4. Structure
Structure is how a text is built
Think of the structure of a text like the frame of a
house
Structure can include sections, chapters, order of
ideas, line breaks (poetry), acts and scenes (drama)
A text’s outline reveals its structure
5. Content
Content is the ideas and information in the text
Think of content as what is in the house (e.g.
furniture)
Content can include things like plot, character, main
ideas, theme, dialogue
A summary of the text reveals its content
6. Style
Style is the unique way the author has presented the
ideas in the text
Think of style as how the contents of the house are
decorated
Style can include things like word choice, use of
language, syntax, sentence structure, imagery
Identifying what makes one author/text different
from another reveals style
7. Structure, Content & Style
Any text can be analyzed using these concepts –
short stories, novels, plays, poems, essays, non-
fiction texts, letters
Structure, content, and style work together and often
overlap
9. Critical Approaches to Literature
The same text can be looked at through more than one
“lens”
These “lenses” are known as critical approaches
Critical approaches to literature are developed by
readers who look for different meanings in a text
Critical approaches are created in different time
periods and generally reflect cultural changes that are
happening at that time
11. Formalist Criticism
Literature is a form of knowledge with intrinsic elements –
style, structure, imagery, tone, and genre
What gives a literary work status as a great work of art is
how all of its elements work together to create the reader's
experience
Appreciating a text requires close reading – a careful, step-
by-step analysis and explication of the text
Style and theme influence each other and can't be separated
if meaning is to be retained
12. Formalist Criticism
"Extracting" elements in isolation (theme, character, plot,
setting, etc.) may destroy a reader's aesthetic experience of
the whole
Formalist critics don't deny the historical or political
situation of a work, they just believe works of art have the
power to transcend them
Formalist criticism is evaluative in that it differentiates
great works of art from poor works of art
Formalist criticism is a "scientific" approach to literary
analysis, focusing on "facts amenable to "verification"
(evidence in the text)
13. Biographical Criticism
Real life experience can help shape (either directly or
indirectly) an author's work
Understanding an author's life can help us better
understand the work
The focus is always on the literary work under
investigation
14. Historical Criticism
Investigates the social, cultural, and intellectual
context that produced it
This investigation includes the author's biography
and their culture
Seeks to understand the impact of a work in its day
and how meanings change over time
Explores how time and place of creation affect
meaning in the work
15. Psychological Criticism
Great literature truthfully reflects life and is a
realistic representation of human motivation and
behavior
May choose to focus on the creative process of the
artist, the artist's motivation or behavior, or analyze
fictional characters' motivations and behaviors
16. Mythological Criticism
Mythological criticism studies recurrent universal
patterns underlying most literary works
Combines a variety of academic disciplines –
anthropology, psychology, history, comparative
religion
Demonstrates how the individual imagination shares a
common humanity by identifying common symbols,
images, plots, etc.
Identifies "archetypes“ – symbols, characters,
situations, or images evoking a universal response
17. Common Archetypes: Characters
The hero - The courageous figure who runs in and saves the day
The outcast - he or she has been cast out of society or has left it on a
voluntary basis; the outcast figure can oftentimes also be considered
as a Christ figure
The scapegoat - gets blamed for everything, regardless of whether
he or she is actually at fault
The star-crossed lovers - the young couple joined by love but
unexpectedly parted by fate
The shrew - nagging, bothersome wife always battering her husband
with verbal abuse
18. Common Archetypes: Situations/Symbols
The task - a character, or group of characters, is driven to complete some
duty of monstrous proportion
The quest - the characters are searching for something, whether
consciously or unconsciously; their actions, thoughts, and feelings
center around the goal of completing this quest
The loss of innocence - a loss of innocence through sexual
experience, violence, or any other means
The initiation - process by which a character is brought into another
sphere of influence, frequently (in literature) into adulthood
Water - a symbol of life, cleansing, and rebirth; it is a strong life force
and is often depicted as a living, reasoning force
19. Cultural Criticism
Examines literature in its cultural, economic, and political
context
Explores the relationship between the artist and the society
Focuses on the social content of literary works
20. Reader-Response Criticism
Attempts to describe the internal workings of the reader's mental
processes
Recognizes reading as a creative act or process
No text is self-contained, independent of a reader's interpretive
design
The plurality of readings possible is all explored – critics study how
different readers see the same text differently, and how
religious, cultural, and social values affect readings
Instead of focusing only on the values embedded in the text, this
type of criticism studies the values embedded in the reader
22. The Literary Canon
What is a cannon? What is a canon?
“An authoritative list, as of the works of an author"
and "a basis for judgment; standard; criterion."
Belonging to the canon confers social, political,
economic, and aesthetic status
Belonging to the canon is a guarantee of quality
23. The Literary Canon
What is the role of the canon in literature?
What is the impact of the canon on literature?
What are the drawbacks of the literary canon?
25. Works Cited
Esch, Stacy. Critical Approaches to Literature. 2002. 4 Aug. 2008
<http://brainstorm-services.com/wcu-2002/critical-
approaches.html>.
PageWise. Understanding Literary Archetypes. 2002. 4 Aug. 2008
<http://www.essortment.com/all/literaryarchety_rabl.htm>.
University Scholars Programme Project. “The Concept of Literary
Canon: An Overview.” The Victorian Web. 1989. 4 Aug. 2008
<http://www.usp.nus.edu.sg/landow/victorian/gender/canon/cano
nov.html>.