APPROACHES IN

LITERARY
CRITICISM
Aries V. Sabilla
OBJECTIVES:

•Determine the different approaches in literary

criticism
•Differentiate the approaches in literary
criticism.
•Read and analyze sample texts using literary
criticism.
CRITICISM
LITERARY
CRITICISM
1. FORMALIST APPROACH

• This approach regards literature as “a

unique form of human knowledge that
needs to be examined on its own terms.”
All the elements necessary for
understanding the work are contained
within the work itself.
Of particular interest to the formalist critic are
the elements of form—style, structure, tone,
imagery, etc.— that are found within the text. A
primary goal for formalist critics is to determine
how such elements work together with the text’s
content to shape its effects upon readers.
Read a sample formalist critique of Dead Stars, a classic
Filipino short story by Paz Marquez Benitez
The title of the work already gives an idea as to what it means. In
physics, it is stated that the light and energy of the starts have to travel
light years to reach us. Since they are millions of miles away and light has
to travel this large distance, it is highly possible that the star has already
exploded while its light is still travelling towards us. Therefore it is
possible that a bright light we see at night actually comes from a dead star.
In the story, this metaphor is used to refer to Alfredo’s love for Julia, a
woman he meets and falls for one fateful summer. Not only is the little an
indicator of what is to come, even the fate of the characters in the story
can already be seen through their names.
 Alfredo’s name means counselor of elves someone who is wise. In
the story, it is indicated that Alfredo is a lawyer, a person who
counsels. Still his name denotes a certain irony; despite his supposed
wisdom, Alfredo’s actions, especially his covert courtship with Julia
while being engaged to another, are anything but sensible. Julia’s
name, on the other hand, refers to someone who is youthful, which is
how Alfredo sees her of eight years until he is confronted by reality.
GENDER CRITICISM

This approach “examines how sexual

identity influences the creation and
reception of literary works.”
A. Masculinist
B. Feminist
 Sample Feminist Critique of Dead Stars
The story is a study of power imbalance brought about by gender. In the
beginning Dead Stars already clearly illustrates the gender roles ingrained in
Filipino society: Don Julian and the judge are portrayed as the male leaders of
the household, taking up lofty professions such as business and law while the
women are portrayed accomplishing domestic tasks such as tending to
children and preparing food. The most note-worthy display of imbalance in
power, however, lies on the central theme of Alfredo’s love for Julia as simply
a dead star. Eight years after their forbidden love and after getting married to
another woman, Alfredo still holds Julia as an object of affection, thus creating
a distance between him and his wife, Esperanza.
In their relationship as wedded couple, the power lies in Alfredo, not
only because patriarchal society designates him as the head of the
household, but also because he remains unreachable to his wife by
harboring feelings for another woman. Moreover, the realization that his
love for Julia is simply a dead star is brought about by his treatment of
Julia as simply an illusion and an object of affection, and not as a
woman. This gender imbalance leads to a tragic epiphany for the
characters, but is also a reflection of how men are viewed to dominate
not only in the household but also in their relationship with women.
HISTORICAL CRITICISM
This approach “seeks to understand a literary work
by investigating the social, cultural, and intellectual
context that produced it—a context that necessarily
includes the artist’s biography and milieu.” A key goal
for historical critics is to understand the effect of a
literary work upon its original readers.
READER-RESPONSE CRITICISM
This approach takes as a fundamental tenet that
“literature” exists not as an artifact upon a printed
page but as a transaction between the physical text and
the mind of a reader. It attempts “to describe what
happens in the reader’s mind while interpreting a text”
and reflects that reading, like writing, is a creative
process.
 Sample Reader Response Critique of Dead Stars

Despite being limited in length, Dead Stars manages to evoke

various feelings which ultimately build up the ending. While
Alfredo is the center of the story, as a woman reader it is hard to
feel greatly for Esperanza. Esperanza can only be seen through the
perspective of Alfredo. This does a disservice to her, as we can only
know through the description of someone who does not love her
anymore. Still, it is also through Alfredo’s descriptions and his
unfaithfulness that Esperanza gains sympathy from the reader.
 MEDIA CRITICISM
It is the act of closely examining and judging the media.
When we examine the media and various media stories, we
often find instances of media bias. Media bias is the perception
that the media is reporting the news in a partial or prejudiced
manner. Media bias occurs when the media seems to push a
specific viewpoint, rather than reporting the news objectively.
Keep in mind that media bias also occurs when the media seems to
ignore an important aspect of the story.
 MARXIST CRITICISM
It focuses on the economic and political elements of art, often emphasizing
the ideological content of literature; because Marxist criticism often argues
that all art is political, either challenging or endorsing (by silence) the status
quo, it is frequently evaluative and judgmental, a tendency that “can lead to
reductive judgment, as when Soviet critics rated Jack London better than
William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, Edith Wharton, and Henry James,
because he illustrated the principles of class struggle more clearly.”
Nonetheless, Marxist criticism “can
illuminate political and economic dimensions of literature other approaches
overlook.”
 Concerned with differences between economic
classes and implications of a capitalist system, such
as the continuing conflicts between the working class
and the elite
Attempts to reveal that ultimate source of people’s
experience is the socioeconomic system
 Sample Marxist Criticism of Dead Stars
The imbalanced societal power play is evident in the short story in the
form of the treatment of the characters based on their class. This is most
easily evident in the conversation between Alfredo and his fiancée,
Esperanza, about Calixta, their note-carrier who grew up in the latter’s
family. The scene depicts a parallelism in the circumstance of Alfredo and
his new love, Julia, and Calixta and her live-in partner. However, while no
one blatantly frowns upon the budding relationship between Alfredo and
Julia, except for some whispered humors that reach Esperanza, Calixta is
dubbed “ungrateful” to her master for doing such an act.
 Alfredo does not have to answer to anyone for
his unfaithfulness, but Calixta is responsible not
only for what her family might think, but also for
the members of her master’s family. Despite the
same circumstances, the two people are regarded
differently based on their positions in life.
 STRUCTURALISM
It focused on how human behavior is determined by
social, cultural and psychological structures. . It tended to
offer a single unified approach to human life that would
embrace all disciplines.
The essence of structuralism is the belief that “things
cannot be understood in isolation, they have to be seen in
the context of larger structures which contain them.