Literary Criticism

a fundamental aspect of the world of literature, serves as the lens through which we analyze and interpret
literary works.
Literary Criticism Approaches
are analytical frameworks and methods used by scholars, critics, and readers to interpret and evaluate
works of literature. These approaches help us better understand the meaning, significance, and artistic
qualities of literary texts. There are several major literary criticism approaches, each with its own
perspective and focus.

CRITICAL APPROACHES TO LITERARY CRITICISM

1. FORMALISTIC APPROACH
emphasizes the form of a literary work to determine its meaning, focusing on literary elements such as
plot, character, setting, diction, imagery, structure, and point of view. Approaching literary works as
independent systems with interdependent parts, formalists typically subordinate biographical information
or historical data in their interpretations. The proper concern of literary criticism is with the work itself
rather than with literary history, the life of the author, or a work's social and historical contexts.
TENETS OF FORMALIST CRITICISM
1. That a literary work exists independent of any particular reader;
2. That a literary work exists outside of any reader’s re-creation of it in the act of reading.
3. That the greatest literary works are “universal”, their wholeness and aesthetic harmony; transcending
the specific particularities they describe.
CRITICAL QUESTIONS COMMONLY USED FOR FORMALIST CRITICISM
1. How is the work structured or organized?
2. How does it begin?
3. Where does it go next?
4. How does it end?
5. What is the work’s plot?
6. How is its plot related to its structure?
7. What is the relationship of each part of the work as a whole?
8. How are the parts related to one another?
9. Who is narrating or telling what happens in the work?
10. How is the narrator, speaker or character revealed to the readers?
11. How do we come to know and understand this figure?
12. Who are the major and minor characters, what do they represent, and how do they relate to one
another?
13. What are the time and place of the work-its setting?
14. How is the setting related to what we know of the characters and their actions?
15. To what extent is the setting symbolic?
16. What kind of language does the author use to describe, narrate, explain, or otherwise create the
world of literary work
17. What images, similes, metaphors, symbols appear in the work? What is their function? What
meanings do they convey?
 2. MORALIST APPROACH
Is a type of literary critique that judges the value of the literature based on its moral or ethical
teachings.Its concern is not only to discover meaning but also to determine whether works of literature are
both true and significant. It is used to determine whether a work conveys a lesson or message and
whether it can help readers lead better lives and improve their understanding of the world.
3. PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACH
This form of literary criticism examines literature based on the psychological desires and neuroses of
the characters within a particular piece of literature. Psychoanalytic critics believe that an author’s
unconscious thoughts are expressed through their work.
KINDS OF ILLUMINATION (Application of Knowledge to Art)
1. The constituents of the aesthetic experience was analyzed as beauty as that is conducive to
synaesthetic equilibrium-that is a particular and harmonious kinds of response in the audience,
brought about by the stimulus of a work of art.
2. The criticism that employs an approach which assumes an important part of the relationship
between artist and art is similar to that between patient and dream. The critic then becomes the
analyst, taking the art as the symptom by interpretation of which he can discover the unconscious
repressions and drives of the artist.

4. ARCHETYPAL APPROACH
Archetypal criticism explores the profound connections between literature and its audience, delving
beyond aesthetics. Scholars like Frazer and Jung shaped this approach, with Jung's theory of the collective
unconscious playing a central role. Jung proposed that humanity holds ancient knowledge in myths,
explaining our enduring fascination with them, even in a skeptical world. This psychology helps individuals
connect with universal archetypes by exploring their subconscious through symbols in dreams, art, religion,
and daily life. Symbolism serves as a bridge to harmonize with archetypal forces, allowing us to better
understand ourselves and our world. Archetypal criticism uncovers hidden literary languages, revealing
enduring cultural patterns. The aim isn't to judge literature but to shed light on the timeless appeal of
specific literary works.
5. SOCIOLOGICAL APPROACH
It starts with a conviction that art's relations to society are vitally important, and that the investigation
of these relationships may organize and deepen one's aesthetic response to a work of art. Art is not created
in vacuum; it is the work not simply of a person, but of an author fixed in time and space, answering to a
community of which he is important. The sociological critic is interested in understanding the social milieu
and the extent to which and manner in which the artist responds to it.