Approaches to Literary Criticism

An approach to literature that assumes that there is a collection of symbols, images, characters, and motifs that evoke a similar response in all people.

• Psychological Approach

• Philosophical Approach

• Mythological/Archetypal Approach

• Structuralist Approach

________ critics attempt to correct or supplement what they regard as a predominantly male-dominated critical perspective.

• Marxist

• Reader Response

• Formalist

• Feminist

This literary criticism relies on the theory by Sigmund Freud which explains the human mind.

• Biographical Criticism

• Psychoanalytic Criticism

• Philosophical Criticism

• New Criticism

This approach focuses on binary oppositions that often appear in literary constructs.

• Feminist Approach

• Marxist Approach

• Structuralist Approach

• Archetypal

This criticism is a shift away from the older styles of criticism that focused on the author and historical time period.

• New Criticism

• Moral/Philosophical

• Deconstruction

• Feminist Criticism

The practitioners of this criticism emphasize the role of ideology and class as they reflect, propagate, and even challenge the prevailing social order.

• Psychological

• Structuralist

• Marxist

• New Criticism

This approach focuses on moral statements, themes, view of the world, author's philosophy, etc.

• Psychological

• Historical/Biographical

• Moral/ Philosophical

• New Criticism

According to Lois Tyson, this theory "maintains that WHAT A TEXT IS cannot be separated from WHAT IT DOES."

• Formalism

• Reader Response

• Deconstruction

• Moral/Philosophical

This literary approach deems it necessary to know about the author and the political, economic, and sociological context of his times in order to truly understand the work/s.

• Traditional Approach

• New Criticism

• Marxist

• Historical/Biographical

Reader Response Criticism can take a number of different approaches.

• True

• False