SOUTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY
INSTRUCTOR’S NAME: Thomas Cassidy
DEPARTMENT: English and Modern Languages
SCHOOL: Humanities, Education, and Social Sciences
COURSE NUMBER: English 316 Literary Criticism
INSTRUCRTOR’S BUILDING AND OFFICE: Turner Hall, A-Wing, 286
OFFICE HOURS: MWF 12:50-1:50 T/R TBA
TELEPHONE EXT.: X68785 (803-536-8785)
EMAIL:
FAX: 803-533-3804
Spring 2009
Texts (all are required and available at the bookstore):
Shakespeare, William. Othello: A Norton Critical Edition Edward Pechter, Ed. NY: WW Norton, 2004.
Larsen, Nella. Passing: A Norton Critical Edition Carla Kaplan, Editor. NY: WW Norton 2007.
Bressler, Charles. Literary Criticism: An Introduction to Theory and Practice, 4/e. NJ: Pearson, 2007
I. Course Description: Literary Criticism E316 is an introduction to literary analysis with particular emphasis upon the terminology, language, and techniques of literary criticism; emphasis placed upon direct examination and study of literary texts; special attention is given to skill in close reading of texts. Texts are selected from major works of world literature.
II. Course Rationale:
The Collegiate, academic literature study began in the 19th century as an outgrowth of Victorian humanistic reform efforts, and grew into a multi-faceted, dialogic discourse which sometimes challenges the very ground (humanistic reform) which supports it. As such, since the 1980’s, no field of study has been more influential on language and literature studies—or more reviled—than Literary Criticism. Ten years earlier, the role of literary criticism seemed fairly clear: the job of the literary critic was to determine which works were good, which were great, and explain why. If no three critics ever completely agreed on a list or a work, yet there was widespread consensus on who were the luminaries and what were the criteria for greatness (subtlety of technique, universality of subject matter, unity of form and content).
No more.
Between them, deconstruction, feminist studies, and cultural literary studies have managed to challenge every notion of what is greatness and who gets to define it, and have exposed any number of previously ignored or overlooked assumptions regarding literary criticism. Despite it all, the anachronistically titled “new criticism” reigns as the default orthodoxy of our undergraduate and secondary education classrooms. Thus the study of literary criticism today not only entails the study of clear (and some not so clear) methods for evaluating literature, but also understanding where these methods came from, and what their limitations are.
E316 Literary Criticism is required of English and English Education majors. Those who will be teaching the next generation of English language users, or who will be using the skills of analysis and criticism in advanced English studies or in English related careers need to have an advanced understanding in the aesthetic, cultural, and ontological questions that surround the creation of meaning in a text.
III. Course Competencies
Literary Criticism E316 is a knowledge and skills based survey of the methods of literature criticism the have emerged as dominant since the development formalist “New Criticism,” on up to the post-modern strategies of the present. The core competencies, in sum, are the analytical reading of literature and criticism, particularly b applying different aesthetic, cultural, and conceptual standards. The goal is to develop knowledge of the ideas and people who have shaped the discussion of literature, and practical skill in applying their methods.
To elaborate, English 316 is concerned with presenting diverse strategies for appreciating the issues and experience that people from diverse backgrounds have represented in the literary arts. Students will be encouraged to ask questions such as, to what extent do distinct traditions of writing demand distinct traditions of interpretation? Is the English language the same for all users? Can we ask the same questions of a poem by the Caribbean writer Kamau Brathwaite as we would of the American writer Robert Frost? Do Toni Morrison and Birago Diop use narrative in the same way? Should we read the works of a feminist such as Alice Walker differently than we would a contemporary male writer, such as John Updike?
As such, E316 Literary Criticism is well aligned with the university’s goal of developing students and teaching candidates who are effective performers, reflective decision-makers, and humanistic practitioners. The humanities content of E316, and the students’ responsibility for demonstrating a keen appreciation of it, is designed towards developing effective performers. Students engage literature and culture from a wide variety of ethnic and cultural perspectives, including the voices of women, African-Americans, European-Americans, and writers from the Caribbean. Reflective decision making is developed through consideration of the ethical, moral, cultural and psychological issues that inevitably shape and inform aesthetic and critical reactions to literature Humanistic practice is engendered when the students demonstrate cross-cultural understanding and appreciation of others’ beliefs, values, and cultural constructions, as well as their own.
2. Specific Learning Outcomes Upon completion, the student of E316 should be able to
understand and apply the methods of New Criticism in a well constructed essay of B level or better, according to a class rubric for grading such essays;
construct a critique of a literary work using at least three each of the following perspectives:
psychoanalytic criticism;
Marxist literary criticism
Structuralist and Deconstructive criticism
Cultural literary criticism (including post-colonial and African American);
Feminist criticism;
Reader Response criticism;
New Historical Criticism;
show clear knowledge of the major figures and key ideas that have influenced the development of literary criticism in the 20th century, by passing exams with an 80% or better;
define and explain in lay terms the meanings of key technical terms related to each movement of criticism with a success rate of 80% or better;
Write an essay about an approach toward literary criticism, at a ‘B’ level or better, according a class rubruc.
.
V. Course Content
Likely Order of Readings:
Week One
Handout, Introduction.
Bressler Chapter one. “Introduction.”
Week Two
Bressler, Chapter Two. “Historical Survey”
Bressler, Chapter Three “New Criticism”
Expect some (anonymous) handouts.
Week Three
Introduce, plan, and write an in-class New Critical Essay.
Week Four
Bressler , Chapter Seven “Psychoanalytic Theory”
Selected essays of Sigmund Freud
Week Four
Shakespeare “Othello” New Critical v. Psychoanalytic view.
PAPER two introduced: Compare a New Critical and a Psychoanalytic Reading of “Othello” The goal is to provide a psychoanalytic reading of Othello; contrast it with a New Critical analysis of the play to show differences. Length is about 800-1200 words, typed. Use the class texts as sources, and essays in the Texts and Contexts Edition.
This is important: Focus! FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS! It might be a good idea to begin with the idea that you’re going to contrast Othello and Iago, or Othello and Desdemona. You may end up focusing only on one character; that might be all to the good.
Or ask yourself this: How do images of the Ego, the Id, and the Superego show themselves in this play? How does repressed sexual desire? How does projection?
Why are the psychological meanings of Desdemona’s / Othello’s public declaration of love, the fuss about the hanky, and the murder of Desdemona? How would a new critic see these events?
We’ll look at some of these elements from a formalist, a Jungian, and Freudian perspective. These approaches are covered pretty well in your text, but we’ll add to it considerably.
Week Five
Bressler Chapter Five. “Structuralism”
Handout, Barthes, “The Death of the Author.”
Bressler Chapter Six, “Post – Structuralism”
Week Six
Paper 2 Due
Bressler, “Chapter Eight: Feminism”
Expect a sheaf of handouts—feminist and not-so feminist writings!
Handouts: Gilbert and Gubar: “Madwoman in the Attic”
Lorde, “Age, Race, Class, and Sex”
Week Seven
Handout: Irigaray “Women on the Market” 799
Midterm will ask you to write an essay defending or critiquing a feminist reading of “My Last Duchess,” or poetry by Adrienne Rich or Margaret Atwood.
Week Seven
Bressler, Chapter Nine “Marxism”
Handout, Gramsci “Hegemony”,
Sinfield, “Cultural Materialism and Othello”
Week Eight
Bressler Chatpter Ten, “New Historicism”
Selected readings from “Othello” contexts.
Handout: Greenblatt, “Shakespeare and the exorcists”
Nathanial Hawthorne, “Young Goodman Brown”
Week Nine
Bressler Chapter Eleven, “Cultural Studies”
Handout: Gates, “Blackness of Blackness,” 987
Toni Morrison, “Playing in the Dark” 1005
Ralph Ellison, “Flying Home” (handout)
Week Ten
Selected Poetry of Langston Hughes and Kamau Brathwaite
Handouts “Jane Austen and Empire” 1112
Ngugi, “Decolonising the Mind” 1126
Brathwaite, “English in the Caribbean,” 1151
Week Eleven
Kincaid “A Small Place”
Handout: Fiske, “Television Culture”
Krims “Rap Music and the Poetics of Identity”
Week Twelve
Bressler Chapter Four, “ Reader – Response Criticism”
: Stanley Fish, “Interpretive Communities”
Week the Last
Final Remarks. Open Discussion
Final Projects Due: Approach a work that may not be considered a great work of art but which you see value in, and which has SIGNIFICANT cultural resonance, one you are WELL familiar Tapproach. Final Exam.
Students will be responsible for the course readings. In addition to the typed precis, each student will be asked to do at least one oral presentation of an essay or chapter.
VI. METHOD OF EVALUATION/GRADING
The following general policies may affect your grade.
Attendance: Attendance is mandatory. The general college policy is to allow students a total number of unexcused absences equal to the number of times the class meets each week. That is, students who miss the equivalent of one week of classes without a legal excuse should expect that their grades will be lowered as a result. Missing the equivalent of two weeks of classes without legitimate reason shall be considered sufficient grounds for failure.
Absences: Absences can be excused for medical and other legal reasons. Students who miss class to participate in a sport or other scholastic activity are expected to make up class work from their missed classes as soon as they return--an excused absence does not free you from the obligation of class work. Excessive absenteeism, even when excused, can result in a withholding of a final grade. It is the student's responsibility to see that routine dental and medical checkups are scheduled at times which do not conflict with class. No absences will be excused without appropriate documentation--a letter from a doctor, for instance--AND OBVIOUSLY FORGED DOCUMENTS CAN RESULT IN DISCIPLINARY ACTION AGAINST THE STUDENT. If you are going to miss an extended period of time for a family emergency, please get in touch with the dean and ask him to contact your instructors. If you participate in a sport, ask your coach to write a letter stating what classes you will miss. Only those absences your coach says are necessary will be excused.
Plagiarism: Plagiarism is the use of someone else's words or ideas without giving that person proper credit, and it is a serious breech of academic ethics. Depending on the severity of the offense, handing in plagiarized work is grounds for an F on the paper, an F for the class, or even suspension or expulsion from school. If the professor suspects plagiarism, it shall be up to the student to prove that the work is his or her own (by providing notes, sources, where applicable, and a rough draft). In the absence of such proof, the professor shall take appropriate action. This may mean an F on the paper, an F for the class, or, in the case of more flagrant plagiarism, recommending the student for more severe disciplinary actions. On research oriented assignments, the professor shall collect copies of source material for that paper with the final draft. IF YOU CHEAT, YOU FAIL.
Class participation: A great deal of the learning that goes on in a classroom comes from students being engaged in the classroom in an active and courteous way. Therefore, class participation will be a factor in the final grade.
CELLPHONES ARE OFF!
Tardiness: Students should plan on being here and being on time. If there is any reason why a student cannot meet this very basic obligation, this is not the correct class session. Poor planning (i.e., scheduling classes on opposite ends of the campus back to back) does not constitute an excuse. Three tardies = one absence. Five tardies = two absences. Six tardies = three absences; seven = four, etc.
Assuming students avoid the pitfalls of absenteeism, lateness, and plagiarism, the following formula will be used, to the
EVALUATION
Unit + mid term Exams........……... 22%
Final Exam..............................…...16%
Critical Papers..........................…..30%
Research Paper..........................…15%
Quizzes and Oral exams................ 11%
Class Participation..........................6%
Total 100%
GRADING SCALE
90-93 A- 94-97 A 98-100 A+
80-83 B- 84-86 B 87-89 B+
70-73 C- 74-76 C 77-79 C+
60-63 D- 64-66 D 67-69 D+
Below 60 F
Guidelines for you graded class presentations:
Plan your presentations with an eye towards how you would present this material to public middle or high school classroom. Of course, you’re presenting it to graduate students, so you want to respect your audience, but show us how you would present some of the same ideas if you were teaching. (Ref NCATE 2.4)
Speak TO the class; don’t read something downloaded from the web!!
Make eye-contact.
Reading some of the text can be interesting, but you have to MAKE IT interesting! For instance, use inflections in your voice, and call on another member of the class to help.
Relate your material to other course material, and toq anything else that will help the students.
Ask for questions
Ask questions. Leave the audience something to consider.
When possible, give the class something to look at or listen to. Pictures of Columbus, Africa, slaves, and nineteenth centuries often reveal much about changing cultural attitudes—that is to say, the way we view such images today is not likely to be the way they’d have been viewed when they were made.. Examples can usually, be found at http://www.google.com/images. Ten copies of two pictures can do much to illustrate a point. (ref NCATE matrix 3.2.1-3.2.5;4.7; 3.3.1, 3.3.2, 3.3.3; 3.6.2) .
Oral Presentation Rubric : Class Presentation Rubric
CATEGORY | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Props | Student uses several props (could include costume) that show considerable work/creativity and which make the presentation better. | Student uses 1 prop that shows considerable work/creativity and which make the presentation better. | Student uses 1 prop which makes the presentation better. | The student uses no props OR the props chosen detract from the presentation. |
Preparedness | Student is completely prepared and has obviously rehearsed. | Student seems pretty prepared but might have needed a rehearsal. | The student is somewhat prepared, but it is clear that rehearsal was lacking. | Student does not seem at all prepared to present. |
Content | Shows a full understanding of the topic. | Shows a good understanding of the topic. | Shows a good understanding of parts of the topic. | Does not seem to understand the topic very well. |
Interaction with class | Listens to, shares with, and supports the efforts of others in the class. Asks questions, allows the class a chance to ask. | Allows class a chance to ask questions but doesn't ask any him or herself, or vice versa. | Little room for others to ask or answer. | No room for others to ask or answer questions |
Time-Limit | Presentation is 8-10 minutes long. | Presentation is 6-8 minutes long. | Presentation is 4-5 minutes long. | Presentation is less than 4 minutes OR more than 10 minutes. |
The Following is a Rubric for how Literary Essays will be graded.
CATEGORY | 4 - Above Standards | 3 - Meets Standards | 2 - Approaching Standards | 1 - Below Standards | Score |
Focus or Thesis Statement | The thesis statement names the topic of the essay and outlines the main points to be discussed. | The thesis statement names the topic of the essay. | The thesis statement outlines some or all of the main points to be discussed but does not name the topic. | The thesis statement does not name the topic AND does not preview what will be discussed. | |
Sequencing | Arguments and support are provided in a logical order that makes it easy and interesting to follow the author's train of thought. | Arguments and support are provided in a fairly logical order that makes it reasonably easy to follow the author's train of thought. | A few of the support details or arguments are not in an expected or logical order, distracting the reader and making the essay seem a little confusing. | Many of the support details or arguments are not in an expected or logical order, distracting the reader and making the essay seem very confusing. | |
Transitions | A variety of thoughtful transitions are used. They clearly show how ideas are connected | Transitions show how ideas are connected, but there is little variety | Some transitions work well, but some connections between ideas are fuzzy. | The transitions between ideas are unclear OR nonexistant. | |
Closing paragraph | The conclusion is strong and leaves the reader solidly understanding the writer's position. Effective restatement of the position statement begins the closing paragraph. | The conclusion is recognizable. The author's position is restated within the first two sentences of the closing paragraph. | The author's position is restated within the closing paragraph, but not near the beginning. | There is no conclusion - the paper just ends. | |
Sentence Structure | All sentences are well-constructed with varied structure. | Most sentences are well-constructed and there is some varied sentence structure in the essay. | Most sentences are well constructed, but there is no variation is structure. | Most sentences are not well-constructed or varied. | |
Grammar & Spelling | Author makes no errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content. | Author makes 1-2 errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content. | Author makes 3-4 errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content. | Author makes more than 4 errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content. |
VI. LIBRARY ASSIGNMENTS
On research related assignments, and on class presentations, students will be expected to avail themselves of the vast array of literary research materials our university makes ready to hand, both through library itself, and through online resources.
VII. SPECIAL COURSE REQUIREMENTS
None. From time to time, however, an out of class presentation can be substituted for an in class presentation, at the discretion of both the student and the instructor.
VIII. A Select, Annotated Bibliography
Abrams, M.H. A Glossary of Literary Terms. 8th edition. NY: HBJ, 2004.
There are many glossaries of literary terms available. This may be the most helpful, in that it cross indexes many terms, and offers readers a variety of helpful essays about the concepts behind the terms. Amazingly, M.H. Abrams is still alive and working in his 90’s.
Baker, Houston. Blues, Ideology, and Afro-American Literature. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1984.
-----Workings of the Spirit.
Almost anything written by Houston Baker is worth reading, though not necessarily easy reading. In these two books he lays out his theoretical understanding of how African American literature in general, and African American women's literature specifically, have developed distinct, literary forms.
Barry, Peter. Beginning Theory: An Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory. 2/e NY: Manchester University Press, 2002.
By far the most readable, non dogmatic account of the ambiguous world of literary theory. Very thoughtful, with no attempt to be complete, but every attempt to be clear and helpful.
Gates, Henry Louis, Jr. "Race," Writing, and Difference. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1986.
An excellent collection of essays in which some of the most important literary critics of the day confront the question of race, its history, its definition, its importance, and the social forces which have constructed it.
-----The Signifying Monkey. NY: Oxford University Press, 1988.
Though its reputation has slowly begun to erode, this book's thesis that the repetition with an ironic difference evident in Jazz music, in folktales about trickster figures, and in the writings of Zora Neale Hurston, Ralph Ellison, and Ishmeal Reed, among many others, was and remains a breakthrough work making a connection between African American literature and the theories of the importance of "play" in meaning put forth by post-struturalists.
----Reading Black, Reading Feminist. NY: Meridian, 1990.
A groundbreaking collection of essays which looked at black literature from a thoughtful feminist/womanist perspective.
Gilbert, Sandra, and Susan Gubar, Ed. Feminist Literary Theory and Criticism: A Norton Reader NY: W W Norton, 2007
Published as a companion to the third edition of the Norton Anthology of Literature by Women, this is a wonderful compilation of essays ranging from the literary tradition (i.e., Virginia Woolf, George Eliot), to those who are more specifically scholarly (Barbara Johnson, Luce Irigiray), and to those who occupy some middle space (Bell Hooks, Kate Millett). A great resource
Gilroy, Paul. The Black Atlantic: Modernity and Double Consciousness. Cambridge: Harvard, 1993.
A well thought out, well researched attempt to use post-structuralism to inform black literary theory. Gilroy argues that for several centuries, people of African descent have been defined less by national boundaries than by a shared, diasporic culture that criss-crosses the Atlantic.
Groden, Micheal, and Martin Kreiswirth. Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism 2/e Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 2005
A comprehensive and extensive guide to literary terms and movements, written by experts in the field. This volume was published to be definitive, and has come close to fulfilling that goal. The essays in here are written with considerable authority and background.
Harmon, William and C. Hugh Holman. A Handbook to Literature. 11th ed. NJ: Prentice Hall, 2009
A dictionary of literary terms, with more emphasis on traditional approaches to literature (as opposed to the most recent). The only handbook that is frequently updated. Maintains a companion website at http://wps.prenhall.com/hss_harmon_handbook_10/
Harner, James L. Literary Research Guide: 4th edition. NY: MLA, 2002A widely used bibiography of basic literary research sources. This book will tell you what other books to look for in the library to do your literary research.
Murfin, Ross C. Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism. NY: Bedford Books.
A paperback series which reprints well known texts, articles about various literary movements (reader response criticism, psychoanalytic criticism, feminist criticism, etc.) as well as essays which use those theories to understand the primary text from a variety of perspectives. So for instance the volume on The Awakening writes about that novel from feminist, psychoanalytic, marxist, and other positions. There are also volumes on The Scarlet Letter, The Dead, A Portrait of the Artist, Hamlet, Frankenstein, Heart of Darkness, Walden, Gulliver's Travels, and Walden. Highly recommended.
Marks, Elaine, and de Courtivron, Isabelle, eds. New French Feminisms: An Anthology. NY: Shocken, 1980.
This anthology remains the most influential collection of the highly theoretical, and very playful form of feminism that French feminists, including Helene Cixous, Julia Kristeva, Luce Irigaray, and Monique Wittig, among others, have devised.
Mongia, Padmini. Contemporary Postcolonial Theory: A Reader. London and NY: Arnold, 1996.
Like the Postcolonial movement in literature studies itself, this is a highly sophisticated,
theoretically dense collection. It is also the best collection of Post-colonial theory available.
Newton, K. M., ed. Theory into Practice. NY: MacMillan, 1992.
A collection of pieces on applied theory.
Orr, Leoard. A Dictionary of Critical Theory. NY: Greenwood Press, 1991.
A glossary of literary terms which provides reliable definitions for technical terms of current literary theory and criticism. Unparalleled when it was published for its lucid definitions of obtuse technical jargon, it is now sadly out of date.
Ryan, Kiernan. New Historicism and Cultural Materialism: A Reader. London and NY: Arnold, 1997.
An excellent collection for showing the wide diversity of approaches that are grouped together as "New Historicism."
Rice, Philip, and Patricia Waugh. Modern Literary Theory: A Reader. 4th Edition.
NY: Edward Arnold Press, 2001
Contains a good overview of important, theoretical essays.
Said, Edward. Orientalism. NY: Vintage, 1978.
Though now dated, this work was a breakthrough in terms of its attempt to analyze how the concept of "The Orient" has distorted the West's view of itself and others.
Warhol, Robyn and Diane Price Herndl. Feminisms. Revised Edition. NJ: Rutgers UP, 1997.
An excellent collection of outstanding Feminist writing which looks at literature from a variety of perspectives, highlighting institutions, practice, conflicts, ethnicity, class, history, and autobiography, among other focuses.
Webliography
A Bibliography of Literary Theory, Criticism and Philology http://www.unizar.es/departamentos/filologia_inglesa/garciala/bibliography.html
Handbook to Literature http://wps.prenhall.com/hss_harmon_handbook_10/
Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: “ Literary Theory http://www.iep.utm.edu/l/literary.htm
The Internet Public Library http://www.ipl.org/div/litcrit/guide.html
The LitCritToolKit http://www.geocities.com/litcrittoolkit/
Literary Criticism http://literarycriticsm.blogspot.com
Voice of the Shuttle: “Literary Theory” http://vos.ucsb.edu/browse.asp?id=2718
Appendix A
Some movements of Literary Criticism
Deconstruction:
A movement of literary criticism that was spearheaded in France by the French philosophy, Jacques Derrida, and in America by the Yale critic, Paul De Man. The central belief of deconstruction is that meaning is elusive and cannot be fixed entirely and completely. Thus, the interpretation of any given text--including poems, novels, laws, philosophy, music, and other forms of art--must inevitably change. Because deconstructionists do not feel meaning can be fixed, their readings are often marked by a sense of playfulness, the idea being that there is an element of play in all language use. Deconstructionists typically try to show that a writer was saying something much more than they apparently thought they were saying, and then ask why has the reading that the clever critic discovered been so long ignored?
Cultural Studies Criticism:
Not a single movement, this term is used to group together schools of critical thought which take into account the ethnic origins of the writer, and their effect on the world. Asian-American, Hispanic-American, American Indian, and African American criticism all focus 1) on how the concerns writers of each group are developed in various ways similar and different, and 2) on how characters and concerns of each group are developed in writers of other groups.
The term Black Literature Criticism is frequently applied to discuss the works of writers of African descent, whether the writers were born in Africa, America, England, or the Caribbean.
Feminism: The term "feminism" is applied to a related core of beliefs the writing and interpretation about women's and men's lives has been significantly distorted by the prevalence sexually discriminatory laws, practices, and gender stereotypes. To look at a work from a feminist perspective means to ask: 1) whether male and female characters follow or go beyond traditional sex roles; 2) whether a given work contains an implicit or explicit gender bias; 3) analyzing a work from the perspective of subsidiary female characters; 4) analyzing a writer's total output from the perspective of how he or she challenged or failed to challenge prevailing sexual stereotypes.
Marxism
While traditional Marxism held that literature was one of many cultural forms that was entirely determined by the workings of class interests, contemporary Marxism has developed many far more nuanced approaches to looking at literature. Some fundamental questions that Marxists ask are, how are class interests and class conflicts portrayed in literature? What has been the effect of holding various literary ideals and standards (who has benefited, who has been marginalized)? Perhaps the most important term used by Marxist criticism is "ideology," by which they mean a set of ideas or assumptions which underlay the cultural and political practices of a given place and time.
New Criticism
The word "new" is somewhat outdated, but this name is too well established to argue with, although the more accurate term "formalists" is equally applicable. The central task of the New Critics was to try interpret a literary work as carefully constructed work of art. New criticism is implicitly laudatory; the critic tries to bare the careful workings of the artist. Less careful artist's are often dismissed as not worthy of study. The writer's politics and intent are assumed to be of secondary, or even no, importance.
New criticism has become widely established as the norm in English departments. A student who effectively writes a paper analyzing the use of irony, metaphors, or nature imagery in Oedipus the King or The Scarlet Letter is probably using the methods of new criticism.
New Historicism/Cultural Materialism
These two closely linked movements are both concerned with history, and both began with Renaissance studies, particularly Shakespeare studies, but their methodology has proved useful for analyzing many different texts. include many other
The central concern of cultural materialist criticism is how did the material and historical conditions surrounding a text's production affect the text? Thus, for instance, a cultural materialist interpretation of Hamlet might be interested in how religious instability of the England of Shakespeare's day was reflected in Hamlet's paralysis. Cultural materialists are also interested in who controlled access to presses and the public, and how authors have defied and played to the expectations of this ruling class.
While cultural materialists take their cue from Marxist criticism, New Historicism tends to be post-structularist in its concerns. Thus, new historicism often finds connections between historically celebrated texts and historically ignored ones, including letters and diaries. The point is not to reduce all texts to a rough equality, but to understand the intertextual relations between writing.
Psycholoanalytic Criticism: There are three common schools of psychoanalytic criticism: Freudian criticism; Jungian criticism; Lacanian criticism. Freudian critics depend upon Sigmund Freud's distinction between the conscious mind and the unconscious mind, the latter of which is dominated by a childlike id (which wants and wants what it wants now) and a restricting superego, which seeks to control. Freudian critics look for unconscious meanings in a text, which they highlight as the true text. Such criticism typically looks for symbols of powerful psychoanalytic meaning (a snake with a severed heads might be said to be a symbol of castration, for instance). However, they may also analyze characters and even writers according to their acting upon specific psychological impulses as described by Sigmund Freud. Jungian criticism typically looks for archetypes as described by Carl Jung, often with an emphasis upon looking at how the male and female animus and anima are portrayed. Lacanian criticism is French movement which frequently looks at how a writer or a character attempts to affirm his own existence through controlling other people and/or language, the theory being that individuals live with a deep existential doubt of their own worth, and use language as a means a communicating with others for affirmation.
