PDF (SG) - EAP 11 - 12 - UNIT 7 - LESSON 2 - Critical Approaches in Analyzing A Critique

Unit 7: The Critique Paper
Lesson 2: Critical Approaches in Analyzing a
Critique

Contents

Engage 1
Introduction 1
Objectives 2
Explore 2
Explain and Elaborate 3

The Formalist Critical Approach 4
The Feminist Critical Approach 9
The Marxist Critical Approach 15
Other Critical Approaches 22
Extend 25
Activity 1 25
Activity 2 27
Evaluate 29
Wrap Up 31
Bibliography 32

Unit 7.2: Critical Approaches in Analyzing a Critique

Engage

Introduction

Fig. 1. Using a critical approach changes what we focus on when reading a text.

Now that you are familiar with the features and structure of a critique paper, we can focus
more on evaluating a critique paper. This lesson will focus on some of the different critical
approaches used to analyze a text in order to critique it. When we use a critical approach in
reading a text in preparation for a critique, it could change the way we take in the text. How
does the critique dictate the way we analyze a text? How does it change our critique?

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Objectives
In this lesson, you should be able to do the following:
● Understand the different critical approaches for critiquing.
● Use critical approaches in writing a critique paper.

DepEd Competency
Use appropriate critical approaches in writing a critique such as formalism, feminism, etc.
(additional lesson for enrichment)

Explore

15 minutes

Recall or look for a short story you have read before, either in class or for leisure, that you
enjoyed. When you have found one, answer the following questions about it.

Guide Questions

1. Why did you enjoy reading the short story?

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2. What was the story’s theme or message?

3. Which elements of the story did you like?

Explain and Elaborate

Different critical approaches tend to focus on different parts of a text. Some approaches
could look at the same part of a text but interpret it in varying ways. That’s how a critical
approach changes the analysis of a text for a critique. Looking at a text through the lens of a
particular critical approach changes the way you interpret its parts.

How do the different critical approaches vary?

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The Formalist Critical Approach
In the formalist approach, the focus is on the literary elements of a text, like the plot, the
characters, the setting, the mood and tone, the imagery, and more. It analyzes how these
elements connect and come together to contribute to the aesthetic quality of the text. It
looks at how the elements work together to move the plot, relay a message or moral, or
portray a theme.

Imagery and figurative language are essential aspects of the formalist approach. It is
important to analyze the symbolism and the language used and try to interpret their
meaning. How are the symbols in the story established? How are the figures of speech
used? How do they come together or support other elements of the text to improve the
work as a whole?

Formalism also does not concern itself with any context outside of the text. When we read a
text under a formalist lens, we analyze it as if it were in a vacuum. The analysis focuses
strictly on the elements of the work. We do not take into account the time when it was
written, the place or environment where it was written, and even the author’s context and
intentions. The text is viewed on its own, with only its elements and how they are used to
determine if the work is to be positively or negatively critiqued.

In the formalist approach, the usefulness and effectiveness of the work is decided by how
well its elements are used and how well they come together for the aesthetic appeal of the
text.
Example 1
Take a look at the excerpt from the short story “The Happy Prince” by Oscar Wilde below.
Pay attention to what the characters say and look for any symbolisms you might find.

Sample Text
“In the square below,” said the Happy Prince, “there stands a little match-girl. She has let
her matches fall in the gutter, and they are all spoiled. Her father will beat her if she does
not bring home some money, and she is crying. She has no shoes or stockings, and her little
head is bare. Pluck out my other eye, and give it to her, and her father will not beat her.”

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“I will stay with you one night longer,” said the Swallow, “but I cannot pluck out your eye.
You would be quite blind then.”
“Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow,” said the Prince, “do as I command you.”
So he plucked out the Prince’s other eye, and darted down with it. He swooped past the
match-girl, and slipped the jewel into the palm of her hand. “What a lovely bit of glass,”
cried the little girl; and she ran home, laughing.
Then the Swallow came back to the Prince. “You are blind now,” he said, “so I will stay with
you always.”
“No, little Swallow,” said the poor Prince, “you must go away to Egypt.”
“I will stay with you always,” said the Swallow, and he slept at the Prince’s feet.
Source: “The Happy Prince” (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/902/902-h/902-h.htm#page1)

Explanation
In a formalist reading, this passage could be significant for the critique. It demonstrates the
characterization of the Prince and the Swallow, who are, by their nature, kind and helpful
characters to the point of self-sacrifice. Their characterization moves the plot, as it is about
the magical statue of a prince who sacrifices the things that make him beautiful so that he
can make the lives of the poor people in his town somewhat better. His jewels for eyes and
golden skin are symbolisms for the valuable things he is willing to sacrifice, even at the cost
of his own comfort. A formalist reading could analyze that the literary elements are
seamlessly coming together to tell a story and create something aesthetically pleasing.
Example 2
Now, take the time to read an excerpt from the short story, “The Gift of the Magi” by O.
Henry. Pay attention to the literary elements present, especially the figurative language and
imagery used in the story.

Sample Text
Now, there were two possessions of the James Dillingham Youngs in which they both took a
mighty pride. One was Jim’s gold watch that had been his father’s and his grandfather’s. The

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other was Della’s hair. Had the queen of Sheba lived in the flat across the airshaft, Della
would have let her hair hang out the window some day to dry just to depreciate Her
Majesty’s jewels and gifts. Had King Solomon been the janitor, with all his treasures piled up
in the basement, Jim would have pulled out his watch every time he passed, just to see him
pluck at his beard from envy.
So now Della’s beautiful hair fell about her rippling and shining like a cascade of brown
waters. It reached below her knee and made itself almost a garment for her. And then she
did it up again nervously and quickly. Once she faltered for a minute and stood still while a
tear or two splashed on the worn red carpet.
…
The magi, as you know, were wise men—wonderfully wise men—who brought gifts to the
Babe in the manger. They invented the art of giving Christmas presents. Being wise, their
gifts were no doubt wise ones, possibly bearing the privilege of exchange in case of
duplication. And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish
children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their
house. But in a last word to the wise of these days let it be said that of all who give gifts
these two were the wisest. Of all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest.
Everywhere they are wisest. They are the magi.
Source: “The Gift of the Magi” (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/7256/7256-h/7256-h.htm)

Explanation
A formalist reading would focus on the figurative language used, especially in describing the
two great treasures of the Youngs. Look at how allusion was used to describe Jim’s watch
and Della’s hair, using the queen of Sheba and King Solomon, two famous figures of royalty,
to show that even they would be jealous of the Youngs’ treasures. The use of allusion
further highlights the value of the treasures. The imagery used to describe Della’s hair,
“rippling and shining like a cascade of brown waters,” also further demonstrated the beauty
it possessed. The last paragraph, which ends the story, is another allusion that is used as an
analogy and summary of the entire short story. It compares the couple in the story to the
magi from the Nativity story, which shows that despite how foolish they acted in the short
story, what they did for each other could still be compared to the wisdom of the magi, who

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gave gifts during Christmas. A formalist reading would then highlight these elements in a
critique, as they could describe the strength of description in this short story. A possible
weakness, meanwhile, would be the reliance of allusions to the readers being familiar with
the figures being alluded to.
Example 3
For this example, let us look at an excerpt from Kate Chopin’s short story titled “The Story of
an Hour.” Pay attention to the language used in the excerpt.

Sample Text
She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver
with the new spring life. The delicious breath of rain was in the air. In the street below a
peddler was crying his wares. The notes of a distant song which someone was singing
reached her faintly, and countless sparrows were twittering in the eaves.
There were patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds that had met
and piled one above the other in the west facing her window.
She sat with her head thrown back upon the cushion of the chair, quite motionless, except
when a sob came up into her throat and shook her, as a child who has cried itself to sleep
continues to sob in its dreams.
She was young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain
strength. But now there was a dull stare in her eyes, whose gaze was fixed away off yonder
on one of those patches of blue sky. It was not a glance of reflection, but rather indicated a
suspension of intelligent thought.
There was something coming to her and she was waiting for it, fearfully. What was it? She
did not know; it was too subtle and elusive to name. But she felt it, creeping out of the sky,
reaching toward her through the sounds, the scents, the color that filled the air.
Now her bosom rose and fell tumultuously. She was beginning to recognize this thing that
was approaching to possess her, and she was striving to beat it back with her will--as
powerless as her two white slender hands would have been. When she abandoned herself a
little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over under her

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breath: "free, free, free!" The vacant stare and the look of terror that had followed it went
from her eyes. They stayed keen and bright. Her pulses beat fast, and the coursing blood
warmed and relaxed every inch of her body.
Source: “The Story of an Hour” (https://archive.vcu.edu/english/engweb/webtexts/hour/)

Explanation
A reader making use of the formalist critical approach could be impressed by the use of
language in the short story. It made use of the imagery, the description of what the
character could see, feel, and hear from outside her window, and the dialogue of the
character to imply a message, without ever stating it outright. We can tell from the
descriptions and narration that the character transitioned from being confused about what
she was feeling to a sudden clarity. And yet, the story never outright details this inner
turmoil within her and what her conclusion came to be. It is up to the reader to come to the
same conclusion as her through context clues. This could be impressive from a formalist
perspective, as it is a creative and well-done use of literary devices to tell a story.

Tips
Works and texts are not normally made to cater to one critical
approach. In fact, analyzing one work using different critical
approaches could change how it can be interpreted. This does not
change the work itself, but it could change a reader’s perspective of
it. So, a work that is useful through a formalist lens might not
necessarily be effective when seen through a Marxist lens, and vice
versa.

The Feminist Critical Approach
For the feminist approach, the focus is on the portrayal of characters in the text, mainly
but not limited to, the female characters. It highlights the awareness that in society, there
exists economic, political, social, and psychological oppression against women and

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established gender stereotypes that are harmful to both men and women. When analyzing
a text under the lens of the feminist approach, we look at how a work uses its elements to
either reinforce or undermine the oppression against women and these harmful gender
stereotypes.

This theory aims to look at how cultures from all over the world can be inherently
patriarchal and how these can be portrayed explicitly or implicitly in literature and other
works. How does the text portray the women in it? Are they depicted as oppressed? Are
they able to rise above it? Does the portrayal of women in the text propagate a patriarchal
depiction of them, meaning they are portrayed as weak and subservient or only there to
please the male characters? Or does the author portray them as being equal to men? Also,
how does the work portray and treat men? Is the depiction of men patriarchal, for example,
men must always be powerful and in control of their emotions and of the women around
them? Or are they allowed to be vulnerable and affectionate toward other characters?

Feminism is also concerned with the context of the work. For example, what was the
political climate when the work was written? In what ways were women undermined by the
patriarchy at the time? What gender stereotypes were prevalent and even enforced?

Again, this changes how a text is viewed, analyzed, and critiqued. What might be a good text
when viewed with a formalist lens might not be a good text in a feminist perspective and
vice versa. When writing a critique with the feminist approach, the useful texts are those
that are able to subvert the patriarchal standards and show a positive portrayal of men and
women.
Example 1
Take a look at another excerpt from the short story “The Happy Prince” below. This time,
look at it with a feminist lens and find what could be important to the feminist critical
approach.

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Sample Text
Then the Swallow came back to the Prince. “You are blind now,” he said, “so I will stay with
you always.”
“No, little Swallow,” said the poor Prince, “you must go away to Egypt.”
“I will stay with you always,” said the Swallow, and he slept at the Prince’s feet.
…
The poor little Swallow grew colder and colder, but he would not leave the Prince, he loved
him too well. He picked up crumbs outside the baker’s door when the baker was not
looking and tried to keep himself warm by flapping his wings.
But at last he knew that he was going to die. He had just strength to fly up to the Prince’s
shoulder once more. “Good-bye, dear Prince!” he murmured, “will you let me kiss your
hand?”
“I am glad that you are going to Egypt at last, little Swallow,” said the Prince, “you have
stayed too long here; but you must kiss me on the lips, for I love you.”
“It is not to Egypt that I am going,” said the Swallow. “I am going to the House of Death.
Death is the brother of Sleep, is he not?”
And he kissed the Happy Prince on the lips, and fell down dead at his feet.
At that moment a curious crack sounded inside the statue, as if something had broken. The

fact is that the leaden heart had snapped right in two. It certainly was a dreadfully hard
frost.

Explanation
We can see in these scenes from the story signs of affection and compassion from the
Prince and the Swallow. While there are not that many prominent female characters in the
short story, looking at the Prince and the Swallow’s characterizations through a feminist lens
could still be fruitful. It demonstrates a breaking of typical male masculinity, which is also
reinforced by a patriarchal society. In the story, the Prince is not afraid to show affection

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toward the Swallow, and the Swallow is also able to reciprocate the Prince’s affection. A
feminist critique could then see this as a healthy depiction of men without resorting to
gender stereotypes and misconceptions.

Example 2
Let us go back to the short story, “The Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry. This time, read the
excerpt with a feminist perspective.

Sample Text
The door opened and Jim stepped in and closed it. He looked thin and very serious. Poor
fellow, he was only twenty-two—and to be burdened with a family! He needed a new
overcoat and he was without gloves.
Jim stopped inside the door, as immovable as a setter at the scent of quail. His eyes were
fixed upon Della, and there was an expression in them that she could not read, and it
terrified her. It was not anger, nor surprise, nor disapproval, nor horror, nor any of the
sentiments that she had been prepared for. He simply stared at her fixedly with that
peculiar expression on his face.
Della wriggled off the table and went for him.
“Jim, darling,” she cried, “don’t look at me that way. I had my hair cut off and sold because I
couldn’t have lived through Christmas without giving you a present. It’ll grow out again—you
won’t mind, will you? I just had to do it. My hair grows awfully fast. Say ‘Merry Christmas!’
Jim, and let’s be happy. You don’t know what a nice—what a beautiful, nice gift I’ve got for
you.”
“You’ve cut off your hair?” asked Jim, laboriously, as if he had not arrived at that patent fact
yet even after the hardest mental labor.
“Cut it off and sold it,” said Della. “Don’t you like me just as well, anyhow? I’m me without my

hair, ain’t I?”
Jim looked about the room curiously.

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“You say your hair is gone?” he said, with an air almost of idiocy.
“You needn’t look for it,” said Della. “It’s sold, I tell you—sold and gone, too. It’s Christmas
Eve, boy. Be good to me, for it went for you. Maybe the hairs of my head were numbered,”
she went on with sudden serious sweetness, “but nobody could ever count my love for you.
Shall I put the chops on, Jim?”
Out of his trance Jim seemed quickly to wake. He enfolded his Della. For ten seconds let us
regard with discreet scrutiny some inconsequential object in the other direction. Eight
dollars a week or a million a year—what is the difference? A mathematician or a wit would
give you the wrong answer. The magi brought valuable gifts, but that was not among them.
This dark assertion will be illuminated later on.
Jim drew a package from his overcoat pocket and threw it upon the table.
“Don’t make any mistake, Dell,” he said, “about me. I don’t think there’s anything in the way
of a haircut or a shave or a shampoo that could make me like my girl any less. But if you’ll
unwrap that package you may see why you had me going a while at first.”
White fingers and nimble tore at the string and paper. And then an ecstatic scream of joy;
and then, alas! a quick feminine change to hysterical tears and wails, necessitating the
immediate employment of all the comforting powers of the lord of the flat.
For there lay The Combs—the set of combs, side and back, that Della had worshipped long
in a Broadway window. Beautiful combs, pure tortoise shell, with jewelled rims—just the
shade to wear in the beautiful vanished hair. They were expensive combs, she knew, and
her heart had simply craved and yearned over them without the least hope of possession.
And now, they were hers, but the tresses that should have adorned the coveted adornments
were gone.

Explanation
A feminist reading would appreciate how Della was willing to cut her long locks short, as
there is a stigma attached to women with short hair in a patriarchal society. However, what
might be concerning in a feminist reading would be that Della’s change in hairstyle was to

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please her husband in some way, and not because she would prefer a short hairstyle
herself. However, Jim is able to show that he is not a typical man by patriarchal standards
when he confesses that he would love Della regardless of her hairstyle. Furthermore, a
feminist reading could also look at how the two were treated and characterized rather
equally. Both were willing to make a sacrifice for their significant other. Both gave the same
amount of effort and sacrifice into their relationship, and both wished to make the other
happy on Christmas, even at a great personal cost. Their actions might be interpreted as
foolish, but it can still be said that there was no power imbalance between the two of them
in their relationship. It is then up to the author of the critique which elements to highlight
given a feminist reading.
Example 3
Let us take another look at “The Story of an Hour.” This time, read the excerpt through the
lens of the feminist critical approach.

Sample Text
She did not stop to ask if it were or were not a monstrous joy that held her. A clear and
exalted perception enabled her to dismiss the suggestion as trivial. She knew that she would
weep again when she saw the kind, tender hands folded in death; the face that had never
looked save with love upon her, fixed and gray and dead. But she saw beyond that bitter
moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely. And she
opened and spread her arms out to them in welcome.
There would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would live for herself.
There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and
women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature. A kind
intention or a cruel intention made the act seem no less a crime as she looked upon it in
that brief moment of illumination.
And yet she had loved him--sometimes. Often she had not. What did it matter! What could
love, the unsolved mystery, count for in the face of this possession of self-assertion which
she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being!
"Free! Body and soul free!" she kept whispering.

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Josephine was kneeling before the closed door with her lips to the keyhold, imploring for
admission. "Louise, open the door! I beg; open the door--you will make yourself ill. What are
you doing, Louise? For heaven's sake open the door."
"Go away. I am not making myself ill." No; she was drinking in a very elixir of life through
that open window.
Her fancy was running riot along those days ahead of her. Spring days, and summer days,
and all sorts of days that would be her own. She breathed a quick prayer that life might be
long. It was only yesterday she had thought with a shudder that life might be long.
She arose at length and opened the door to her sister's importunities. There was a feverish
triumph in her eyes, and she carried herself unwittingly like a goddess of Victory. She
clasped her sister's waist, and together they descended the stairs. Richards stood waiting
for them at the bottom.
Some one was opening the front door with a latchkey. It was Brently Mallard who entered, a

little travel-stained, composedly carrying his grip-sack and umbrella. He had been far from
the scene of the accident, and did not even know there had been one. He stood amazed at
Josephine's piercing cry; at Richards' quick motion to screen him from the view of his wife.
When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease--of the joy that kills.

Explanation
While Louise did feel affection for her husband—it was not an utterly loveless
relationship—the feeling of relief and freedom she felt upon hearing about his death still
speaks volumes. While he was alive and they were married, she felt trapped and unable to
live for herself. Now that she heard he was killed in an accident, her initial sadness gave way
to the realization that she was free to live however she wanted, without a relationship or a
husband to tie her down. This is often a struggle that women in a patriarchal society have to
live with. Gender roles give way to expectations that a wife must live for her husband, to be
with him, and be subservient to him. So, in a feminist perspective, the short story effectively

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mirrors that struggle but also demonstrates the feeling of joy women can get when given
their freedom from the said role. And so, one can understand Louise’s lethal
disappointment upon finding out, at the end of the story, that her husband was alive after
all.

The Marxist Critical Approach
The Marxist critical approach is mostly concerned with answering the question “Who does
the work benefit?” It focuses on class differences, economic and otherwise, that are
prevalent in a capitalist society. It is also concerned with how lower and working classes are
oppressed both in everyday life and in artistic works.

The Marxist school of thought is guided by a process of thinking called the material
dialectic. In this process, it is believed that the material realities of society’s economic base
are what drives and furthers historical change. Furthermore, Marxism believes that stable
societies tend to develop sites of resistance. The conflict between classes leads to
contradictions in social systems that ultimately lead to social revolution and the rise of a
new society. This cycle continues because there will always be conflict among the upper,
middle, and lower classes, and these will always be reflected in literature and other forms of
expression.

What is important then, when looking at a text through a Marxist lens, can be summarized
through this series of questions:
● Whom does it benefit if the work or effort is accepted/successful/believed, etc.?
● What is the social class of the author?
● Which class does the work claim to represent?
● What values does it reinforce?
● What values does it subvert?
● What conflict can be seen between the values the work champions and those it
portrays?
● What social classes do the characters represent?
● How do characters from different classes interact or conflict?

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Example 1
We go back once more to the short story, “The Happy Prince” below, except this time it is a
different excerpt. Despite being the same story, look at how using the Marxist critical
approach instead of the formalist or feminist approach could change how the story can be
interpreted.

Sample Text
“When I was alive and had a human heart,” answered the statue, “I did not know what tears

were, for I lived in the Palace of Sans-Souci, where sorrow is not allowed to enter. In the
daytime I played with my companions in the garden, and in the evening I led the dance in
the Great Hall. Round the garden ran a very lofty wall, but I never cared to ask what lay
beyond it, everything about me was so beautiful. My courtiers called me the Happy Prince,
and happy indeed I was, if pleasure be happiness. So I lived, and so I died. And now that I
am dead they have set me up here so high that I can see all the ugliness and all the misery
of my city, and though my heart is made of lead yet I cannot choose but weep.”
…
“I am covered with fine gold,” said the Prince, “you must take it off, leaf by leaf, and give it to

my poor; the living always think that gold can make them happy.”
Leaf after leaf of the fine gold the Swallow picked off, till the Happy Prince looked quite dull
and grey. Leaf after leaf of the fine gold he brought to the poor, and the children’s faces
grew rosier, and they laughed and played games in the street. “We have bread now!” they
cried.
Then the snow came, and after the snow came the frost. The streets looked as if they were
made of silver, they were so bright and glistening; long icicles like crystal daggers hung
down from the eaves of the houses, everybody went about in furs, and the little boys wore
scarlet caps and skated on the ice.
…

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Early the next morning the Mayor was walking in the square below in company with the
Town Councillors. As they passed the column he looked up at the statue: “Dear me! how
shabby the Happy Prince looks!” he said.
“How shabby indeed!” cried the Town Councillors, who always agreed with the Mayor; and
they went up to look at it.
“The ruby has fallen out of his sword, his eyes are gone, and he is golden no longer,” said
the Mayor in fact, “he is litttle better than a beggar!”
“Little better than a beggar,” said the Town Councillors.

Explanation
The first paragraph describes how the Prince used to live when he was alive and compares it
to what he sees now as a living statue. In a Marxist critique, this would be an important
passage because it describes a representation of the class divide in society. The Prince,
being part of a rich family, was sheltered from the harshness of what the lower class have to
go through. So, in the next excerpt, it shows the Prince giving back to the poor in his town.
They now experience the happiness he felt when he was alive, even though it was at the
cost of the Prince’s own golden skin and jewelled eyes. That turn in the story could
demonstrate the overturning of the class divide, where the poor are now rich and happy
while the Prince ends up looking “like a beggar.”
Example 2
Once more, let us take a look at another excerpt from “The Gift of the Magi.” This time, let us
look at it through the lens of a Marxist reading.

Sample Text
One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. And sixty cents of it was in pennies. Pennies

saved one and two at a time by bulldozing the grocer and the vegetable man and the
butcher until one’s cheeks burned with the silent imputation of parsimony that such close

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dealing implied. Three times Della counted it. One dollar and eighty-seven cents. And the
next day would be Christmas.
There was clearly nothing to do but flop down on the shabby little couch and howl. So Della

did it. Which instigates the moral reflection that life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles,
with sniffles predominating.
While the mistress of the home is gradually subsiding from the first stage to the second,
take a look at the home. A furnished flat at $8 per week. It did not exactly beggar
description, but it certainly had that word on the lookout for the mendicancy squad.
In the vestibule below was a letter-box into which no letter would go, and an electric button

from which no mortal finger could coax a ring. Also appertaining thereunto was a card
bearing the name “Mr. James Dillingham Young.”
…
Della finished her cry and attended to her cheeks with the powder rag. She stood by the
window and looked out dully at a gray cat walking a gray fence in a gray backyard.
Tomorrow would be Christmas Day, and she had only $1.87 with which to buy Jim a present.
She had been saving every penny she could for months, with this result. Twenty dollars a
week doesn’t go far. Expenses had been greater than she had calculated. They always are.
…
Jim had not yet seen his beautiful present. She held it out to him eagerly upon her open
palm. The dull precious metal seemed to flash with a reflection of her bright and ardent
spirit.
“Isn’t it a dandy, Jim? I hunted all over town to find it. You’ll have to look at the time a
hundred times a day now. Give me your watch. I want to see how it looks on it.”
Instead of obeying, Jim tumbled down on the couch and put his hands under the back of his

head and smiled.

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“Dell,” said he, “let’s put our Christmas presents away and keep ’em a while. They’re too nice
to use just at present. I sold the watch to get the money to buy your combs. And now
suppose you put the chops on.”
…
The magi, as you know, were wise men—wonderfully wise men—who brought gifts to the
Babe in the manger. They invented the art of giving Christmas presents. Being wise, their
gifts were no doubt wise ones, possibly bearing the privilege of exchange in case of
duplication. And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish
children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their
house. But in a last word to the wise of these days let it be said that of all who give gifts
these two were the wisest. Of all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest.
Everywhere they are wisest. They are the magi.

Explanation
It is clearly established from the start that the Youngs were not a wealthy couple. Expenses
for their apartment cost a lot, and Della had very little money to buy Jim a gift for Christmas,
which led to her selling her hair. It is later revealed that Jim, too, had to sell his prized watch
to buy a gift for Della. They ended up sacrificing something that would render their partner’s
gift useless. A Marxist reading would show that this was the struggle they had to undertake
because of their class. The Youngs were not rich, so sacrifices would usually have to be
made to make ends meet. While the story does not have an obvious overturning of the
classes—the Youngs, after all, stayed poor—it does not necessarily mean that the story is
useless in a Marxist perspective. As the ending could suggest, the overturning might be a
subtle one. Despite having financial problems and still belonging to the lower class, the
Youngs could still be considered wise and even happy, for they could at least demonstrate
their love for one another.
Example 3
Once more, let us return to “The Story of an Hour.” Look at the following passage through a
Marxist lens.

19


Sample Text
She did not stop to ask if it were or were not a monstrous joy that held her. A clear and
exalted perception enabled her to dismiss the suggestion as trivial. She knew that she would
weep again when she saw the kind, tender hands folded in death; the face that had never
looked save with love upon her, fixed and gray and dead. But she saw beyond that bitter
moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely. And she
opened and spread her arms out to them in welcome.
There would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would live for herself.
There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and
women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature. A kind
intention or a cruel intention made the act seem no less a crime as she looked upon it in
that brief moment of illumination.
And yet she had loved him--sometimes. Often she had not. What did it matter! What could
love, the unsolved mystery, count for in the face of this possession of self-assertion which
she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being!
"Free! Body and soul free!" she kept whispering.
Josephine was kneeling before the closed door with her lips to the keyhold, imploring for
admission. "Louise, open the door! I beg; open the door--you will make yourself ill. What are
you doing, Louise? For heaven's sake open the door."
"Go away. I am not making myself ill." No; she was drinking in a very elixir of life through
that open window.
Her fancy was running riot along those days ahead of her. Spring days, and summer days,
and all sorts of days that would be her own. She breathed a quick prayer that life might be
long. It was only yesterday she had thought with a shudder that life might be long.
She arose at length and opened the door to her sister's importunities. There was a feverish
triumph in her eyes, and she carried herself unwittingly like a goddess of Victory. She
clasped her sister's waist, and together they descended the stairs. Richards stood waiting
for them at the bottom.

20


Someone was opening the front door with a latchkey. It was Brently Mallard who entered, a
little travel-stained, composedly carrying his grip-sack and umbrella. He had been far from
the scene of the accident, and did not even know there had been one. He stood amazed at
Josephine's piercing cry; at Richards' quick motion to screen him from the view of his wife.
When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease--of the joy that kills.

Explanation
There are certain works wherein the class struggle is not as evident. Through a Marxist lens,
a story does not always need a clear rich-versus-poor scenario. Any story that demonstrates
a power imbalance and a struggle to overcome it can be read in a Marxist lens. In “The Story
of an Hour,” it is hinted that there is a power imbalance between Louise and her husband,
as she has always felt that she could not live for herself while living for her husband. The
class struggle of upper class versus lower class is then an analogy for their relationship. It
was in his death that this imbalance was overturned, and Louise could finally decide to be
free to live for herself. Her death by heart attack at the end, when she found out that her
husband was still alive after all, only shows that a violent reassertion of the original power
balance can result in a crisis for those belonging in the lower class. This demonstrates a
more subtle observation of the class struggle in a story that seemingly does not discuss it at
all. After all, part of the Marxist theory is being able to see and feel the class divide in any
part of society.

Other Critical Approaches
Formalism, feminism, and Marxism are not the only critical approaches you can use when
writing a critique. In fact, there are many approaches that you can take when analyzing a
text. Here are a few others that you can try.

Reader-Response Criticism
In reader-response criticism, the reactions of the consumers of the work are vital to
interpreting the meaning of the work. It believes that the role of the readers is important in
understanding literature and other expressions of art. Readers are also not passive in their
consumption of literature but are, in fact, active in searching for meaning in the works that

21


they consume. Reader-response criticism can be combined with other critical approaches,
but in general, readers can ask the following questions:
● How does the interaction of text and reader create meaning?
● Do the sounds/shapes of the words as they appear on the page or how they are
spoken by the reader enhance or change the meaning of the word/work?
● How might we interpret a literary text to show that the reader's response is similar or
related to the topic of the story?

Example 1
How would a reader combine the reader-response criticism with another critical approach,
say the formalist approach? The formalist approach pays special attention to the literary
elements and how well they can collaborate to tell a story. To combine it with the
reader-response criticism, the next step, after analyzing the literary elements, would then be
to analyze how readers might take in and interpret the information given to them through
the story. How would they react to the story as it unfolds? Is their response appropriate to
what the story is trying to say?

Go back to the sample formalist reading of “The Happy Prince.” As a reader yourself, how
did you react to the story? Did it evoke a feeling of pity for the Prince and the Swallow? Did
you agree with the Prince’s solution to the poverty around him? Think about your reactions
and interpretations and include them in your critique using the reader-response criticism.

Psychoanalytic Criticism
Psychoanalytic criticism uses terms and concepts in modern psychology in the analysis of
literature and other works. A prominent figure in psychoanalysis is Sigmund Freud, whose
theories explored and attempted to explain concepts like repression, sexuality, wish
fulfillment, and the unconscious. Using psychology in literary analysis could add another
layer to the meaning behind language and symbolism. What we read and the symbols we
see in a text could be reflective of some unconscious fear or desire.

While psychoanalytic criticism has many approaches, it can be summarized to three
techniques:

22


● Investigate the creative process of the artist: what is the nature of literary genius and
how does it relate to normal mental functions?
● Focus on a particular artist or author, usually noting how their biographical
circumstances could affect or influence their motivations and/or behavior.
● Analyze the character(s) in the text using the language and methods of psychology.

Example 2
Go back to this short passage from “The Story of an Hour.”

Sample Text
She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver
with the new spring life. The delicious breath of rain was in the air. In the street below a
peddler was crying his wares. The notes of a distant song which someone was singing
reached her faintly, and countless sparrows were twittering in the eaves.
There were patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds that had met
and piled one above the other in the west facing her window.

Explanation
The passage describes what Louise could see, hear, and feel from her window. As
mentioned earlier, in a literary analysis using psychoanalysis, what we read and the symbols
we see in a text could be reflective of some unconscious fear or desire. The sensations
Louise could see and hear from her window could be representative of the freedom she
never knew she had long wished for. Feeling them now, alongside the news of her
husband’s death, could have awakened something in her that finally made her realize what
she had always wanted, and that was to be free.

Historical Approach
The historical approach, unlike the formalist approach, takes into consideration the social,
cultural, and intellectual context that produced the work. When and where was the work
made? What was the political climate at the time? What were the dominant cultures or
schools of thought?

23


This, of course, also includes the author’s biographical information. Who was the author?
How was he or she affected by his or her environment? How does this, then, affect his or
her work?

Lastly, the approach also considers how the work affected its original readers when it was
published. This approach requires not just an analysis of the text or work, but also
background research on the author, where he or she is based, and the time he or she wrote
the story.

Example 3
Return to the sample Marxist analysis of “The Gift of the Magi” and consider the living
conditions of the Youngs. As described in the sample, they are not a well-off family and
could belong to the lower class. In a historical reading of the short story, one would have to
take the time to look up the time when O. Henry wrote the short story and analyze what the
conditions of the time were. Were many young couples living like the Youngs? What was the
reason why they were as poor as they were in the story? These details can be added to your
critique of the story and can be used to determine whether the story was historically
possible.

Extend

Activity 1
Look for a short story online or in the library. What critical approach would you use to
analyze this text? Explain your answer by providing excerpts from the text that would be
significant to your chosen approach.

24


25


uide
G
● This is not a critique yet, only preparation for it.
● Recall what is important for each approach that you were able to learn about in this
lesson.
● Find elements of your chosen story that could be relevant to one or more of these
approaches.
Activity 2
Choose a critical approach from this lesson. Go to the library or make use of online sources
to find an important figure in your chosen critical approach. In the space below, provide a
summary of what he or she has contributed to the approach.

26


27


uide
G
● Many authors and theorists contributed to what the different schools of thought
study and analyze.
● A good idea would be to choose a concept in one of the approaches (for example,
defamiliarization in formalism or the unconscious in psychoanalysis) and find more
information on who was a pioneer of that concept or theory.
Evaluate

A. Answer the following questions in complete sentences

using your own words.

1. What does the formalist approach pay attention to in a text?

28


2. What is the main focus of the feminist critical approach?

3. What does the Marxist critical approach believe in?

4. What is the primary belief of the reader-response critical approach?

5. What does the psychoanalytic critical approach combine with literary theory?

B. Read the instructions for the following items carefully.

Write your answers and explain them comprehensively on
the space provided.

1. What kind of work could be positively critiqued in the formalist approach?

29


2. What should a work have so that it can be positively critiqued by someone who uses the
feminist critical approach?

3. What kind of work would be positively critiqued by the Marxist critical approach?

4. How can the reader-response criticism be combined with another critical approach?

5. What kind of text would be interesting for someone using psychoanalytic criticism to
analyze?

30


Wrap Up
___________________________________________________________________________________________

● In the formalist critical approach, the focus is on the literary elements of a text and
how they collaborate with one another for aesthetic value.
● The feminist critical approach is concerned with the portrayal of characters in
various works and if they reinforce or subvert the patriarchal status quo in society.
● The Marxist critical approach concerns itself with the portrayal of the class struggle
in literature and o
ther forms of art.
● There are many other c
ritical approaches that can be used to write a critique paper.
___________________________________________________________________________________________

Bibliography
Critical Approaches to Literature. The University of Mississippi. Accessed April 20, 2020.
http://home.olemiss.edu/~egjbp/spring97/litcrit.html?fbclid=IwAR0jH0bK6LrgjAAnk29
VUcdpN2jGWRM8GS8MXHVF5bbx_kirl9_InGXLS5c.

O’Connor, Kate. F eminist Approaches to Literature. University of Oxford. Accessed April 21,
2020. http://writersinspire.org/content/feminist-approaches-literature.

Form Follows Function: Russian Formalism, New Criticism, Neo-Aristotelianism. Purdue
University. Accessed April 20, 2020.
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/writing_in_literature/literary_the
ory_and_schools_of_criticism/formalism.html?fbclid=IwAR0jH0bK6LrgjAAnk29VUcdp
N2jGWRM8GS8MXHVF5bbx_kirl9_InGXLS5c.

31


Formalist Criticism – A Guide. A Research Guide for Students. Accessed April 20, 2020.
https://www.aresearchguide.com/formalist-criticism-a-guide.html.

Marxist criticism. Oxford Reference. Accessed April 21, 2020.
https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100137791.

32

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Explain and Elaborate 3

Explain and Elaborate

How do the different critical approaches vary?

Source: “The Happy Prince” (​http://www.gutenberg.org/files/902/902-h/902-h.htm#page1​)

Source: “The Gift of the Magi” (​http://www.gutenberg.org/files/7256/7256-h/7256-h.htm​)

Source: “The Story of an Hour” (​https://archive.vcu.edu/english/engweb/webtexts/hour/​)

At that moment a curious crack sounded inside the statue, as if something had broken. The

Source: “The Happy Prince” (​http://www.gutenberg.org/files/902/902-h/902-h.htm#page1​)

Della wriggled off the table and went for him.

“Cut it off and sold it,” said Della. “Don’t you like me just as well, anyhow? I’m me without my

Jim looked about the room curiously.

Source: “The Gift of the Magi” (​http://www.gutenberg.org/files/7256/7256-h/7256-h.htm​)

"Free! Body and soul free!" she kept whispering.

Some one was opening the front door with a latchkey. It was Brently Mallard who entered, a

Source: “The Story of an Hour” (​https://archive.vcu.edu/english/engweb/webtexts/hour/​)

“When I was alive and had a human heart,” answered the statue, “I did not know what tears

“I am covered with fine gold,” said the Prince, “you must take it off, leaf by leaf, and give it to

“Little better than a beggar,” said the Town Councillors.

Source: “The Happy Prince” (​http://www.gutenberg.org/files/902/902-h/902-h.htm#page1​)

One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. And sixty cents of it was in pennies. Pennies

There was clearly nothing to do but flop down on the shabby little couch and howl. So Della

In the vestibule below was a letter-box into which no letter would go, and an electric button

Instead of obeying, Jim tumbled down on the couch and put his hands under the back of his

Source: “The Gift of the Magi” (​http://www.gutenberg.org/files/7256/7256-h/7256-h.htm​)

"Free! Body and soul free!" she kept whispering.

Source: “The Story of an Hour” (​https://archive.vcu.edu/english/engweb/webtexts/hour/​)

Source: “The Story of an Hour” (​https://archive.vcu.edu/english/engweb/webtexts/hour/​)

A. Answer the following questions in complete sentences

B. Read the instructions for the following items carefully.

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Source: “The Happy Prince” (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/902/902-h/902-h.htm#page1)

Source: “The Gift of the Magi” (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/7256/7256-h/7256-h.htm)

Source: “The Story of an Hour” (https://archive.vcu.edu/english/engweb/webtexts/hour/)

Source: “The Happy Prince” (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/902/902-h/902-h.htm#page1)

Source: “The Gift of the Magi” (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/7256/7256-h/7256-h.htm)

Source: “The Story of an Hour” (https://archive.vcu.edu/english/engweb/webtexts/hour/)

Source: “The Happy Prince” (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/902/902-h/902-h.htm#page1)

Source: “The Gift of the Magi” (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/7256/7256-h/7256-h.htm)

Source: “The Story of an Hour” (https://archive.vcu.edu/english/engweb/webtexts/hour/)

Source: “The Story of an Hour” (https://archive.vcu.edu/english/engweb/webtexts/hour/)