Intro to Literary

Theory
You think these sometimes crazy readings
come out of nowhere?

The easiest way to think about critical (or

literary) theory is to think of different types
of lenses on a camera: a fisheye lens, a
telephoto lens, a wide angle.
Critical theory provides these different
scholarly lenses through which to look at
literature.

Literary theory provides

meaning to text and one's
theory aligns with one's
knowledge and personal
experience.

Post-Modern Theories:
these mostly deal
with oppression

Feminist Theory
Feminist theory looks at how patriarchal
structures are used to reinforce the
social, economical, political, and
psychological oppression of women.

Gender Studies and Queer Theory

The concern of Gender Studies and
Queer Theory is the way in which gender
and sexuality are discussed in literature.
Gender theorists are uncomfortable
with the traditional dichotomy of
"feminine" and "masculine."

Marxist Theory
This theory is based on the beliefs and
theories of Karl Marx and is concerned with
how the capitalist society separates classes.
It questions what (and who) capitalism
benefits, and all the ways in which the
working class is oppressed (and separated
from the elite classes or the middle class).

Post-Colonial Theory
Post-Colonial Theory is concerned with
issues of power, economics, religion,
and culture that stem specifically from
Western colonization of the nonWestern world and result in the
oppression of those worlds.

New Historicism
New Historicism is concerned with
connecting literature with the historical
time in which it was written. "New
Historicism assumes that every work is
a product of the historic moment that
created it." (OWL)

More Traditional Theories:

Psychoanalytic Theory (Archetypal

Readings)
This theory is based on the work of
Sigmund Freud and his student, Karl
Jung. It deals with the application of
their theories in the characters and
situations present in the given text. This
theory includes, but is not limited to, an
archetypal reading.

Formalist Theory (formalism)

This theory is based on the notion that
a texts meaning is in the form itself. It
asserts that a text should be studied on
its own merits without any
consideration of outside influences (like
history, culture, etc).

Reader Response Theory

This theory is based on the notion that
literature gains meaning "by the
purposeful act of the reader reading it."
The relationship of the reader and text
is highly valued - without one, the other
cannot exist.

These are
just a
representative
sample of the
different
literary
theories out
there.