Despite all its shortcomings, literary criticism still supplies both the writer and the reader with the tools for self-evaluation and self-improvement. It comes in various forms and for different aims. The evolution of literary criticism passes through different schools and approaches as one school opposes the other. Some of the major approaches that stood against each other based on different assumptions, had been started with the historical theory that was hugely criticised specially by the mid-twentieth century tendencies which knew the emergence of the New criticism developed by Anglo-American writers, and later the growth of reader-response criticism followed indirectly by the structuralist theories.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- Introduction
- I- The Historical Criticism
- II- The New Criticism
- III- Reader Response Theory
- IV- Structuralism
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
This text offers an overview of major schools of literary criticism and their key tenets. The text aims to highlight the evolution of literary criticism, examining the assumptions, strengths, and weaknesses of each approach.
- The historical development of literary criticism
- The role of context in literary interpretation
- The relationship between reader and text
- The influence of social, cultural, and historical factors on literary works
- The emergence of formalist and reader-response criticism
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
The text begins by outlining the historical method of literary criticism, highlighting its focus on understanding a literary work within its specific historical context. The introduction emphasizes the importance of considering the author's life and the social, cultural, and intellectual environment in which the work was created. The text then delves into the New Criticism, contrasting it with the historical approach. The New Criticism emphasizes close reading, focusing on the internal relationships within the text that contribute to its form and meaning. The text explores the key figures and ideas associated with the New Criticism, including Matthew Arnold, T.S. Eliot, I.A. Richards, William Empson, and Cleanth Brooks. The chapter examines their contributions to the development of formalist criticism and their emphasis on objective analysis and universal judgments.
Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
This text explores key terms and concepts in literary criticism, including historical criticism, New Criticism, reader response theory, formalist criticism, close reading, context, meaning, interpretation, author, reader, text, and objective standards.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Historical Criticism?
Historical criticism focuses on understanding a literary work by analyzing the author's life and the social, cultural, and historical environment in which it was produced.
What distinguishes New Criticism from other schools?
New Criticism emphasizes "close reading" of the text itself, ignoring external factors like history or the author's biography, focusing instead on internal structure and meaning.
What is Reader-Response Theory?
This theory argues that the meaning of a text is not fixed but is created through the interaction between the reader and the text, making the reader's perspective central.
How does Structuralism approach literature?
Structuralism looks at literature as a system of signs and seeks to identify the underlying structures (like myths or linguistic rules) that govern all literary works.
Why is literary criticism important for writers and readers?
It provides the tools for self-evaluation and self-improvement, helping both writers and readers to deeper understand and interpret the nuances of language and meaning.
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- Rachid Merzouki (Autor), 2013, Literary criticism, Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/266180
