3.3 Written works

3.3 Written works

A.  READ TO UNDERSTAND Read the discussion below to understand the concepts of literary criticism.

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LITERARY  CRITICISM,  as  defined  by  Dickinson  dictionary,  is  the   comparison,  analysis, interpretation, and/or evaluation of works of literature. It is essentially an opinion, supported by evidence, relating to theme, style, setting, or historical or political context. It usually includes discussion of the work’s content and integrates your ideas with other insights gained by research.

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Literary criticism may have a positive or a negative bias (influenced by personal opinion) and may be a study of an individual piece of literature or an author’s body of work.

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Researching, reading, and writing works of literary criticism will help you to make better sense of the work, form judgements about literature, study ideas from different points of view, and determine on an individual level whether a literary work is worth reading. This body of work is called a LITERARY CRITIQUE.

 

​TYPES OF LITERARY CRITICISMS/APPROACHES

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1.   Structuralism/Formalism - This focuses on recurring patterns and themes.

Example: In fairy tales, like “Snow White” and “Sleeping Beauty”, the plot always revolves around the damsel in distress saved by a prince from a villain (usually a witch) and ends in a happily ever after.

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2.   Moralism - This approach judges a literary work according to moral, ethical teachings, and by their       effects on readers rather than formal principles. Literature that is ethically sound and encourages virtue       is praised - literature that misguides and corrupts is condemned.

Example: The popularity of fairy tales comes the lessons they convey which focus on the triumph of good over evil and that vanity or pride can lead to disaster.

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3.   Marxism - This approach focuses on the class struggle between the rich and the poor.

Example: This conflict between the rich and the poor is evident in the fairy tale, “Cinderella.” Cinderella is a victim of abuses of her stepmother and stepsisters who are living in luxury. The young girl is forced to work countless hours under harsh condition and is deprived of luxury such as attending the ball. In contrast, her family goes to fancy events wearing expensive clothes.

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4.   Feminism - This examines the ways in which literature (and other cultural productions) undermines the       economic, political, social, and psychological oppression of women. It denounces the way women are       treated and portrayed in literary selections.

Example: In fairy tales, the woman is usually considered as a damsel in distress. The only way that she can be free from her oppressive surrounding is by being saved by the knight in shining armor. Stories that portray arranged marriage where women have no choice to select their own husbands are also subject of feminist criticism.

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5.   Historicism - This criticism uses historical evidence or based on the context in which the work was       written, including the author’s life, social movements, and motivation behind the literary work.       Example: In Grimm’s fairy tales, the culture of Germany is depicted through characters’ way of life and       setting’s background. The way the characters act and dress reflects their customs and beliefs.

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6.   Reader-response - This attempts to describe what happens in reader’s mind while interpreting text.       Critics believe that no text provides self-contained meaning.

Example: When reading “Cinderella,” the reader develops affection and sympathy to the main character and at the same time, feels anger towards the stepmother and stepsisters because the reader can relate to the character’s experiences.

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 THINKING IT THROUGH

 

Identify the literary approach as defined in each item. Write your answer on the attached WORKSHEET

 

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Multiple Choice

1. It is concerned with class and economic differences, as well as the implications and           complications of the capitalist system.

• Structuralism

•              Moralism                    

• Marxism

• Feminism                   

•            Historicism

Multiple Choice

2. It focuses on the readers and their experience of a literary work

• Reader-Response

•              Moralism

• Historicism

• Feminism                   

•            Structuralism/ Formalism

Multiple Choice

3. It is concerned with the representation of women in literature as an expression of the social norms about women and their roles in the society.

• Reader-Response

•              Moralism

• Historicism

• Feminism  

•            Structuralism/ Formalism

Multiple Choice

4. It answers the question: how should the text be classified in terms of its genre? In other words, what patterns exist within the text?

• Reader-Response

•              Moralism

• Historicism

• Feminism                   

•            Structuralism/ Formalism

Multiple Choice

5. It is centered on judging literary works by their ethical teachings and by their effects on readers.

• Reader-Response

•              Moralism

• Historicism

• Feminism                   

•            Structuralism/ Formalism

Multiple Choice

6. It stresses the unique diversity and importance of historical context.

• Marxism

•              Moralism

• Historicism

• Feminism

•            Structuralism/ Formalism

Multiple Choice

7. It studies a text as a text and nothing more. For example, it would only focus on poem’s rhythms, rhymes, and structure.

• Marxism

•              Moralism

• Historicism

• Feminism

•            Structuralism/ Formalism

Multiple Choice

8. It states that all knowledge and thought are historically conditioned.

• Marxism

•              Moralism

• Historicism

• Feminism

•            Structuralism/ Formalism

Multiple Choice

9. It reads the text as an expression of contemporary class struggle and it somehow relates to the social and political conditions of the time.

• Marxism

•              Moralism

• Historicism

• Feminism

•            Structuralism/ Formalism

Multiple Choice

10. It is focused on the images of women in books by male writers to expose the patriarchal ideology and how women are portrayed.

• Marxism

•              Moralism

• Historicism

• Feminism

•            Structuralism/ Formalism

DISSECTING THE TEXT

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Analyze the poem “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” by identifying the type of literary approach used.    

Fill in the Blank

1. The poem is a free verse. The only punctuation used is a period after every

stanza which indicates that every stanza is one complete thought. If we

look at the title, we can conclude that the persona knows the reasons why

a caged bird sings and it can say that these reasons are shown by using

binary opposition. The comparison between the free bird and the caged

bird reflect those reasons.

Fill in the Blank

2. One of the themes of the poem is racism. When can say that the use of

birds in poem is a metaphor about the anti-slavery protest especially since

it was written during the height of black protests and call for integration.

It shows how slaves, like birds in captivity, will always long for freedom.

Fill in the Blank

3. The importance of freedom is one of the themes that can be gleaned from

the poem. It shows how we aim to gain that freedom and if we can’t do it

physically, we use our voices so that others may know and hear about our

predicament. The poem is an important literary piece for it shows that we

must do what we can do in order to attain that freedom. We should not be

contented in living a caged life.

Fill in the Blank

4. The poem, with the use of binary oppositions, can be read as a metaphor

for the plight of the African Americans under the white supremacists. The

free bird is a symbolism for the white Americans and their relatively easy

lives. In a capitalist country, they reap the benefits. The caged bird, on

the other hand, symbolizes the African Americans who used to be slaves

of the whites. They were the oppressed and exploited labourers. They long

to have freedom.

Fill in the Blank

5. The poem made an impact to me as a reader. I can personally relate to

the caged bird who longs for freedom. The caged bird is scared and really

doesn’t know what awaits him/her if ever he/she is freed and yet, he/she

still sings about it with such sadness and longing. I feel like we can all feel

that emotion, the fear of the unknown and the constant longing for that

thing which we desire the most.

Fill in the Blank

6. The birds in the poem are metaphors for men and women. The free bird is

the men especially in a patriarchal society. They are given opportunities in

every part of the society thus, giving them the confidence to grow and

claim the world as their own. The women, on the other hand, are the like

the caged birds. Their growth is stunted since they are living in a cage

whose very first disability is being born a girl. Women are put in boxes

(just like cages) with the way they are treated in a society. The righteous

anger felt by the caged bird is the same emotion of women trying to fight

the double standards applied to them. Despite the limitations of the cage

and the fear of the unknown, women sing and shout protests for they know

that through the strength of their voices, change will come.