Literary Theories

Which theory attempts to attempts to discover meaning by close reading of a work of literature?

• New Criticism

• Marxism

• Reader Response

• Deconstruction

• Psychoanalytical

Which theory believes that meaning resides in the text—not in reader, author, or world?

• New Criticism

• Marxism

• Reader Response

• Deconstruction

• Psychoanalytical

Which theory believes that meaning ultimately resides in the reader’s mind

or the consensual “mind” of a community of readers?

• New Criticism

• Marxism

• Reader Response

• Deconstruction

• Psychoanalytical

This type of criticism might ask, "Which of your personal experiences or memories is affecting your perceptions of the story?"

• New Criticism

• Marxism

• Reader Response

• Deconstruction

• Psychoanalytical

What type of criticism analyzes the role of gender in works of literature?

• New Historicism

• Marxism

• Feminist theory

• Deconstruction

• Psychoanalytical

Which criticism might ask, "Does the work challenge or affirm traditional views of women?"

• New Historicism

• Marxism

• Feminist theory

• Deconstruction

• Psychoanalytical

Which criticism might ask, "How do social forces shape the power relationships between groups or classes of people in the story?"

• New Historicism

• Marxism

• Feminist theory

• Deconstruction

• Psychoanalytical

Which criticism might ask, "How does the story reflect the attitudes and beliefs of the time in which it was written or set? (Think beliefs and attitudes related to race, religion, politics, gender, society, philosophy, etc.)"

• New Historicism

• Marxism

• Feminist theory

• Deconstruction

• Psychoanalytical

Which criticism might ask, "What binary oppositions or tensions (e.g., light/dark, good/evil, old/young, linear/nonlinear, poor/rich, masculine/feminine, and western/eastern) operate in the text?"

• New Historicism

• Marxism

• Feminist theory

• Deconstruction

• Psychoanalytical

Which criticism might ask, "What roles do psychological disorders and dreams play in this story?"

• New Historicism

• Marxism

• Feminist theory

• Deconstruction

• Psychoanalytical