Meaning and Objectives of Literary Research

Meaning of Research

There is a difference between “skimming” and “reading.” “Skimming” connotes hurried reading. We
usually skim a newspaper. Reading refers to thoroughness. Editorials and lead articles are read, not
skimmed. Study is intensive reading.

We read a novel or a short story in general. But we study, when we have to review or make comments
on them. Research is more than study; it has assumed a new meaning in the twentieth century. The Old
French word cerchier (Latin circare) meant “to go about.” The English word search nowadays means to
survey inquiringly or to examine or inspect closely.

It means a systematic investigation in a field of knowledge to discover or establish facts or principles. It

also means a fresh approach to a subject or interpretation of facts.

The following definitions will give us a clear idea what research is : 1. [Research is] “a systematic
investigation for the purpose of gaining new knowledge. In a broad sense, research is any study that
leads to new knowledge for the person doing research.” (New Standard Encyclopedia)

A close reading of these definitions will lead us to the conclusion that research has the following
features :

(a) Research is a systematic and critical investigation.

(b) It aims at the discovery of new facts and their correct information.

(c) It is also the revision of accepted laws or theories in the light of the discovery of new facts.

(d) It can be the practical application of new or revised conclusions, theories or laws.

Coming to the first feature, the word systematic means that the entire procedure of the investigation is
done under certain principles. The word critical means that the researcher takes care of both kinds of
facts, one that favours his hypothesis and the other that goes counter to his assumptions.

Secondly, research should be a genuine contribution to knowledge. This is possible only when we
discover a new fact or interpret a known fact in a new way.

We all know that Shakespeare has written thirty-six plays. Suppose someone comes with a manuscript
and systematically proves it to be the playwright’s thirty-seventh play, he has discovered a new fact and
made a genuine contribution to knowledge.

Thirdly, research is also that kind of investigation which examines an accepted theory to revise or
modify or sometimes reject it.

Literary Research
 Uptill now we have discussed research in general. But the nature of research differs from subject to
subject. This is because materials and tools of each subject are largely different. Physics, chemistry,
botany, zoology and other natural sciences study natural phenomena.

Their basic tools are observation and experiment. They replicate the natural conditions in the laboratory
and observe the changes minutely. The social sciences study man and his behaviour. But man cannot be
put in a laboratory to be experimented on in the way natural objects can be.

Naturally, observation and interview are the important tools that we use in social sciences. Secondly,
the experiments of science can be repeated but this is rather difficult in social sciences and humanities,
excepting psychology and linguistics. Literature is different from natural sciences or social sciences. It is
the product of the creative writer.

Literary research, therefore, cannot confine itself to either the literary text or the writer; it has to study
both. The other important fact we have to bear in mind is that the methods of analysis and evaluation of
a literary text have become autonomous.

In natural sciences and social sciences we have two kinds of research : basic and applied. Literary
Research, because of the duality of its object of study, is of four kinds :

(a) Bibliography and textual criticism,

(b) Biographical,
(c) Theoretical and
(d) Interpretive.

Bibliography and Textual Criticism. Textual research is concerned with the establishment of an
authoritative text, correction of past editions, chronology, authenticity and attribution. No reader can
appreciate a text which is full of errors. Secondly, he must know that the text he is reading is a genuine
one.

(b) Biographical.

This kind of research, though neglected in India, is of first importance in the understanding of an
author’s mind and art.

The task of the biographer is really very difficult. All biographers are not fortunate like Boswell. A
biographer has to collect material from different sources, study the author’s published works and
unpublished writings as well, interview him frequently if he is alive, meet and collect information from
the people close to him, distinguish fact from fiction and after that present the life story, laying more
emphasis on the literary side by correlating the important events of his life and time and his works,
systematically, chronologically and interestingly.

(c) Theoretical.
This kind of research can be compared to the basis research in natural and social sciences. Its aim is to
propound a theory of literature or modify and improve an already existing one. In the past after
Aristotle and Longinus, few scholars and philosophers took literary criticism seriously. They often
repeated the classical theory of literature.

(d) Interpretive. This kind of research can be compared to the applied research in sciences. It analyses,
interprets and evaluates a literary text of an author by applying the principles of a particular theory. It
may be a study of an author’s style, use of imagery or symbolism, exploration of myth, perception of
social reality, expression of the inner soul, development of thought or the structure of his texts

Literary research has four main objectives :

 Advancement of knowledge,
 Broadening the mind and sharpening the critical insight of the researcher,
 Creation of a genuine and intelligent interest in literature,
 Inculcation of the sense that the researcher is a member of a collaborative community.