Literary

Theory
What is a literary theory?

• The way people read texts

• The “lens” through which you view
the literature
• There is no “right” way to look at
literature
• All schools of thought think they
are the “right” way
The Creation of Critical Theory

• Theories began to emerge in the

20th Century
• No theory is based in factual
knowledge – someone created it
and it is arguable
• Some theories are created in
opposition or response to another
theory
Using Theories

• Rigid application of a theory can

spoil a book
• Using multiple theories can
enhance the story
• This is an open ended process –
NOT a science
Historical / Biographical Criticism

• According to Wilfred Guerin,

historical / biographical criticisms
“sees a literary work chiefly, if not
exclusively, as a reflection of the
author’s life and times or the life
and times of the characters in the
work”
Commom Assumptions of
Historical / Biographical Criticism

• Understanding the social structure

or way of life of a certain time
period will help the reader draw
conclusions and better understand
the story
• Discovering details about the
author’s life and times will help the
reader develop ideas about the story
New Historical Criticism

• New Historicism seeks to find

meaning in a text by considering
the work within the framework of
the ideas and assumptions of its
historical era
• Concerned with the political
function of literature and with the
concept of power
New Historical Criticism

• Focused on revealing the

historically specific model of truth
and authority (not a “truth” but a
“cultural construct”) reflected in a
given work
• Literature will tell us about ways of
thinking at the time: ideas of social
organization, prejudices, taboos,
etc.
New Historical Criticism

• New Historicism is more

“sociohistorical” than it is a delving
into facts
• Concerned with cultural constructs
of society
How Common is Biographical
Context in Writing?

• All authors write in a biographical

context
• The goal of a biographical criticism
is understanding why the author
wrote what he or she wrote
How Common is Biographical
Context in Writing?

• This includes pointing out how

biographical circumstances
contributed to the creation of parts
of the text – biographical readings
often resemble non-theoretical
psychological readings
Influences on Biographical
Context

• Ideology: a system of beliefs that governs

a group’s actions, its view of reality, and its
assumptions about what is “normal” and
“natural.” Ideology can be communicated by
discourse.
Influences on Biographical
Context

• Ideology

- Some authors ideologically agree with

the power elites of society (agree with the
societal norm)
Influences on Biographical
Context

• Ideology

- Other authors ideologically disagree

with the power elite (what to initiate
change)
- Life experiences often influence their
ideologies
History of Biographical Criticism

• Samuel Johnson (1779)

researched poets and utilized
truthful accounts of their lives to
understand nuance in their
writings.
• Since Johnson, biographical
criticism has become more and
more popular
Important Questions for
Biographical Criticism

• Understanding the Author:

- What facts about the author’s life
suggest ideas in the work? Did anything
that happened to the author affect his or
her themes or choice of subject matter?
Important Questions for
Biographical Criticism

• Understanding the Author:

- What was/is the author’s world view?
Which of the author’s beliefs seem
reflected in their story?
- What commentary on the story did
the author make? Does it point to ideas
in the story?
Important Questions for
Biographical Criticism

• Understanding the Author’s World:

- What world view was typical of the
author’s time? What aspects of this
world view seem prevalent in this story
or character? Does the author seem to
accept or rebel against this world view?
Important Questions for
Biographical Criticism

• Understanding the Author’s World:

- How did people respond to the
author’s works and life?
- What ideas did people find in the
author’s works and life?
Example of an Author’s Life
Experiences Shaping His Writing

• Jose Rizal being the author of Noli Me

Tangere
Biographical Criticism Checklist of
Questions

1. What influences – persons, ideas,

movements, events – evident in the
writer’s life does the work reflect?
2. To what extent are the events
described in the work a direct
transfer of what happened in the
author’s actual life?
Biographical Criticism Checklist of
Questions

3. What modifications of the actual

events has the writer made in the
literary work?
4. Why might the writer have altered his
or her actual experience in the
literary work?
Biographical Criticism Checklist of
Questions

5. What are the effects of the differences

between actual events and their
literary transformation in the work?
Biographical Criticism Checklist of
Questions

6. What has the author revealed in the

work about his or her characteristics
modes of thought, perceptions, or
emotion? What place does the work
have in the author’s literary
development and career?