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AN INTRODUCTION

LITERARY THEORY

Set of ideas and principles that regulate both the writing and the study of
literature.
It consist of statements about how literary works are written (i.e. the principles
that govern the composition of literary texts), and how they are read (i.e. the
principles that govern the analysis and evaluation of literary works).
There are many ways of looking at literature.
There are many ways of reading a text.

ELEMENTS:
work

artist
audience

universe

THE WORK
THE ARTISTIC PRODUCT ITSELF, WHICH MAYBE A POEM, A NOVEL, A SHORT
STORY OR A PIECE OF DRAMATIC WRITING

THE ARTIST
THE PRODUCER OF THE WORK, THE PERSON WHO WROTE OR COMPOSED
THE WORK

THE UNIVERSE
THE SUBJECT OF THE WORK, WHICH MAY CONSIST OF PEOPLE AND ACTIONS, IDEAS
AND FEELINGS, MATERIAL THINGS AND EVENTS OR SUPER SENSIBLE ESSENCES

THE AUDIENCE
THE READERS FOR WHOM THE WORK IS INTENDED, OR THOSE WHO MAY
HAVE ACCESS TO THE WORK

 A THEORY MAY HAVE ONE MAJOR ORIENTATION, I.E. MAY EMPHASIZE ONLY
ONE OF THE FOUR ELEMENTS.

THIS MEANS THAT A THEORIST OR CRITIC DERIVES FROM ONE OF THESE

ELEMENTS HIS OR HER PRINCIPAL CATEGORIES FOR DEFINING,
CLASSIFYING AND ANALYZING A WORK OF ART, AS WELL AS THE MAJOR
CRITERIA BY WHICH HE JUDGES ITS VALUE.

CLASSIFICATION:
pragmatic

mimetic

expressive

objective

PRAGMATIC THEORIES
THEY VIEW LITERATURE AS A MEANS TO AN END, AN

INSTRUMENT FOR GETTING SOMETHING DONE, AND TENDS TO

JUDGE ITS VALUE ACCORDING TO ITS SUCCESS IN ACHIEVING
THAT AIM.

MIMETIC THEORIES

THEY VIEW LITERATURE OR ART IN GENERAL IS BUT AN

IMITATION OF WHAT EXISTS IN THE WORLD WHICH,

ITSELF, IS BUT AN IMPERFECT COPY OF THE IDEAL WORLD.

EXPRESSIVE THEORIES

ACCORDING TO THESE THEORIES, THE PRIMARY SOURCE

AND SUBJECT MATTER OF A WORK OF ART ARE INTERNALTHE PERCEPTIONS, THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS OF THE
ARTIST.

OBJECTIVE THEORIES
THEY CONSIDER THE WORK OF ART WITHOUT CONNECTING IT TO
EXTERNAL POINTS OF REFERENCE. THE LITERARY WORK IS
REGARDED AS SELF-SUFFICIENT ENTITY WHOSE VARIOUS PARTS
OR ELEMENTS ARE INTERRELATED.

A THEORY IS VALUABLE IN GIVING DIRECTION TO OUR READING OF

LITERARY TEXTS. A FOOD THEORY CAN YIELD INSIGHTS INTO THE
CHARACTERISTICS OR NATURE OF SPECIFIC LITERARY WORKS.

LITERARY CRITICISM

IT IS A CAREFUL APPLICATION OF THEORY IN THE

ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION OF LITERARY WORKS.

LITERARY CRITICISM IS NOT

MERELY A SUMMARY OR PARAPHRASE OF THE WORK.
LIMITED TO HISTORICAL OR BIOGRAPHICAL STUDIES.
SIMPLY A MATTER OF DOING VOCABULARY EXERCISES.
SIMPLY A MATTER OF EXTRACTING A MORAL LESSON FORM THE WORK.
A SIMPLE IMPRESSIONISTIC ACCOUNT OF THE LITERARY WORK.

THE STATEMENTS PRODUCED BY THE ACT OF CRITICISM ARE

STATEMENTS THAT HAVE BASIS BOTH IN THE TEXT AND IN

THEORY.

LITERARY CRITICISM IS THE INEVITABLE BY-PRODUCT OF

THE READING PROCESS ITSELF, FOR IF WE TAKE THAT
EXPERIENCE SERIOUSLY, THEN CRITICISM OF SOME SORT
BECOMES INEVITABLE. THE ONLY QUESTION IS WHETHER
THE JUDGMENTS WE FORM WILL BE SENSIBLE ONES.

LITERARY CRITICISM BEGINS THE MOMENT WE CLOSE

OUR BOOK AND START TO REFLECT ON WHAT WE HAVE
JUST READ.

CRITICISM IS THE ACT OF REFLECTING ON, ORGANIZING,

AND THEN ARTICULATING, USUALLY ON PAPER, OUR
RESPONSE TO A GIVEN LITERARY WORK.