Study Guide 01 BBL 3103 Lit Theory from Plato to T. S. Eliot

Dr. Shivani Sivagurunathan

BBL 3103: Literary Theory from Plato to T.S. Eliot

Contact Information

Shivani Sivagurunathan

English Department, FBMK

Telephone: 03-89468675

Room number: A0137

e-mail: ;

Evaluation

Test 1: 30 %

Assignment (Individual): 30 %

Final Exam: 40 %

01 Nature of Literary Criticism

i. Definition

Lit crit is the exercise of judgment upon lit

ii. Diversity

Most lit theories can be divided into:

Aesthetic: inclusive; pure aesthetic appreciation; art-for-art’s sake

Utilitarian: relating to real world; lit with social function

Constant tension, vacillation between both

iii. Function

The evaluation, interpretation, explanation of literature

02 Types of Literary Criticism

i. Legislative

A ‘how-to’ guide by a critic teaching a writer how to write

ii. Judicial

Neoclassical (derived from ancient Greeks)

Author/work judged based on rules of classical composition

iii. Theoretical

Literary aesthetics

Scope: lit in general, not a particular work

iv. Evaluative

Assessment of worth and significance of art

Standards of evaluation may be aesthetic, moral, personal

v. Historical

A work set against historical context

vi. Biographical

A work set against personal life of the author

vii. Comparative

A work set against other similar works

viii. Descriptive

Analysis of existing literary works—aims, methods, effects

ix. Impressionistic

Analysis of the critic’s personal response to a work of art

x. Textual/Ontological/Formalist

No outside considerations, text as a thing in itself

xi. Psychological/Psychoanalytic

Based on psychological motivations of the author/characters

Freudian, Jungian

xii. Sociological/Marxist

A work set against social milieu (akin to Historical Crit.)

Marxist: sociological, but using Marxist framework

xiii. Archetypal

A work’s relation to the collective unconscious (akin to Psychological Crit.)

Jungian

03 Overview: Lit Crit History

i. Hellenic

In 4 & 5 BC, Athens was a centre of lit activity

Plato and Aristotle were the first to formulate theories on art and lit

ii. Hellenistic

New centres of culture displace Athens

Imitative literary production

iii. Graeco-Roman

Rise of Roman empire

Aimed at originality, but ultimately imitative

Neoclassical

iv. Medieval/Middle/Dark Ages

Rise of Christianity

Greek and Roman lit and culture became pagan

Lit activity was focused on theology

v. Renaissance

Shackles of medievalism broken

Conscious effort to revive glory of ancient Greece

Texts translated into vernacular

vi. Neoclassical

Aristotle’s descriptive tenets of poetry become fully prescriptive

vii. Romantic

Emphasis on individuality, subjectivity, passion, inspiration

viii. Victorian

Reaction against Romanticism, aimed to be more detached

Criticism rises in significance

ix. Modern Age

No overriding trend; criticism is complex and varied

Of late, however, there is a leaning towards sociological criticism in academia