Historical Crticism
- It seeks to understand how societal,
cultural, political and economic factors
influenced the creation and reception of
literary works.
- Historical critics analyze texts with an
awareness of the time period in which they
were written, considering issues such as
prevailing ideologies, social norms, and
historical events.
Biographical Criticism
- This approach focuses on the life of the
author and how their personal experiences,
beliefs, and background influence their
writing.
Historical-Biographical Approaches
- The historical-biographical approach to
literature, as articulated by Hippolyte A.
Taine in his History of English Literature,
views a literary work as a reflection of its
author ’ s life and times or the lives and
times of the characters in the work
EXAMPLES:
- “To His Coy Mistress ” by Andrew Marvell
is a poem that explores themes of love,
desire, and mortality.
- “Hamlet” by William Shakespeare is
timeless and universally resonant work of
literature, influenced by both historical and
biographical approaches.
- “Huckleberry Finn ” can be understood
through both historical and biographical
approaches. The historical context,
including the antebellum South and slavery,
provides insight into societal norms and
tensions.
- “Young Goodman Brown ” is a novel that
explores themes of sin, guilt, and judgment
in Puritan New England during the 17th
century.
- “Everyday Use ” by Alice Walker uses
both historical and biographical approaches
to explore the story ’ s themes and
characters
- “Frankenstein ” by Mary Shelley is a novel
that explores themes of scientific ethics, the
human condition, and the consequences of
playing god.
Psychological Approach
It is axiomatic that no single approach can
exhaust the manifold interpretive
possibilities of a worthwhile literary work:
each approach has its own peculiar
limitations.
Freud Theories
In “The Anatomy of the Mental Personality’”
Freud discriminates between the levels of
conscious and unconscious mental activity:
Unconscious- any mental process the
existence of which we are obligated to
assume—because for instance, we infer it in
some way from its effects—
but of which we are not directly aware.
Three premises
-ID the primitive, basic, and fully
unconscious part of personality. It contains
all of the unconscious energy that is
directed toward fulfilling a person's most
basic needs.
-EGO - the psychological component of the
personality that is represented by our
conscious decision-making process. It is in
charge of sorting out what is real.
-SUPEREGO - The superego is the ethical
component of the personality and provides
the moral standards by which the ego
operates.
Psychoanalytic Criticism - view a text as a
revelation of its author’s mind and
Personality.
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)
The theories and practices of Sigmund
Freud provide the foundation for
psychoanalytic criticism. While working with
patients whom he diagnosed as hysterics,
Freud theorized that the root of their
problems was psychological, not physical.
His patients, he believed had suppressed
incestuous desires that they unconsciously
refused to confront. Suffering from his
neurotic crisis in 1887, Freud underwent
self-analysis.
Conscious (the rational)- Freud argued
that, perceives and records external reality
and is the reasoning part of the mind.
Unconscious(the irrational)- receives and
stores our hidden desires, ambitions, fears,
passion, and irrational thoughts.
Carl Jung
- Freud’s most famous pupil
- Jung disagreed with Freud’s basic premise
that all human behavior is sexually driven
- Jung argued that in our dreams sexual
imagery does appear but so do many other
kinds of imagery.
Symbols of Transformation- In this work,
Jung asserts that dreams include
mythological images as well as sexual ones.
For Jung, Human Psyche consists of three
parts: Personal Conscious, Personal
Unconscious, and Collective Unconcsious.
NORTHOP FRYE ( 1912 - 1991 )
is a book by Canadian literary critic and
theorist Northrop Frye that attempts to
formulate an overall view of the scope,
theory, principles, and techniques of
literary criticism derived exclusively from
Literature.
The Monomyth, or the hero's journey, is
the common template of a broad
category of tales that involve a hero who
goes on an adventure, and in a decisive
crisis wins a victory, and then comes
home changed or transformed.
Romance Phase
In this story or phase, our wishes are
fulfilled and we can achieve total
happiness.
Antiromance Phase
In this phase, it tells the story of
bondage, imprisonment, frustration and
Fear.
Spring Phase
This phase relates the story of our
rise from anti-romance and
frustration to freedom and
Happiness.
Phallocentric
-Focused on the phallus especially as a
symbol of male dominance characterized
by male attitudes.
JACQUES LACAN ( 1901 - 1981 )
Jacques Marie Émile Lacan thinks that our
conscious conduct is significantly influenced
by our unconscious. Lacan argues that the
unconscious is structured, much like
language, in contrast to Freud, who sees
the unconscious as an unstructured,
chaotic, bubbling pot of dark passions,
suppressed wishes, and hidden
Desires.
The Imaginary Order: This is the realm of
images, fantasies, and illusions that shape
our sense of self and others.
The Symbolic Order: This is the realm of
language, culture, and social norms that
mediate our interactions with the world.
3.The Real: This is the unrepresentable,
traumatic, and chaotic dimension of
experience that resists symbolization.
The Mirror Stage: The concept of the
mirror stage, where the ego is formed
through identification with images, is also
relevant in textual analysis.
Objet Petit a : psychoanalytic theory, the
"objet petit a" (object petit a) is a central
concept that represents the unattainable
object of desire. The term "objet petit a" is
derived from the French "petit autre,
" which translates to "the small other."
Lacan's theories are applied in textual
analysis
1. Desire and Lack: Central to Lacanian
theory is the concept of desire and lack.
Lacan posits that desire is always structured
around a fundamental lack, an absence that
drives human behavior and shapes our
Relationships.
2. The Mirror Stage: Lacan's notion of the
mirror stage, where the ego is formed
through identification with images, is
relevant in textual analysis.
3. The Symbolic Order- Lacan emphasizes
the role of language and the Symbolic Order
in shaping subjectivity.
4. The Real - Lacan's concept of the Real,
the unrepresentable and traumatic
dimension of experience, adds a layer of
complexity to textual analysis.
Hamlet - Written by William Shakespeare
Hamlet is the first work of literature to
look squarely at everyday life's stupidity,
falsity, and sham, without laughing or
easy answers. Hamlet's genuineness,
thoughtfulness, and sincerity make him
special in a world where things are not
as they seem.
A Rose for Emily By William Faulkner
The Tell-Tale Heart" is a classic short story
written by Edgar Allan Poe that delves into
the complexities of the human psyche and
the themes of guilt, obsession, and
madness. The story follows an unnamed
narrator who becomes increasingly
disturbed by the "vulture eye" of an old man
and ultimately decides to murder him. After
committing the heinous act, the narrator is
haunted by the sound of the old man's
beating heart, which grows louder and
louder until he can bear it no longer and
confesses his crime.
Formalist Approach
Formalism may be defined as a critical
approach in which the text under discussion
is considered primarilyas a structure of
words. That is, the main focus is on
thearrangement of language, rather than on
the implications of the words, or on the
biographical and historical relevance of the
work in question.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge, for example,
believed that the spirit of poetry must
“embody in order to reveal itself; but a living
body is of necessityan organized one—and
what is organization but the connection of
parts to a whole, so that each part is at once
end and means!”
OBJECTIVE CORRELATION
> Eliot's Explanation of how emotions is
expressed in art
> A set of objects, a situation, a chain of
events which shall be the formula of that
particular emotion
MIKHAIL BAKHTIN
Russian Literary Theorist of the 20th
Century. His thinking ranged through a
widely diverse ser of academic disciplines
and interests that included philosophy,
ethics, cultural criticism, literary history, and
more, making it difficult to put him into a
single category of study.
Tzvetan Todorove called him perhaps the
greatest 20th Century theorist of literature.
"The Bakhtin Group "
Dialogism is the core of his literary theory.
Bakhtin examines poetry and the novel in
particular. He asserts that because the two
genres have different purposes, they use
language (create meaning) in different
ways. Bakhtin uses the term polyphonic to
describe the novel that depicts a world in
which the dialogue goes on and infinitum
without reaching a conclusion or closure.
Carnival, an idea that made it' s first
appearance in his dissertation
Moral-Philosopical Approach
A moral philosophical approach is a type of
literary criticism that believes literature
should instruct morality. Works that are
clearly written to be subject to such criticism
include various fables, allegories (such as
John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress), and
morality plays.
Philosophical Approach doesn't look a
book as a piece of "art" with no moral
implications. literature can affect readers
and the message of the story is as
important as the story itself.
Strengths:
- Useful in evaluating works which present
moral philosophy
- Useful considering themes
- It recognizes that literature can affect
readers
Weaknesses:
- The approach can be too ‘’judgmental’’
- Literature should be judged primarily on its
artistic merits not its moral or philosophical
content.
Known Critics:
Mathew Arnold: ‘’Works must have high
seriousness.’’
Plato: ‘’Literature must exhibit moralism and
utilitarianism.’’
Horace: ‘’Literature should be delightful and
instructive.’’
The Boy Who Cried Wolf, Book by Aesop
Moral of the Story:
- The boy lied so often that when he finally
told the truth no one believed him.
- The moral of the story is that no one
believes a liar, even when he speaks the
truth.
MYTHOLOGICAL AND ARCHETYPAL
APPROACH
- According to Carl Jung, these patterns are
embedded deep in the “collective
unconscious”
- Archrtypal criticism assumes that there is a
collection of symbols, images, characters,
and motifs that suggest basically the same
response in all people.
- The connection between mythological
criticism and the psychological approach is
they are both concerned with the motives
that underlie human behavior; difference is
of degree and of affinities.
The anthropological origin of archetypal
criticism can pre-date its analytical
psychology origins by over 30 years. The
Golden Bough (1890–1915), written by the
Scottish anthropologist Sir James George
Frazer, was the first influential text dealing
with cultural mythologies.
Frye's work breaks from both Frazer and
Jung in such a way that it is distinct from its
anthropological and psychoanalytical
precursors. Frye admits that his schema in
"The Archetypes of Literature" is simplistic,
but makes room for exceptions by noting
that there are neutral archetypes.
Maud Bodkin
He wrote Archetypal Patterns in Poetry in
1934, applying the ideas of Jung to poetry,
and examining archetypes such as the
ancient mariner and rebirth, heaven and
hell, images of the devil, the hero and God.
Joseph Campbell
In his 1949 book Hero with a Thousand
Faces, he pioneered the idea of the
‘monomyth' (though the term was borrowed
from James Joyce), a universal pattern in
heroic tales across different cultures and
Genres.
Good mother -( positive aspects of earth
mother) associated in life principles
Terrible mother - (including the negative
aspect of earth mother) the unconscious in
it's terrifying aspects
Soul mate - incarnation of inspirational and
spiritual aspect
Demon lover -( counter part of the terrible
mother )
Wise old man - personification of the
spiritual representation
CARL JUNG
In Jung’s archetypal theory, the unconscious
mind plays a profound role, and it has a
purpose, which is to assist individuals in
maintaining a balanced psychological state
The four main Archetypes by Carl Jung
1.The Persona
Jung believes that people have an identity
or persona that they want to project to
others. People’s persona are different from
their inner self.
2. Shadow archetype
Jungian Archetypes include the shadow
archetype, which consists of behaviour traits
of one's self that he sees as negative.
3. Animus/Anima archetypes
In Jungian Archetypes, the animus (in
women) or anima (in men) depicts the other
gender to one’s self.
4.The Self
The Jungarian archetype 'self’ indicates the
unified consciousness and
unconsciousness of a person. In most
cases, C. F. Jung indicates the self as a
mandala, square or circle.
NORTHROP FRYE
Canadian literary critic, best known as a
major proponent of archetypal criticism
FRYE CLASSIFIES MYTHS INTO FOUR
CATEGORIES
1. The mythos of spring: comedy
2. The mythos of summer: romance
3. The mythos of fall: tragedy
4. The mythos of winter: irony
MARXISM
Marxism is an economic and political theory
that examines the flaws inherent in
capitalism.
CAPITALISM
An economic and political system in which a
country’ s trade and industry are controlled
by private owners for profit, rather than by
the state.
Karl Heinrich Marx (1818-1883) - a
nineteenth-century German philosopher
and economist.
- Introduced the concept of dialect
materialism.
- When Marx met the political economist
Friedrich Engels (1820–1895) in Paris in
1844 and they discovered that they had
arrived at similar views independent of
one another, they decided to collaborate
to explain the principles of communism
(which they later called Marxism) and to
organize an international movement.
- These ideas were expounded in the
Communist Manifesto(1848), in which
they identified class struggle as the driving
force behind history and anticipated that it
would lead to a revolution.
​SOCIOLOGICAL CRITICISM
This form of literary criticism was introduced
by Kenneth Burke, a 20th- century literary
and critical theorist, whose article "Literature
As Equipment for Living" outlines the
specification and significance of such a
critique.
​Sociological criticism is an approach to
literature used by critics interested in
examining the social, political, and
economic settings in which drama, poetry,
and fiction are written and read. Literary
works often include social critique as one of
their traits (Soekanto, 2009).
The Grapes of Wrath John Steinbeck
Gender Studies
It is a academic discipline encompasses the
studies of gender relation, gender
norms, gender identity and gender
discipline across historical and cultural
contexts.
The Yellow Wallpaper
By Charlotte Perkins Gilman
QUEER THEORY
Sociological Criticism and Gender
Studies (Gay and Lesbian Criticism)
- It dismantles heteronormative
structures, redefines gender
binaries, and uncovers hidden
narratives, revealing the profound
impact of diverse sexual orientations
and gender identities on storytelling
and our interpretation of literary
texts.
- investigates questions of identity and
sexuality.
Cisgender Person - identifies with the sex
they were born as.
Rainbow Flag - rainbow was chosen to
represent LGBTQ community by Gilbert
Baker; symbol showing diversity
Gilbert Baker - chose the rainbow. He
believed that the rainbow was ideal because
it is found in nature.
Harvey Milk - an influencer gay leader; met
Gilbert and challenged to come up with a
symbol of pride for their community.
Judy Garland - Baker was inspired by
him;one of the first gay icons and his song
is “Over the Rainbow” gave him an idea to
give symbol some colours.
Questioning established norms - It
challenges stereotypical ideas that
everyone is cisgender and heterosexual.
Stereotypes as social constructs -
conceptions of sexuality and gender are
socially constructed.
Critical powerful institutions - criticize
those in power and how they may be
operating in a discriminatory or restrictive
way.
Exploration of LGBTQ+ life - This
normalizes these stories and fights
oppression.
KEY TERMS:
1. Homophile - Another term for
homosexual. It is however derived
from the Greek word “-phile,”
meaning love. It was believed to be
a more accurate depiction by placing
emphasis on the emotional aspects
of such a relationship.
2. Heteronormativity - a term for a set
of lifestyle norms that hold that
people fall into distinct and
complementary genders (male and
female) with natural roles in life.
3. Homonormativity - the concept of a
gay identity that supposedly unites
people across race, class, gender,
and time, resulting in the policing of
that identity’s boundaries and the
concomitant exclusion of the gay
community’s “other,” be they female,
nonwhite, working class, or
transgendered.
4. Androgynous - Having both male
and female characteristics
(appearance), so that it becomes a
challenge for one to decipher what
sex that person is.
5. Avowed homosexual – Any gay
person who refused to publicly deny
he/she was gay.
6. Avowed homosexual – Any gay
person who refused to publicly deny
he/she was gay.
7. Visibly queer – People who display
non-traditional gender expression
which is considered an indication of
their non-traditional sexual
orientation.
8. Visible queer – A gay person that
could not hide their sexuality from
others.
Psychosexual - Of or involving the
psychological aspects of the sexual
impulse.
Separatism - The advocacy or practice of
separation of a certain group of people from
a larger body on the basis of ethnicity,
religion, or gender.
KNOWN CRITICS
Judith Butler - She is also key in the realm
of women’s studies; a foundational figure in
queer theory. She argues that traditional
conceptions of gender are a social
construct. She dubs gender as a
performance. She believes that there are no
universal definitions of two sexes.
Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick - Her book is
considered to be one of the first modern
queer theory texts; explores the idea of
“closet” - means that one is currently
keeping their sexual or gender identity
private. He points that gays are identify as
part of LGBTQ+ and straights are
heterosexual.
Adrienne Rich - heterosexuality as inherent
to patriarchy and argues that it is used by
men as a tool to oppress women. She
presents lesbianism as an ultimate kind of
feminism. She believes that no woman is
truly heterosexual, all experience at least
some same-sex attraction.
QUEER THEORY TIMELINE
Sigmund Freud - a key figure in
psychoanalytical and psychological history.
Every human was at least somewhat
bisexual.
Michel Foucault - He explores the
immense repression of sexuality in Western
society that lasted until very recently. He
writes of the impact power has on sexuality.
QUEER THEORY: ACCORDING TO MY
GRANDMOTHER
 - Poem shows male traits as active
and strong, “be a man” “don’t cry”.
Female traits are seen as weak or
passive with “don’t sit like a girl”.
- Author, Richard Blanco, presents it
as a reflective and critical piece
rather than a traditional story.
CULTURAL STUDIES
Types of Culture
​High Culture: the culture produced for the
elite.
Low or popular culture: the cultural
behaviors and ideas that are popular with
most people in a society. It is typically
associated with lower and middle classes.
Mass Culture: the culture produced for the
masses.
Youth culture: The culture of young people
who have different values, attitudes and
patterns of behavior compared to their
parents and the dominant culture.
​Cultural Studies is an interdisciplinary field
of study that includes fields like:
Anthropology, Ethnic and Racial Studies
History, Humanities, Political Science,
Psychology, Sociology, Women's Studies.
- The main scope of Cultural Studies is to
examine everyday life, diverse identities,
power structures, and societal norms across
various cultural practices and expressions.
Known Critics
Richard Hoggart
Known for his study of working class culture
and how it is affected by mass media. "The
use of literacy”
Raymond Williams
He was concerned with the general human
culture. "Culture and Society", "The long
Revolution".
Categories of culture:
The ideal:culture is a process of human
perfection
Documentary - culture is the body of
intellectual and imaginative work.
Social description - culture is a description
of a particular way of life.
EWARD PALMER THOMPSON
He examined the role of literacy in the
revolution of the working class
consciousness.
Stuart Hall
- Media not only reflects reality, it also
produces it while reproducing the
dominant cultural order.
- Encoding-decoding process
- Representation
- Identity
FIVE TYPES OF CULTURAL STUDIES
1. BRITISH CULTURAL MATERIALISM
It focuses on how our economic and social
conditions shape our culture and the things
we make. This approach examines how
class differences, power relationships, and
social inequalities influence what we
produce and how we see the world around
us.
Matthew Arnold, a prominent Victorian
poet and cultural critic, sought to redefine
British culture by advocating for a more
refined and intellectually enriching society.
Arnold was concerned about the impact of
industrialization, urbanization, and social
changes on British society, particularly the
erosion of traditional values and the rise of
materialism.
2. NEW HISTORICISM
It aims to understand intellectual history
through literature and literature through its
cultural context. explores the relationship
between literature and historical context,
emphasizing how texts reflect and engage
with the social, political, and cultural
conditions of their time.
STEPHEN GREENBLATT, He is indeed a
prominent figure in the field of New
Historicism, a critical approach that
emerged in the late 20th century.
Greenblatt's influential work has significantly
contributed to the understanding of the
relationship between literature and history
within cultural studies and literary criticism.
3. AMERICAN MULTICULTURALISM
Multicultural is involving or relating to
several ethnic groups or cultural groups
within a society. It includes people who have
many different beliefs and customs.
4.POST MODERNISM AND POPULAR
CULTURE
The term"post modernism" first entered the
philosophical lexicon in 1979, with the
publication of the post modern condition by
Jean-Francois Leotard.
> According to him the postmodern
condition is marked by a crisis in the
status of knowledge in Western societies.
This is expressed as incredulity towards
‘metanarratives‘ , such as God, Marxism,
scientific progress.
4.POST MODERNISM AND POPULAR
CULTURE
Popular culture is the entirely of ideas,
perspective, attitudes, images and other
Phenomena.
5. POSTCOLONIAL STUDIES
Postcolonial theory is an academic
discipline featuring methods of intellectual
discourse that analyze, explain and respond
to the cultural legacies of colonialism and of
Imperialism.
THINGS FALL APART BY CHINUA
ACHEBE
Combining these critical perspectives within
cultural studies allows for a comprehensive
analysis of Achebe 's novel. Cultural studies
emphasize the interconnectedness of
various social and cultural forces and how
they shape human experiences and
identities.
READER-RESPONSE CRITICISM AND
DIALOGICS
Subjective - we mean that it pertains to the
individual (the reader); emphasis is placed
on the attitudes, moods, and opinions of the
reader.
Objective - we mean that it pertains to an
object (the text) separate from the individual
(the reader); An objective reading of a text
is uninfluenced by emotions or personal
prejudices.
Egocentrism refers to anything that
regards the self of the individual as the
center of all things.
Reader-Response - RR critics believe that
a reader’s interaction with the text gives it
meaning; The reader joins with the author to
“help the text mean.”
Jonathan Culler - RR examines the
reader’s response to a text as a response to
a horizon of expectations.

Two beliefs:
1. The role of the reader cannot be
omitted from our understanding of
literature (unlike New Critics who
believe that the meaning of a text is
contained in the text alone).
2. Readers do not passively consume
the meaning presented to them by
an objective literary text. Instead,
readers actively make the meaning
they find in literature.
Tyson - he describes in Critical Theory
today the five types of Reader Response
theories and the differences that lie within
each.
Louise Rosenblatt - Wolfgang Iser
Transactional Reader Response Theory
analyzes the transaction between the text
and reader.
Stylistics Reader Response Theory
examines a text in a "slow motion" format, in
which each line is studied to determine "how
(stylistics) affects (affective) the reader in
the process of reading" (Tyson, 2006, p.
175).
Subjective David Bleich Subjective
Reader Response Theory believes that the
readers' responses are the text and that all
meaning of a text lies in the readers'
interpretations.
Psychological Norman Holland
Psychological Reader Response Theory
analyzes what the readers' interpretations
and responses reveal about the reader, not
the text.
Social Stanley Fish Social Reader
Response Theory believes that readers
approach a text with interpretative strategies
that are the products of the "interpretive
communities" in which they belong
Transactional Reader Response Analyzes
the transaction between reader and text
both the reader and the text are necessary
in the production of meaning
Mikhailovich Bakhtin was born on
November 16, 1895, in Orel, south Moscow.
Bakhtin was bilingual (German & Russian)
and started his education at home. A
Russian philosopher, linguist & philologist,
continued Vygotsky's ideas & viewed
everything as a dialogue. Bakhtin
underlined dialogism is a general framework
for the understanding of human action,
cognition, communication and language
Dialogism – Bakhtin concept of language.
Bakhtin’s concepts of language are dialogic.
These three terms have great importance
in Bakhtin’s view of language:
MONOGLOSSIA It is the primary state of
being of a language. It reflects the enclosed
‘world view’ of its speakers.
POLYGLOSSIA A monoglossic language
becomes polyglossic when it becomes
aware of other languages. Latin is an
example of polyglossia because it was
aware of its limitations and the existence of
others.
HETEROGLOSSIA This is the final stage.
Polyglossia gives way to Heteroglossia.
Both internal and external differences in the
language are revealed at this stage.
POST STRUCTURALISM
- It argues that because history and
culture condition the study of
underlying structures, both are
subject to biases and
misinterpretations.
- evolved alongside French
philosopher Jacques Derrida’s
theory of deconstruction, which
emphasized this concept of
unstable, unfixed meaning as it
functioned in language.
- It is more likely the understanding of
the reader to the text.
Post-structuralist philosophers like
Derrida and Foucault did not form a
self-conscious group, but each responded
to the traditions of phenomenology and
structuralism.
Jacques Derrida was a French
philosopher. His work is mostly associated
with post-structuralism and postmodernism.
KEY TERMS:
THE SIGNIFIER - The sign: a word, color or
image (i.e. the color BLUE)
THE SIGNIFIED - The
concept/meaning/associations that the
refers (i.e. BLUE is often associated with
sadness or the sea etc.)
ECOCRITICISM
- Ecological literacy.
- Eco and critic derived from Greek
words, “oikos and kritis” and in
tandem they mean “house judge”
- Examines the relationship between
humans and the environment.
- Pollution, global warming, etc.
Eco Critic - person who judges the merits
and faults of writing that depict the effects of
culture upon nature.
Henry David Thoreau - his work “Waden”
is a foundational text, emphasizing simple
living in natural surroundings and critiquing
the industrialization and consumerism of his
time.
John Muir - known for his writing and
advocacy for wilderness preservation.
Rachel Carson - her book “Silent Spring” is
credited with sparking the modern
environmental movement, highlighting the
dangers of pesticides and fostering
ecological awareness.
Joseph Meeker - ecocriticism was first
originated by him as an idea called “literary
ecology” in his The Comedy of Survival:
Studies in Literary Ecology.
William Rueckert - “ecocriticism” was
coined by him in his essay “Literature and
Ecology: An Experiment in Ecocriticism”
TYPES
Pastoral eco-criticism examines literature
that idealizes rural settings and contrasts
them with urban life, aiming to highlight the
value of nature and the need to protect it.
Feminist eco-criticism links the
oppression of women with the exploitation
of nature, aiming to show how patriarchal
societies harm both.
Postcolonial eco-criticism examines the
environmental challenges faced by formerly
colonized countries, highlighting the
injustices they suffer due to the actions of
more polluting nations.
Ecomarxism combines ecological concerns
with Marxist theories, aiming to critique how
capitalist systems exploit both labor and the
environment.
Ecocinema refers to films that address
ecological issues, aiming to raise
awareness and inspire action for
environmental protection.
Ecotheatre involves theatrical productions
that explore environmental themes, aiming
to engage audiences in ecological issues
through live performance.
Ecopedagogy focuses on integrating
environmental education into teaching
practices, aiming to foster ecological
consciousness and sustainable behaviors
among students.

CRITICS
Cheryll Glotfelty - foundingofficer of the
Association for the study of Literature and
Environment; an editor of Literary Nevada:
Writings from the Silver State.
Glen A. Love - scholar whose work has
contributed significantly to the development
and understanding of ecocriticism;
integration of Darwinian Ideas; Practical
Ecocriticism: Literature, Biology, and the
Environment