Critical Approaches to Literature

(Examples refer to Andrew Marvells To His Coy Mistress, a poem you read and discussed last year !efore you read t"rou#" t"ese descriptions, reread t"e poem at t"e end of t"is "andout $ % Traditional Approaches & T"e wor' of literature ta'es a (ac' seat to (ac'#round material !io#rap"y, "istory, or some ot"er (ranc" of learnin# is emp"asi)ed more t"an t"e text T"is approac" was once t"e dominant met"od of teac"in# literature* now it is re#arded as (ein# outdated T"e +ew Critics revolutioni)ed t"e study of literature (y movin# t"e focus of literature to t"e text itself (%,$ Adept readers and teac"ers com(ine t"e two approac"es T"ere are two types of traditional approac"es, namely "istorical(io#rap"ical and moral-p"ilosop"ical a T"e historical-biographical approac" sees a literary wor', c"iefly, if not exclusively, as a reflection of its aut"ors life and times or t"e life and times of t"e c"aracters in t"e wor' (..$ ( T"e moral-philosophical approac" asserts t"at t"e lar#er function of literature is to teac" morality and to prove p"ilosop"ical issues /0t1 interpret/s1 literature wit"in a context of t"e p"ilosop"ical t"ou#"t of a period or #roup (.2$ c An additional traditional approac" is t"e textual approach w"ere(y one verifies t"e aut"enticity of t"e text Traditional Approaches to To His Coy Mistress: Historical-Biographical Marvells allusion to 3ree' myt"olo#y, courtly love, and t"e !i(le, "is spea'ers lo#ical ar#ument, and t"e playful tone in w"ic" t"ey are presented can all (e explained (y t"e fat t"at Marvell was t"e educated son of an An#lican priest w"o received a classical education t"at focused on classical modes of t"ou#"t, literature, and lo#ic T"e openin# section of t"e poem presents a spea'er w"o woos "is lady in accordance wit" t"e conventions of courtly love T"e poet alludes to !i(lical events (+oa"s flood, t"e conversion of t"e 4ews, 4os"uas (attle a#ainst t"e Amorites$ and myt"olo#ical (Times win#ed c"ariot, 5ronos devourin# "is c"ildren, 6eus tryst wit" Alcmene$ t"rou#"out t"e poem He also utili)es metap"ysical conceits (My ve#eta(le love s"all #row$ (787.$ Moral- hilosophical Approach Morally and p"ilosop"ically, t"e poem is a carpe diem poem t"at ur#es t"e coy lady to sei)e t"e day (7.$ T"e poem also reflects t"e political and reli#ious mood of t"e seventeent" century9 T"e seventeent" century, it s"ould (e remem(ered, was not only a period of intense reli#ious and political stru##le, (ut a period of revolutionary scientific and p"ilosop"ical t"ou#"t / 1 3iven t"is 'ind of intellectual milieu, readers may easily see "ow t"e poem mi#"t (e interpreted as t"e impassioned utterance of a man w"o "as "ost anyt"in# resem(lin# a reli#ious or p"ilosop"ical view of life as illustrated (y t"e spea'ers pessimism, focus on p"ysical and sensual pleasure, and "is assessment of t"e personified Time as a tormentor and foe (77$ Textual Approach

:ri#inally t"e wor' #lew was used in place of t"e word dew in t"e followin# couplet9 +ow t"erefore, w"ile t"e yout"ful "ue ;its on t"y s'in li'e mornin# due 3lew is a dialectical variation of #low, (ut at one time it was (elieved to (e anot"er spellin# of #lue and was even su##ested to mean lew, w"ic" is a dialectical variation of warmt" (.<$ 0n t"e ei#"teent" century, someone con=ectured t"at t"e word dew was appropriated, an alteration t"at met wit" muc" approval and w"ic" "as (een accepted in practically every edition of t"e text since t"en (.<$ . The !ormalist Approach & T"is approac" utili)es a close readin# of t"e text t"at examines structure, s"ape, interplay, interrelations"ips, denotation and connotations, contexts, ima#es, sym(ols, repeated details, dramatic structure, (alances and tensions, r"yt"ms and r"ymes, sounds, voice, specific words and lines, irony, paradox, point of view, t"eme, etc to discover w"at contri(utes to t"e uni>ueness of t"e wor' and creates its meanin# (,?$ Meanin# emer#es from t"e text itself, not from any sort of (ac'#round or outside information T"is met"od of analysis appeared only wit" t"e rise in t"e %@78s of w"at came to (e called t"e +ew Criticism (<8$ 0deas s"ared and promoted /(y t"e +ew Critics1 included literature viewed as an or#anic tradition, t"e importance of strict attention to form, a conservatism related to classical values, t"e ideal of a society t"at encoura#es order and tradition, a preference for ritual, and t"e ri#orous and analytical readin# of literary texts (<8$ 0n addition, /t1"e +ew Critics sou#"t precision and structural ti#"tness in t"e literary wor'* t"ey favored a style and tone t"at tended toward irony* t"ey insisted on t"e presence wit"in t"e wor' of everyt"in# necessary for its analysis* and t"ey called for an end to a concern (y critics and teac"ers of En#lis" wit" matters outside t"e wor' itself & t"e life of t"e aut"or, t"e "istory of t"e times, or t"e social and economic implications of t"e literary wor' (<%$ +ew Critics ur#e readers and teac"ers to examine what t"e wor' says and how it says it as insepara(le issues (<%$ !ormalist Approach to To His Coy Mistress T"e poem presents a series of ima#es and words t"at create t"e motif of space and time in t"e poem, w"ic" refers to p"ilosop"ical consideration of time, of eternity, of mans pleasure ("edonism$ and of salvation in an afterlife (traditional C"ristianity$ 0n t"is way Marvell includes in one s"ort poem t"e ran#e (etween mans lust and mans p"ilosop"y (@7$ T"e first line of t"e poem presents t"e space and time motif (9Had we (ut world enou#" and time$ and also sets up t"e su(=unctive situation t"at #ives t"e w"ole poem its meanin#, for t"e spea'er (ases "is ar#ument upon a condition t"at does not actually exist, as indicated (y t"e words Had we (@.$ T"e poems playful use of overstatement and its som(er fear of destruction are all (ased on t"e feelin# of t"e spea'er t"at "e is (ound (y t"e dimensions of space and time (@.$ 7 The sychological Approach & T"is approac" is most closely associated wit" t"e t"eories of ;i#mund Areud and "is followers !asically, Areud divides mental activity into two areas, t"e conscious and t"e unconscious 0n fact, t"e (elief /t1"at most of t"e individuals mental processes are unconscious is/ 1 Areuds first ma=or premise (%.<$ His second ma=or premise asserts t"at all "uman (e"avior is motivated ultimately (y

w"at we would call sexuality (%.<$ His t"ird ma=or premise is t"at (ecause of t"e powerful social ta(oos attac"ed to certain sexual impulses, many of our desires and memories are repressed (t"at is, actively excluded from conscious awareness$ (%.<$ Areud also identifies t"ree psyc"ic )ones, namely t"e id, t"e e#o, and t"e supere#o pTp"e id is entirely unconscious and / 1 only a small portion of t"e e#o and t"e supere#o is conscious (%.@$ T"e id is also 'nown as t"e pleasure principle (%.@$ 0t is lawless, asocial, and amoral 0ts function is to #ratify our instincts for pleasure wit"out re#ard for social conventions, le#al et"ics, or morale restraint (%78$ T"e e#o is w"at is #enerally identified as t"e conscious mind and is 'nown as t"e reality principle (%78$ T"e e#o re#ulates t"e instinctual drives of t"e id so t"at t"ey may (e released in nondestructive (e"avioral patterns (%78$ T"e id protects t"e individual T"e supere#o, on t"e ot"er "and, protects society T"e supere#o is t"e morality principle (%7%$ 0t is ones morality, ones sense of ri#"t and wron#, and ones drive to strive for perfection Actin# eit"er directly or t"rou#" t"e e#o, t"e supere#o serves to repress or in"i(it t"e drives of t"e id, to (loc' off and t"rust (ac' into t"e unconscious t"ose impulses toward pleasure t"at society re#ards as unaccepta(le, suc" as overt a##ression, sexual passions, and t"e :edipal instinct (%7%$ sychological Approach to To His Coy Mistress To His Coy Mistress is a very sensual poem T"e openin# of t"e poem ena(les t"e spea'er to present "is lustful desires in a su(tle manner t"at "e "opes will appeal to "is ladys romantic nature However, t"e s"ift in tone t"at occurs in t"e second stan)a ma'es t"e spea'ers o(=ective far more overt and explicit T"e sexual metap"or implied in t"e ladys va#inal mar(le vault lead in turn to t"e coarse su##estiveness of t"e spea'ers lastin# love (%2%$ 0n t"e final stan)a, t"e spea'ers use of overt sexual ima#ery continues as "is lust (ecomes instant fires and mere sport +onet"eless, t"e spea'er insists t"at t"e destruction of "is (eloveds purity will lead to a state of desperate ecstasy rat"er t"an destruction @%2.$ B Mythological and Archetypal Approaches & CT"e myt" critics is concerned to see' our t"ose mysterious elements t"at inform certain literary wor's and t"at elicit, wit" almost uncanny force, dramatic and universal "uman reactions (y identifyin# arc"etypes and arc"etypal patters t"at can (e traced wit"in texts across time and across cultures (%2@$ However, it is important to note t"at every people "as its own distinctive myt"olo#y t"at may (e reflected in le#end, fol'lore, and ideolo#y (%?8$ +onet"eless, myt" is universal, and arc"etypes are universal sym(ols (%?8$ Archetypal Approach to To His Coy Mistress" To interpret t"e poem merely as a clever or immoral love poem does not do =ustice to t"e deeper meanin# of Marvells text !ecause t"e time motif runs t"rou#"out t"e poem, immortality emer#es as one of its additional motifs 0mmortality also represents a fundamental motif in myt" (%,?$ T"e first stan)a presents t"e ironic (elief t"at lovers cannot love one anot"er for an eternity t"rou#" t"e use of t"e su(=unctive Had we of t"e first line T"e second stan)a uses t"e desert arc"etype to contrast wit" t"e #arden arc"etype of t"e first stan)as ve#eta(le love (y su##estin# t"at naturalistic time leads to decay, deat", and p"ysical extinction and t"at natures laws cannot (e circumvented (%,?$ +onet"eless, t"e sue of t"e sun arc"etype in t"e t"ird stan)a su##ests t"e possi(ility of an escape from cyclical time* t"e sun of t"e Csoul and Cinstant fires /in t"e final stan)a present1 ima#es not of deat" (ut of life and creative ener#y, w"ic" are

fused wit" t"e sp"ere (Det us roll our stren#t" and allE :ur sweetness up into one (all$, t"e arc"etype of primal w"oleness and fulfillment (%,?$ :verall, Marvell utili)es a cluster of ima#es c"ar#ed wit" myt"ic si#nificance in "is poem (%,,$ 2 !eminist Approaches & 0n t"e most #eneral terms, t"is approac" is concerned wit" t"e mar#inali)ation of all women9 t"at is, wit" t"eir (ein# rele#ated to a secondary position in a male-dominated society (%@?$ 0t contains political and social aspects, a fact t"at differentiates t"is approac" from many ot"er critical approac"es More specifically, feminist critics #enerally a#ree t"at t"eir #oals are to expose patriarc"al premises and resultin# pre=udices, to promote discovery and reevaluation of literature (y women, and to examine social, cultural, and psyc"osexual contexts of literature nad literary criticism Aeminist critics t"erefore study sexual, social, and political issues once t"ou#"t to (e Coutside t"e study of literature (%@,$ !eminist Approach to To His Coy Mistress T"e coy mistress of Marvells poem is (asically assaulted t"rou#"out t"e poem and runs t"e ris' of (ein# Cdevoured (y "er amorous lover and (y time itself (.%?$ ;"e represents an o(=ect of prey in t"e sense t"at "er lover reduces "er to a set of (ody parts, w"ic" leads to effectively dismem(erin# "er identity into discrete sexual o(=ects (.%2$ T"e ima#e of t"e woman as a mar(le vault furt"ers t"e assault motif (y comparin# "er to a (esie#ed fortress Many of t"e poems ima#es are violent in nature, for worms will penetrate t"e spea'ers (eloved, "er soul will catc" fire, and t"e poet portrays t"e lovers as metap"orical (irds of prey (.%?$ T"e poems metap"ysical conceits /depict1 t"e secondary status of t"e female (ody in t"at only t"e womans (ody will rot and decay (.%?$ However, one can also re#ard t"e womans mar#inali)ation as an indication of "er dormant power, for s"e is #oddessli'e and t"e spea'er does appear to fear "is coy mistress on some level (.%?$ After all, t"e woman "as t"e power to refuse "er pursuers sexual advances, (ut t"is power represents a ne#ative power t"at stems from t"e a(sence of assent (.%?$ T"e fact t"at t"e woman remains silent and t"erefore lac's a voice t"rou#"out t"e poem also emer#es as si#nificant facet of t"e poem :n t"e ot"er "and, one must 'eep in mind t"at To His Coy Mistress presents very sop"isticated c"aracters w"o live in a very sop"isticated world T"e in#enuity of t"e text itself lies in its /parodyin#1 of t"e courtly love tradition and its satiri)ation of (ot" t"e ladys refusals and t"e spea'ers fear of t"e feminine (.%,$ ? Cultural #tudies & T"is approac" analy)es texts from t"e perspective of #ender and race ;tudents could /examine1 t"e interrelations"ips (etween race, #ender, popular culture, t"e media, and literature w"ile en#a#in# in t"is sort of literary analysis (.7@$ Cultural studies is a very diverse approac" 0t is composed of elements of Marxism, new "istoricism, feminism, #ender studies, ant"ropolo#y, studies of race and et"nicity, film t"eory, sociolo#y, ur(an studies, pu(lic policy studies, popular culture studies, and postcolonial studies9 t"ose fields t"at focus on social and cultural forces t"at eit"er create community or cause division and alienation (.B8$ 0t ur#es t"e reader to ma'e personal connections wit" a text t"at >uestion ine>ualities wit"in power structures and to examine a text in terms of all t"e aspects of a #iven

society (.B%$ 0t see's to connect texts to all of t"e aspects of a readers life and to ma'e t"em reali)e t"at literature is not created in a vacuum (.B.$ Cultural #tudies Approach to To His Coy Mistress T"e poem ec"oes t"e conventional Ccarpe diem t"eme from Horace and models a variety of earlier or contemporaneous examples of /t"e1 love poem (.,?$ However, "is poem parodies t"ese conventions only in order to satiri)e t"em and to ma'e li#"t of t"e real proposal at "and (.,?$ T"e spea'er assumes t"at "is lady possesses t"e intelli#ence needed to #rasp t"e details and allusions of poetic convention =ust as t"e poet predicts t"at t"e reader will ma'e t"e same connections After all, t"e poem relies on usin# t"e womans intellect as a means of persuasion in t"e "ope t"at a confluence of "er t"ou#"ts wit" t"e spea'ers can lead to a more p"ysical union (.,,$ T"e poem omits any reference to t"e cultural condition of seventeent"-century life or of t"e very real conse>uences of t"is union, for t"e poet does not reveal "is privile#ed social status or t"e disease t"at could ensue from a sexual encounter or t"at prevailed in "is society All in all, t"e real world is / 1 t"orou#"ly a(sent from t"e poem (.,<$ FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

To His Coy Mistress by Andre$ Mar%ell Had we (ut world enou#", and time, T"is coyness, lady, were no crime Ge would sit down and t"in' w"ic" way To wal', and pass our lon# loveHs day* T"ou (y t"e 0ndian 3an#esH side ;"ouldst ru(ies find* 0 (y t"e tide :f Hum(er would complain 0 would Dove you ten years (efore t"e Alood* And you s"ould, if you please, refuse Till t"e conversion of t"e 4ews My ve#eta(le love s"ould #row Iaster t"an empires, and more slow An "undred years s"ould #o to praise T"ine eyes, and on t"y fore"ead #a)e* Two "undred to adore eac" (reast, !ut t"irty t"ousand to t"e rest* An a#e at least to every part, And t"e last a#e s"ould s"ow your "eart Aor, lady, you deserve t"is state, +or would 0 love at lower rate !ut at my (ac' 0 always "ear TimeHs win#ed c"ariot "urryin# near* And yonder all (efore us lie Jeserts of vast eternity T"y (eauty s"all no more (e found, +or, in t"y mar(le vault, s"all sound My ec"oin# son#* t"en worms s"all try T"at lon# preservHd vir#inity, And your >uaint "onour turn to dust, And into as"es all my lust T"e #raveHs a fine and private place, !ut none 0 t"in' do t"ere em(race +ow t"erefore, w"ile t"e yout"ful "ue ;its on t"y s'in li'e mornin# dew, And w"ile t"y willin# soul transpires At every pore wit" instant fires, +ow let us sport us w"ile we may* And now, li'e amHrous (irds of prey, Kat"er at once our time devour, T"an lan#uis" in "is slow-c"appHd power Det us roll all our stren#t", and all :ur sweetness, up into one (all* And tear our pleasures wit" rou#" strife T"orou#" t"e iron #ates of life T"us, t"ou#" we cannot ma'e our sun ;tand still, yet we will ma'e "im run

Gor' Cited 3uerin, Gilfred D , et al A Hand(oo' of Critical Approac"es to Diterature Bt" ed :xford9 :xford LM, %@@@