Literary theory and criticism

Literary theory and criticismAn introductionLiterary theorySet of ideas and principles that regulate both the writing and the study of literature.

It consist of statements about how literary works are written (i.e. the principles that govern the composition of literary texts), and how they are read (i.e. the principles that govern the analysis and evaluation of literary works).

There are many ways of looking at literature.

There are many ways of reading a text.elements:The workThe artistic product itself, which maybe a poem, a novel, a short story or a piece of dramatic writingThe artistThe producer of the work, the person who wrote or composed the workThe universeThe subject of the work, which may consist of people and actions, ideas and feelings, material things and events or super sensible essencesThe audienceThe readers for whom the work is intended, or those who may have access to the workA theory may have one major orientation, I.e. may emphasize only one of the four elements.

This means that a theorist or critic derives from one of these elements his or her principal categories for defining, classifying and analyzing a work of art, as well as the major criteria by which he judges its value.Classification:Pragmatic theoriesThey view literature as a means to an end, an instrument for getting something done, and tends to judge its value according to its success in achieving that aim.Mimetic theoriesThey view literature or art in general is but an imitation of what exists in the world which, itself, is but an imperfect copy of the ideal world.Expressive theoriesAccording to these theories, the primary source and subject matter of a work of art are internal-the perceptions, thoughts and feelings of the artist.Objective theoriesThey consider the work of art without connecting it to external points of reference. The literary work is regarded as self-sufficient entity whose various parts or elements are interrelated.A theory is valuable in giving direction to our reading of literary texts. A food theory can yield insights into the characteristics or nature of specific literary works.Literary criticismIt is a careful application of theory in the analysis and evaluation of literary works.Literary criticism is notMerely a summary or paraphrase of the work.Limited to historical or biographical studies.Simply a matter of doing vocabulary exercises.Simply a matter of extracting a moral lesson form the work.A simple impressionistic account of the literary work.The statements produced by the act of criticism are statements that have basis both in the text and in theory.Literary criticism is the inevitable by-product of the reading process itself, for if we take that experience seriously, then criticism of some sort becomes inevitable. The only question is whether the judgments we form will be sensible ones.

Literary criticism begins the moment we close our book and start to reflect on what we have just read.

Criticism is the act of reflecting on, organizing, and then articulating, usually on paper, our response to a given literary work.