LITERARY CRITICISM

ENGLISH 10
- Highly anchored on feminism
➔ Compare how women are
LITERARY ANALYSIS
compared in comparison to
- Different ‘lenses’ a reader can use in their counterparts (men)
understanding/interpreting the text. ➔ Focus on the roles of women
- Piece of literature/art may be interpreted in in society
different ways. ➢ How they are viewed.
- Help the reader explore art within the - Attempts to uplift the roles of women
parameter of its tenets (descriptions) in society by highlighting the equality
of men and women.
COMMON WAY TO ANALYZE LITERATURE EXAMPLES:
● Professions for Women
1. FORMALISM
4. MARXISM
- Focuses on the academic, structure
- The world is divided into different
➔ Figure of Speech + Structure
classes
➢ Include lines
➔ Capitalist
➢ Explain why you
➔ Working class
choose that line.
- Revolt
➔ Plot
- Diminish borders between capitalist
➢ Only add 1-2
and working class
sentences.
★ Explains the struggle of the working
➔ Characterization
class in a capitalist world.
➔ Language Used
★ Highlight the advantage of a
★ Don’t include the author’s
working-class society.
background or time period.
★ Only focus on the interplay of
5. ARCHETYPICAL
elements.
- Figure in the story
- Cross-Cultural Reference
QUESTIONS TO ADDRESS:
- Follow the quest of a hero
➔ What is the story about?
- JUNG-”yung”
➔ What is the relationship between
and among the acts? How does it
help develop events in the story? MYTHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS:
➔ Who is narrating the story?
● The Hero
➔ Who are the major and minor
EXAMPLES:
characters in the story?
➔ Beowulf, Hercules, Luke
➔ What is the setting and how does it
Skywalker, Harry Potter
relate to the characters?
● The Outcast
➔ How is the setting symbolic?
- Outcast of the society
EXAMPLES:
2. HISTO-BIO/ HISTORICAL
➔ Belle, Gollum, Agathanot
BIOGRAPHICAL
❖ Belle can also be a heroin.
- Author’s influence and life
● The Quest
➔ Author’s World
EXAMPLES:
➢ World of author
➔ Lord of the Rings, Starwars,
during that time.
Ibong Adarna.
➔ Political Turmoil
● Evil Personified
➢ Political Scene
EXAMPLES:
➔ Social Landscape
➔ Saurnon, Voldemort.
➢ Socio-economic
● Sidekick
- Using characters as symbolisms or
EXAMPLES:
representations of socio-economic
➔ Ron, Hermione, Sam
standards.
Gamgee
EXAMPLE:
● Heroine
● Hunger games
EXAMPLES:
● El Filibusterismo
➔ Megara, Maria Clara.

3. FEMINISM
LITERARY CRITICISM
ENGLISH 10
★ Explain how it affects the story.
FORMALISTS FOCUS ON SPECIFIC ASPECTS
➔ 1st: I and we
- Great literature is ‘universal’ ➔ 2nd: You and your, address to
➔ Timeless, transcends through time others
- Specific passages in great works of ➔ 3rd: He, she, it
literature can be closely analyzed to
determine its message.
3RD PERSON POV

GLOSSARY/ELEMENTS OF MAJOR A. Omniscient/ God POV

FORMALIST LITERARY ITEMS - No bias or preference
- Full knowledge of all characters and
situations
1. CHARACTER
B. Limited
- Representation of fictional/person/entities.
- Only know heart and mind of one
DIFFERENT TYPES:
person
➔ Protagonist
- Perspective
➢ Main character, drives plot
- Difference from 2nd POV = Don't
➔ Antagonist
know how character FEELS
➢ Oppose protagonist
➔ Antihero
5. SETTING
➢ Central sympathetic
- Atmosphere, historical period, physical
character with significant
setting, or mood of the text.
personal flaws.
- DON’T ASSUME THE MOOD
➢ Sometimes the protagonist
- Include references when talking about the
➢ Sometimes somehow hate
mood.
➔ Dynamic
- Mood can be all throughout the story.
➢ Changing, growing, active
➔ Flat
➢ Not well developed
➢ Mostly the antagonist REMINDERS!
★ Suggest 3 elements that you wish to
2. IMAGERY discuss
- Specific details used to describe characters, ★ A critic paper is about 1-2 pages long.
situations, things, ideas, or events. ★ Has 5 paragraphs in general
➔ Hearing - Auditory I. 1 paragraph - Intro
➔ Seeing - Visual II. 3 paragraph - per element you want
➔ Smelling - Olfactory to discuss
➔ Tasting - Gustatory III. 1 paragraph - Conclusion
➔ Touching - Tactile

3. PLOT
- A series of events or happenings that
organize a text
- Don’t give a summary
- Critic a story
- How logical the scene of events are?
★ Talk about what you like the most about the
story
Example: The — is beautifully
written because…

- Did your conclusion leave with questions?

Example: What even is Mario’s job
with Mario?

4. POINT OF VIEW
- Perspective of the controlling narrative
voice.