions that highlight Poetry is composed of various elements which form its structure and repressed female experiences. Masculine gender theory and meaning. Unlike prose, the content of a piece follows a flow that can Queer theory, the latter influenced by Michel Foucault, focus on create a great impact on the writing template. From its rhythm to the deconstructing normative sexual identities and exploring how lines of your poem, every poet must learn about these elements in gender and sexuality are socially constructed, with theorists like order to create a piece that’s worth remembering. Judith Butler and Eve Sedgwick questioning the dominance of A precise reflection of our experiences in life, from everything we think heterosexual identity and the representation of homosexuality in to the things we do. In simple terms, poetry is a form of literature that Western society. follows a flow of rhythmic lines. It uses descriptive language that offers readers an emotional insight into a given subject. Poets play around CULTURAL STUDIES with words and sound to create a written masterpiece that reflects "Cultural Studies" emerged in the 1980s as an interdisciplinary their thoughts and emotions. While there are various approaches to movement that examines the global culture industry, including poetry, none of them require an extensive process of analysis to media, entertainment, and technology, through diverse theoretical understand what the poem really means. perspectives. It critiques not only cultural artifacts but also the BASIC ELEMENTS OF POETRY politics and ideologies shaping contemporary culture, moving LINE: It’s similar to a sentence, except that writers aren’t obliged to beyond traditional literary studies to focus on pop culture and use periods to end each line. This functions as a natural pause to mass consumption. Key figures like Stuart Hall and Meaghan signal a break in the flow. In most cases, this is considered to be a Morris advocate for questioning cultural categories, emphasizing tool that controls the rhythm of your piece. the shifting boundaries between various forms of expression. STANZA: Stanzas are basically the equivalent of a paragraph in an essay or short story. This is composed of a series of lines that are FEMINIST CRITICISM grouped together to form the structure of a poem. These lines may Feminist criticism examines how literature and cultural vary depending on the type of poem being crafted. For instance, a productions either reinforce or challenge the oppression of poem with a stanza comprised of two lines is called a couplet, while three-line stanzas refer to a tercet. Other examples include quatrain women in various forms. It critiques patriarchal structures in (4 lines), cinquain (5 lines), sestet (6 lines), septet (7 lines), octave culture, revealing both explicit and subtle misogyny, including the (8 lines). Quatrain is considered to be one the most popular of all, exclusion of women from the literary canon. The theory also considering how easy it is to group rhyming words in such a highlights broader societal issues, such as the marginalization of structure. women in fields like medicine, where research often neglects female subjects.  RHYTHM: Rhythm and rhyme refer to two different 12 DIFFERENT TYPES OF POEMS concepts, wherein rhythm can include rhyme but does not 1. SONNET- Sonnets are practically synonymous with Shakespeare, need to. Including similar sounding words or sounds to but there are actually two different kinds of this famous poetic form. make each line of your piece match is an excellent way to Having originated in 13th century Italy, the sonnet usually deals with make your poem memorable for your audience. However, love and has two common forms: the Petrarchan (named for its there are also a number of well-crafted poems out there that famous practitioner, the poet Petrarch) and the Shakespearean do not have rhyme. (also known as the English sonnet). Each type contains 14 lines but IMAGERY: Figurative language used to represent a certain comes with its own set of rules. action, object, and idea in a way that would appeal to the o Petrarchan Sonnet: Two stanzas. Presents an argument, observation, or question in the first eight lines. Turn (or five senses. Instead of telling an audience what happens in “volta”) between 8th and 9th lines. The second stanza its literal sense, readers are fed with an arrangement of answers the question or issue posed in the first. Rhyme figurative words. The creative use of imagery makes a Scheme: ABBA, ABBA, CDECDE poetic piece sound even more powerful and enticing when o Shakespearean Sonnet: Three quatrains (4 lines each) and conveying a message. For a poet, this can help create a a couplet (2 lines). Couplet usually forms a conclusion. mental picture that readers form through their imagination. Rhyme scheme: ABAB, CDCD, EFEF, GG THEME: This element is a general idea that a poet wants his or her readers to grasp. This could be anything from a 2. VILLANELLE: 19 lines, Five stanzas of 3 lines each, One closing stanza of 4 lines. Rhyme scheme: ABA, ABA, ABA, ABA, ABA, story to a thought that is being portrayed in the poem. ABAA. Line 1 repeats in lines 6, 12, and 18. Line 3 repeats in lines Without such, it would be difficult for readers to understand 9, 15, and 19 the overall purpose and message that a poet wishes to convey. 3. HAIKU: The haiku originated in 17th century Japan. 5,7,5. SYMBOLISM: used to express one’s thoughts gracefully yet gently as well. It is a reflection of our emotions written 4. EKPHRASTIC POEMS: Ekphrasis comes from the Greek word for artistically to keep readers engaged as they embark on a “description,” and that’s exactly what this poem should do: vividly describe a painting, statue, photograph, or story. journey inside a poet’s complex mind. DENSITY: Density is what makes poetry different from 5. CONCRETE POEMS: Concrete poetry is designed to take a normal speech and writing patterns. As you describe an particular shape or form on the page. Poets can manipulate image, you’re meant to use figurative language while still spacing or layout to emphasize a theme or important element in the following a certain sound and rhythm to make a reader feel text, or sometimes they can take the literal shape of their subjects. a certain way. Even if you don’t conform to the traditional grammar styles, the piece remains clear and 6. ELEGY: The elegy is another type of poem that lacks particular understandable enough to the average reader. This rules, but it usually is written in mourning following a death. They can be written for a particular person or treat the subject of loss involves a thorough process of cutting off what is referred to more generally. as “extra fat” without affecting the logical progression of your poem. 7. EPIGRAM: Epigrams are short, witty, and often satirical poems that Lesson 3 Content Analysis of the Poem: Till Hearts End (by: usually take the form of a couplet or quatrain (2-4 lines in length). Chayasi Sunthonphiphit) 8. LIMERICK: Limericks are humorous poems that have a more distinct rhythm. Their subject matter is sometimes crude but always 1 My Mind glows knows no fear of the darkness and its tight designed to offer laughs. Rules: 5 lines, 2 longer lines (usually 7-10 web, syllables), 2 shorter lines (usually 5-7 syllables), 1 closing line to 2 Through the stars blur, and the moon's dim rays bring the joke home (7-10 syllables). Rhyme scheme: AABBA 3 are sucked into nothingness 4 and the oneness of man cannot be found; 9. BALLAD: usually take a narrative form to tell us stories. They are 5 Through the sky splits and crackles, often arranged in quatrains, but the form is loose enough that writers can easily modify it. Typically arranged in groups of 4 lines. 6 drops no gentle music Rhyme scheme: ABAB or ABCB 7 through a rooster's hurried crowing jars my ears, 8 and dog goes whimpering up and down 10. EPITAPH: An epitaph is much like an elegy, only shorter. Epitaphs 9 This clear light inside me commonly appear on gravestones, but they can also be humorous. 10 pushes the wild, heavy night back: There are no specific rules for epitaphs or their rhyme schemes. 11 It will never flicker, it can never change, 11. ODE: Odes address a specific person, thing, or event. The ode is 12 neither pain nor sorrow can reach it. believed to have been invented by the ancient Greeks, who would 13 The earth swings in circles: sing their odes. Modern odes follow an irregular pattern and are not 14 Soon, light must break through, dawn required to rhyme. 15 hanging, golden and clear over all the world, me 16 living like men. 12. FREE VERSE: There are no rules, and writers can do whatever 17 In the lonely night I lie listening to my own heart, they choose: to rhyme or not, to establish any rhythm. Free verse is often used in contemporary poetry. 18 the darkness so thick I could lose my way 19 except for the faint, echoing chant 20 of the most precious words ever written, 21 Words like drops from heaven 22 falling like Wisdom, Strength, Peace, Beauty, into waiting heart, 23 These two small hands will move as this mind leads them, 24 will carry Buddha's divine law 25 here to this earth, until this heart no longer beats