LITERARY THEORY

The terms literary theory and critical theory refer to essentially the same fields of study. They
both address ways of looking at literature beyond the typical plot-theme-character-setting studies. It is
the systematic study of the nature of literature and of the methods for analyzing literature, with
considerations of intellectual history, moral philosophy and other interdisciplinary themes which are
of relevance to the way humans interpret meaning. In other words, literary theory is a description of
the underlying principles by which we attempt to understand literature.

- Feminist theory (Gender studies) way of looking at literature in which you examine issues
related to woman including:
-interactions b/w men and woman characters
-interactions b/w female characters
-portrayals of woman=strong, weak, positive, negative
-literary by woman
-any outright discussions about woman to gender roles
-any hidden suggestions about how people feel about woman and gender roles
-stereotypes about gender including traditional and changing and breaking stereotypes

- Marxist theory type of theories that helps the reader to look deeper into the different standings of
people and objects and analyzes how being higher to lower effects it
-a way of looking at a text to examine how Karl Marx's ideas affect a text or relate to a text
-upper class control and oppress the lower class
-equal sharing of resources would allow people to eliminate the conflicts relating to WEALTH,
POWER and STATUS

- Psychoanalytic or Freudian theory a way of looking at a text to examine the "psychology" of

the characters
-explore characters who have a mental health issue or workings of the mind
-Freudian thought: everyone is motivated by sex
-dream interpretation

- Archetypal or Mythological theory a type of critical theory that interprets a text by focusing on
recurring myths and archetypes in the narrative, symbols, images, and character types in literary
work

- New Historicism a way of looking through a text to examine a book for connections to its
historical context
-when a text was published and when it is set are both contexts
-wars, political events, and general culture changes are all factors that are examined while looking
at a text through the new historical lens

- Formalism examining a text through the structural components such as theme, character
development, allegory, and important symbols

Plot the development of the story line from start to finish, sequence in which an author arranges
events.
Fiction prose literature, esp. short stories and novels, about imaginary events and people
(nonfactual descriptions and events invented by the author).
Protagonist the main character or hero of the story. Stories may have an evil protagonist.
Antagonist the person or thing working against the protagonist, or hero, of the work.
Point of view the perspective established by the narrator of a literary work. Point of view can
either be of the first-person, in which case a character narrates the story, or it can be told from the
narrative perspective of the third-person, where a personage who is not a character in the story, tells
the story.
Alliteration the repetition of a speech sound in a sequence of nearby words.
Theme central message or insight into life revealed through the literary work. The theme is not a
condensed summary of the plot. Instead, it is a generalization about people or about life that is
communicated through the literary work.
Allusion a reference in literature to a familiar person, place, thing, or event.
Ambiguity a word or expression which has more than one meaning.
Free verse poetry which lacks a regular stress pattern and regular line lengths
Narrator the personage who 'tells' the story in a narrative work. The narrator should not be
confused with the author.
Characterization a method an author uses to let readers know more about the characters and their
personal traits. Refers to a step by step process wherein an author introduces and then describes a
character.

Literary forms structure, how a work is constructed and organized (drama, poetry, prose)
Literary genres specific style or category of writing