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Literary theory

2014-04-23T00:42:40Z

K YoungMGA 2014:

==Introduction==

According to the Collins English Dictionary, literary theory is defined as "the systematic analysis and study of [[literature]] using general principles". A common misconception about literary theory is that it is focused on the meaning of a work of literature, whereas the actual study involves the tools by which people attempt to understand literature. <ref name=Ref1/> With different schools of theory critics of different literary works can focus on those works through different aspects they consider the most important(for example a Marxist theory may focus on how [[character|characters]] in a story react to an economic situation). <ref name=Ref2/> Critics use more than one school of literary theory when analyzing a work.

==Types of Literary Theory==

=== Archetypal/Myth Criticism ===

Archetypal/Myth critics, such as C.G. Jung and Joseph Campbell, view the genres and individual plot patterns of literature, including highly sophisticated and realistic works, as recurrences of certain archetypes and essential mythic formulae.<ref name=Ref10/> Archetypes are "repeated types of experience in lives of ancient ancestors which inherited the collective unconscious of the human race and are expressed in myths, dreams, religion, and private fantasies, also in the work of literature." - C.G. Jung

Examples of Archetypes: the sun, the moon, circles, colors, Wise Old Man, the Great Mother, etc. Another archetype would be the color white, signifies death and is associated with innocence.

Archetypal/Myth Authors:
*[[C.G. Jung]]
*[[Joseph Campbell]]
*[[Robert Graves]]

===Psychoanalytic Criticism===
Psychoanalytic criticism, is one of the initial approaches within the school of literary criticism. This concept is used by critics to analyze the unconsciousness of the mind; which consists of desires, fears, enjoyments or anything that causes human to be driven without knowledge of their actions. Psychoanalytic method was originally constructed by Sigmund Freud when he was studying patients in an asylum.

The ''Introductory Guide to Critical Theory'' says, Freud began his researches into the workings of the human mind in 1881, after a century during which Europe and America saw the reform of the insane asylum and an ever-increasing interest in "abnormal" psychological states, especially the issue of "nervous diseases" (which was the first phenomenon that Freud studied, examining the nervous system of fish while gaining his medical degree at the University of Vienna from 1873 to 1881).<ref name=Ref3/>

Holland says, the psychoanalytic literary critic's primary job is to foreground that psychological element in what he or she says about books. In other words, the psychoanalytic critics should be interpreting their own, if you will, counter-transference to the text or whatever else they are describing.<ref name=Ref4/>

For example if the literary critic wants to apply the psychoanalytic approach to a specific piece of work or literature, the theory is applied directly with the following the concepts:<ref name=Ref5/>
<ol>
<li>Consider the author’s personality to explain and interpret a text
<li>What psychological theories are present in the characters (Oedipal complex, obsessive compulsive, sexual repression, denial, guilt)?
<li>What repressed material is expressed in imagery or symbols?
</ol>

The literary critic will then be able to exhibit to the reader the images that are needed to properly interpret and grasp the message of the writer.

===Feminist Criticism===

Feminist Criticism is the analysis of the thoughts on feminism, feminist theory, or feminist politics. Authors use this to change the way literature portrays woman characters. Feminist theory has raised questions towards society. It asks if the world values male characters over females or if they feel that females are not as strong as males.<ref name=Ref6/> When feminist criticism began is focused on politics of women authorship and the representation of woman’s conditions in literature.<ref name=Ref7/> Currently, feminist criticism focuses on certain aspects of society with women; such as education, politics, and the work force. <br /><br/>

Feminist Writers:
*[[Mary Wollstonecraft]]
*[[Julia Kristeva]]
*[[Elaine Showalter]]

===Marxist Criticism===

In literature, Marxist criticism focuses on money and power.<ref name=Ref8/> It was founded on the ideals of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. The story lines are usually affected or influenced by the economy or social classes. This criticism usually exposes the way a socioeconomic system is the ultimate source of our experience.<ref name=Ref9/> The notions of Marxism places emphasis on the convergence between the dominant and repressed classes. Also, Marxism encourages art to imitate what is often termed an "objective" reality. Contemporary Marxism is more general in its desired goal and views art as simultaneously reflective and autonomous to the era in which it was produced.<ref name=Ref10/>
<br /><br/>

Marxist Authors:
*[[Karl Marx]]
*[[Leon Trotsky]]
*[[Georg Lukács]]

===New Criticism===

New Criticism is a literary movement beginning in he late 1920's and 1930's. This movement derived from the reaction to traditional criticism that new critics believe were considered highly important, such as the biography or psychology of the author or the work's relations to the history of literature. The notion of New Criticism is that a work of literary art should be considered autonomous so that it is not judged, or stereotyped, by reference to considerations beyond the work.<ref name=Ref10/>

Major New Criticism Figures:
*[[I. A. Richards]]
*[[T. S. Eliot]]
*[[Cleanth Brooks]]
*[[David Daiches]]
*[[William Empson]]

===Formalist Criticism===

Formalist criticism is an approach that emphasizes literary form and and studies the structural purposes or literary devices of a text. Formalism seeks to study literature on a scientific base using objective analysis from the motifs, devices, techniques, and other functions. The literariness of the text served the Formalists the most importance. It was what they considered to separate their literary aspects from all other types of writing. They cared most that their narrative had meaning and displayed the "hero function."
<ref name=Ref11/>

==References==
<references>
*<ref name=Ref1>“Literary Theory” by Vince Brewton, ''The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', ISSN 2161-0002, <http://www.iep.utm.edu/literary/>, accessed 16 April 2014 </ref>
*<ref name=Ref2>"Literary Theory and Schools of Criticism" by Allen Brizee, J. Case Tompkins. ''Purdue OWL'', <https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/owlprint/722/>. </ref>
*<ref name=Ref3>"Modules on Freud: On Psychosexual Development." by Felluga. Dino.''Introductory Guide to Critical Theory''.<http://www.cla.purdue.edu/english/theory/psychoanalysis/freud.html>. July 12, 2002. accessed 21 April 2014 </ref>
*<ref name=Ref4>The Mind and the Book: A Long Look at Psychoanalytic Literary Criticism by N Holland, Norman. ''University of Florida'', <http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/nholland/mindbook.htm>.1998. accessed 21 April 2014 </ref>
*<ref name=Ref5>''Literary Theories: A Sampling of Lenses'' by Daniel Mesick.''Como Park Senior High School'', <http://comosr.spps.org/lit_theory>, accessed 21 April 2014 </ref>
*<ref name=Ref6>Napikoski, Linda. Feminist Literary Crticism. <http://womenshistory.about.com/od/feminism/a/feminist_criticism.htm>, accessed 21 April 2014</ref>
*<ref name=Ref7>Allen Brizee, J. Case Tompkins . 2010-04-21. Feminist Criticism (1960s-present).<https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/722/11/>, accessed 21 April 2014</ref>
*<ref name=Ref8>'Literary Theories: A Sampling of Critical Lenses.'
<http://www.mpsaz.org/rmhs/staff/rkcupryk/aa_jr/files/microsoft_word_-_literary_theories.pdf>, accessed 21 April 2014</ref>
*<ref name=Ref9>Allen Brizee, J. Case Tompkins . 2010-04-21. "Marxist Criticism (1930s-present)."<https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/722/05/>, accessed 21 April 2014</ref>
*<ref name=Ref10>"Introduction to Modern Literary Theory" by Dr. Kristi Siegel,
<http://www.kristisiegel.com/theory.htm>, accessed 22 April 2014</ref>
*<ref name=Ref11>"Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy" by Vince Brewton,
<http://www.iep.utm.edu/literary/#H3>, accessed 22 April 2014
</references>
==External Links==
* http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/literary-theory - The Collins English Dictionary's definition page for Literary Theory.

[[Category:Literary Terms]]

Literary theory

2014-04-20T03:25:43Z

K YoungMGA 2014:

[Team 2 is working on this page for this week's WritDM Assignment!]

==Introduction==

According to the Collins English Dictionary, literary theory is defined as "the systematic analysis and study of [[literature]] using general principles". A common misconception about literary theory is that it is focused on the meaning of a work of literature, whereas the actual study involves the tools by which people attempt to understand literature. <ref name=Ref1/> With different schools of theory critics of different literary works can focus on those works through different aspects they consider the most important(for example a Marxist theory may focus on how [[character|characters]] in a story react to an economic situation). <ref name=Ref2/> Critics use more than one school of literary theory when analyzing a work.

==References==
<references>
*<ref name=Ref1>“Literary Theory” by Vince Brewton, ''The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', ISSN 2161-0002, <http://www.iep.utm.edu/literary/>, accessed 16 April 2014 </ref>
*<ref name=Ref2>"Literary Theory and Schools of Criticism" by Allen Brizee, J. Case Tompkins. ''Purdue OWL'', <https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/owlprint/722/>, accessed 19 April 2014 </ref>

</references>

==External Links==
* http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/literary-theory - The Collins English Dictionary's definition page for Literary Theory.

Literary theory

2014-04-20T02:21:18Z

K YoungMGA 2014:

[Team 2 is working on this page for this week's WritDM Assignment!]

==Introduction==

According to the Collins English Dictionary, literary theory is defined as "the systematic analysis and study of [[literature]] using general principles". A common misconception about literary theory is that it is focused on the meaning of a work of literature, whereas its actual study involves the tools by which people attempt to understand literature. <ref name=Ref1/> With different schools of theory, critics of different literary works can focus on those works through different aspects they consider the most important(for example a Marxist theory may focus on how [[character|characters]] in a story react to an economic situation). <ref name=Ref2/> Many critics will use more than one school of literary theory when analyzing a work.

==References==
<references>
*<ref name=Ref1>“Literary Theory” by Vince Brewton, ''The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', ISSN 2161-0002, <http://www.iep.utm.edu/literary/>, accessed 16 April 2014 </ref>
*<ref name=Ref2>"Literary Theory and Schools of Criticism" by Allen Brizee, J. Case Tompkins. ''Purdue OWL'', <https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/owlprint/722/>, accessed 19 April 2014 </ref>

</references>

==External Links==
* http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/literary-theory - The Collins English Dictionary's definition page for Literary Theory.

Literary theory

2014-04-17T03:32:50Z

K YoungMGA 2014:

Literary theory

2014-04-17T00:53:54Z

K YoungMGA 2014:

==Introduction==

[Team 2 is working on this page for this week's WritDM Assignment!]

==References==
<references>

</references>

Literary theory

2014-04-17T00:50:06Z

K YoungMGA 2014: Created page with " ==Introduction== [Team 2 is working on this page for this week's WritDM Assignment!]"

==Introduction==

[Team 2 is working on this page for this week's WritDM Assignment!]

Pace

2014-04-10T18:43:30Z

K YoungMGA 2014: Created page with "Pace refers to Narrative Pace, which is defined as "the speed at which an author tells a story; the movement from one point or section to another".<ref name=Ref01/> Pace allow..."

Pace refers to Narrative Pace, which is defined as "the speed at which an author tells a story; the movement from one point or section to another".<ref name=Ref01/> Pace allows the writer to use mood, emotions, and dialogue to control how quickly the [[What is “audience”?|reader]] is taken through a story. The pace of a story may vary throughout, especially in the case of longer works such as [[novel|novels]].

==Speed==

===Upping the Pace===

A speedy pace keeps the [[What is “audience”?|reader]] on the edge of their seat; it causes them to want to keep reading in order to find out what happens next in the [[narrative]]. Sequences with a lot of action combined with minimal dialogue, [[character]] thought, and detailed [[description]] make the pace of the story go faster.<ref name=Ref02/> Also allowing multiple major [[plot]] points to happen in close succession will increase the overall pace.

===Slowing the Pace===

Using examples, detailed descriptions of [[setting|scenes]], and longer character dialogue<ref name=Ref03/> bring the pace down. This allows the author to build suspense or give the [[What is “audience”?|reader]] time to absorb what happened earlier in the story.

==Examples in Literature==

===Faster===

*The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
*Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

===Slower===

*Lord of the Rings trilogy by J. R. R. Tolkien
*Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

==References==
<references>
*<ref name=Ref01>Tidwell. "Literary Terms AP English"
[http://www.yourcharlotteschools.net/tidwell/LiteraryTermsAPEnglish.html]</ref>
*<ref name=Ref02>Naillon, Buffy. "What Is Narrative Pace" Demand Media. [http://classroom.synonym.com/narrative-pace-3907.html]</ref>
*<ref name=Ref03>Leiter, Kelly. "3 Literary Techniques, Part three: Narration" ''The Beginning Writer'' [http://www.thebeginningwriter.com/2012/11/3-literary-techniques-part-three.html]</ref>

</references>