Critical_Approaches_to_Literature

CriticalApproachestoLiteratureI.Whatisliteraturecriticism?---adescriptionandevaluationofitsobject:literature(literarywritings,writers,literaryclasses,etc.)---Literarycriticismisnotanabstract,intellectualexercise;itisanaturalhumanresponsetoliterature.---LiteraryCriticismhelpsreadersunderstandatextinrelationtotheauthor,culture,andothertexts.---Literarycriticshaveborrowedconceptsfromotherdisciplines,likelinguistics,psychology,andanthropology,toanalyzeimaginativeliteraturemoreperceptively.II.CriticalApproachestoLiterature•ninecriticalapproachestoliterature---representthemostwidelyusedcontemporaryapproaches.•1.Formalistcriticism•2.Biographicalcriticism•3．Historicalcriticism•4．Gendercriticism•5．Psychologicalcriticism•6．Sociologicalcriticism•7．Mythologicalcriticism•8．Deconstructionistcriticism•9．Reader-responsecriticism•1.FORMALISTCRITICISM•Formalismisanapplicationofthelinguisticmodeltoliterature,associatedintheearlypartofthiscenturywiththeMoscowandPrague布拉格LinguisticCircles.AccordingtothepreceptsofRussianFormalism,contentisthemotivationofform,andtheliteraryworkisanassemblageofdeviceswhichfunctionwithinatotaltextualsystem.•Toaformalist,apoemorstoryisnotprimarilyasocial,historical,orbiographicaldocument;itisaliteraryworkthatcanbeunderstoodonlybyreferencetoitsintrinsicliteraryfeatures—thoseelements,thatis,foundinthetextitself.•Featureslikethestyle（风格：ironyinVanityFair;HumorinDickens’andMarkTwain’writing,simplicityinSherwoodAndersonorinHemingway,etc.）structure(sentencestructure:short,long,simple,complicated,loosesentence;repetition,parallelism,climax渐进,anti-climax突降;oxymoron矛盾修饰；normalordeviation常规与变异,imagery,symbols,figureofspeech,tone,andgenre.•Thesefeatures,however,areusuallynotexaminedinisolation,becausewhatgivesaliterarytextitsspecialstatusasartishowallofitselementsworktogethertocreatethereader’stotalexperience.•Thisemphasisonform,seeminglyattheexpenseofthematiccontent,wasnotwell-receivedaftertheRussianRevolutionof1917.•2．BIOGRAPHICALCRITICISM•Biographicalcriticismanalyzesawriter'sbiographytoshowtherelationshipbetweentheauthor'slifeandtheirworksofliterature.BiographicalcriticismisoftenassociatedwithHistorical-Biographicalcriticism,acriticalmethodthatseesaliteraryworkchiefly,ifnotexclusively,asareflectionofitsauthor'slifeandtimes.•Abiographicalcriticisnotconcernedwithrecreatingtherecordofanauthor’slife.Biographicalcriticismfocusesonexplicatingtheliteraryworkbyusingtheinsightprovidedbyknowledgeoftheauthor’slife.•Agoodmanishardtofind:author’spersonallifeexperiencemakesherstoriespessimisticandrealisticandsarcastic,andheruniquereligiousviewsgiveussomeinsightintoheruseofviolenceandslaughterinthisstory.3．HISTORICALCRITICISMHistoricalcriticismseekstounderstandaliteraryworkbyinvestigatingthesocial,cultural,andintellectualcontextthatproducedit—acontextthatnecessarilyincludestheartist’sbiographyandmilieu.Theprimarygoalofhistoricalcriticismistoascertainthetext'sprimitiveororiginalmeaninginitsoriginalhistoricalcontextanditsliteralsense.Thesecondarygoalseekstoestablishareconstructionofthehistoricalsituationoftheauthorandrecipients(readers)ofthetext.•Sample:WilliamBlake’spoemLondon•ThispoemtakesplaceduringtheindustrialrevolutionandaftertheFrenchrevolutionwhileBritainisinpoliticalconflict.(Londonattheendoftheeighteenthcentury)•HowtheChimney-sweeper'scry/Everyblack'ningchurchappalls;•theprobableassociationsaneighteenth-centuryEnglishreaderwouldhavemadewithcertainimagesandcharacters,thechimney-sweeper—atypeofexploitedchildlaborerwho,nolongerexistsinoursociety.(Thechimneysweepersaresmallchildrenwhoareusuallyledtotheirdeathbecauseoftheeffectthattheirjobhasontheirlungs.)•TheimageofthehaplessSoldier'ssighthatRunsinblooddownpalacewallsismeanttocondemntheFrenchRevolutionbecausesomanysoldierslostbloodduringthistime.•ARoseforEmily•“Thenwesaid,‘Shewillpersuadehimyet,’becauseHomerhimselfhadremarked—helikedmen,anditwasknownthathedrankwiththeyoungermenattheElks’Club—thathewasnotamarryingman”(Faulkner126).•WhatdoesthisstatementimplyaboutHomer’ssexualorientation?Specifically,islikingandassociatingwithmen,particularlyduringtheperiodofthestory,anindexofhomosexuality?Wethinknot.•IndeedculturalhistoriansagreethatinHomer’stimemasculinitywas—and,webelieve,largelystillis—achievedthroughseparationfromwomen.Likingmen,drinkingwiththemattheElksLodge,andbraggingaboutsexualconquestsweresignsoftruemanhoodnolessthangivinglessonsinpaintingchinawere,forEmily,themarkoftruewomanhood.•Thelocationofthisbragging—theElksLodge—isespeciallysignificant.In1897theNorthAmericanReviewdeclaredthatthelastthirdofthenineteenthcenturywastheGoldenAgeofFraternity(兄弟会,共济会);atthattime,tenyearsafterHomer’sdisappearancecirca大约1887,aboutfiveandahalfmillionmenbelongedtofraternalorders(兄弟会,共济会);Recentscholarshippointstotheoriginoftheseorganizations’popularityintheperceptionofanincreasinglyfeminizedAmericanculture.“…thephysicalspaceofthelodgeroomshouldbeunderstoodas“aplaceinwhichmasculinevaluesweredisappearingintheoutsideworldwerepreserved”•“hesaidthatheisnotamarryingman.”Inotherwords,Ho