Polytechnic University of the Philippines

College of Languages and Linguistics

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH AND FOREIGN
LANGUAGES AND LINGUISTICS

COURSE TITLE : PRINCIPLES OF LITERARY CRITICISM

COURSE CODE : EN 342
COURSE CREDIT : 3 units

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

It is the study of the principal tenets and theories of literary criticism advanced by
leading critics from Plato’s time to the present. It also includes the discussion, analysis
and interpretation of the representative literary works of universally acclaimed writers.

PRE-REQUISITE COURSE/S: LT 220 World Literature

PUP MISSION

The mission of the PUP in the 21st century is to provide the highest quality of
comprehensive and global education and community services accessible to all students,
Filipinos and foreigners alike.

It shall offer high-quality undergraduate and graduate programs that are

responsible to the changing needs of the students to enable them to lead productive
and meaningful life.

PUP shall maintain its traditional mission based on its founding philosophy and at
the same time, propose additional changes that will greatly enhance the realization of
this mission in the context of a global society.

Therefore, on the strength of the PUP philosophy, the University commits itself
to:

• Democratize access to educational opportunities;

• Promote science and technology consciousness and develop relevant expertise
and competence among all the members of the academe, stressing their
importance in building a truly independent and sovereign Philippines;
• Emphasize the unrestrained and remitting search for truth and its defense, as
well as the advancement of moral and spiritual values;
• Promote awareness of our beneficial and relevant cultural heritage;
• Develop in the students and faculty the values of self-discipline, love of country,
and social consciousness, and the need to defend human rights;
• Promote its students and faculty with liberal arts-based education essential to a
broader understanding and appreciation of life and to the total development of
the individual;
 • Make the students and faculty aware of technological, social as well as political
and economic problems and encourage them to contribute to the realization of
nationalist industrialization and economic development of the country;
• Use and propagate the national language and other Philippine languages and
develop proficiency in English and other foreign languages required by the
students field of specialization;
• Promote intellectual leadership and sustain a humane and technologically
advanced academic community where people of diverse ideologies work and
learn together to attain academic, research and service excellence in a
continually changing world; and
• Build a learning community in touch with the main currents of political, economic
and cultural life throughout the worlds; a community enriched by the presence of
a significant number of international students; and a community supported by
new technologies that facilitate active participation in the creation and use of
information and knowledge on a global scale.

GOALS OF THE ACDEMIC UNIT

• Proficiency in Language Learning and Teaching

To equip students with a solid foundation of knowledge, skills, tools,
attitude and values needed in the advancement of students’ receptive and active
communication ability towards a critical, creative, and effective expression of
ideas.

• Competence in Linguistics
To strengthen the sense of values and strong national solidarity of
purpose among students and become a lead advocate in the use of the national
language and other Philippine languages as well as proficiency in other major
foreign languages (foremost English) as contributory to an evolving Filipino
culture.
• Turning Information into Relevant Knowledge
To provide the students with skills and insights in gathering, processing,
and judicious
utilization of information accessed through the latest available technologies.

• Excellence in Research
To provide students with significant experience in analyzing, synthesizing
effective approaches to various human problems and in marshalling relevant
information on any given topic or problem particularly in language learning and
teaching.

• Production of Quality Materials

To write relevant instructional materials and publication of researches that
meets the national and international standards.

• Establishment of Local and International Linkages

 To build and maintain bonds and associations with local and international
agencies, organizations, and institutions.

• Empowerment of Stakeholders
To create an atmosphere of conductive learning experiences and
opportunities contributing to the enhancement of a healthy and critical
participation and cooperation.

OBJECTIVES / OUTCOMES OF THE PROGRAM

The department is tasked to provide training and practice that will enable
students to:
• attain high- level of communicative competence in English;
• acquire a great repertoire of learning strategies that will make them successful
second language learners;
• use technology as a basis for continued knowledge construction, both academic
and lifelong;
• strengthens their skills and competencies in the use of English as medium of
instruction;
• keep abreast of the current research findings, issues, and directions in language
teaching and linguistics;
• advance, create, and disseminate knowledge in the fields of languages and
linguistics through research, linkages, networking programs; and
• pass the licensure examinations for teachers.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

At the end of the course, the students should be able to:

1. show an understanding of the history of literary criticism and theory from Greek
antiquity to the present;
2. analyze and critique literary texts using a variety of theories and methodologies;
3. demonstrate appreciation for literary texts; and
4. respond to texts and ideas through persuasive writing.

COURSE CONTENT
SCHEDULE LIST OF TOPICS
Week 1-3 I. Course Orientation
A. The importance of the study of literature
B. Definition of Literary terms
II. The Classical Age
A. Plato, “The Republic” (Book X Ion)
B. Aristotle, “Poetics”
C. Horace, “Ars Peotica”
D. Longinus, “On the Sublime”
Week 4 III. Middle Ages and the Renaissance
 A. Dante Alighieri “De Vulgari Eloquencia”
B. Sir Philip Sydney “An Apologie for Poetrie”
Week 5 IV. Neo-Classical Age
Boileau Despereaux “The Art of Poetry”
Weeks 6-7 V. Romantic Age
A. William Wordsworth “Preface from the
Lyrical Ballad”
B. Samuel Taylor Coleridge “Theory of
Imagination”
C. Percy Bysshe Shelley “In Defense of
Poetry”
D. Edgar Allan Poe “ The Poetic Principle”
Week 8 VI.Victorian Age/Realism/Naturalism
A. Matthew Arnold “Function and Criticism at
the Present Time”
B. Henry James “The Art of Fiction”
C. Emile Zola “ The Experimental Novel”

Week 9 MIDTERM EXAMINATION

Week 10 VII. 20th Century
A. T.S. Eliot “Traditions and Individual
Talent
B. J.C. Ransom “Poetry: A Note On
Ontology”
C. Allan Tate “Poetic Tension”
D. I.A. Richards “Science and Poetry”
Week 11-17 VIII. Post Modern Criticism
A. Psychoanalytical approach
1. Sigmund Freud “Fetishism”
2. Karl Jung “On the Relation of
Analytical Psychology to Poetry”
3. Cixous “”Laugh of the Medusa
B. .Archetypal Approach
Ernest Hemmingway “ The Old Man and
The Sea”
C. Structuralism
Roland Barhes
“The Death of the Author”
From Work to Text”
D. Marxism
1. Hegel “Mater-Slave Dialectic”
2. Marx
a. “Economic and Philosophic
Manuscript of 1844”
b. “The German Ideology”
3. Jameson “The Political
 Unconsciousness”
E. Feminism
1. Wallstonecraft “Vindication of the
Rights of Women”
2. Butler “Gender Trouble”
3. Monique Witting “One is not Born A
Woman”
F. Reader-Response Theory
G. Deconstruction
H. Orientalism
I. Biographical Approach

Week 18 FINAL EXAMINATION

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

• Term Paper on at least 2 critical studies (at least 5-7 pages) explaining the
theoretical concept that the critic clarifies especially well concerning the literary
work.

• Annotated Bibliography Component of the term paper. (These should be at least

6 entries in MLA). List each article and summarize the contents. Briefly set forth
the articles strengths and weaknesses as you see them.

EVALUATION TECHNIQUES

• Quizzes

• Recitation

• Reports

COURSE GRADING SYSTEM

Class Standing 70%

Recitation
Individual/Group Discussion
Assignments
Projects
Quizzes
 Attendance
Midterm/Final Examinations 30%
100%

Midterm grade + 2nd grading grade = FINAL GRADE

2

SUGGESTED TEACHING METHODOLOGIES/ STRATEGIES

• Lecture - Discussion
• Reporting
• Film viewing
• Assignments

SUGGESTED LEARNING ACTIVITIES

• Group Discussion
• Oral reports
• Written reports and papers
• Creative synthesis

REFERENCES
Atkins, G.D. & Morrow L. Contemporary Literature Theory. USA: University of
Massachusetts Press, 1989

Bressler Charles E. Literary Criticism: An Introduction to Theory and Practice. 2nd Ed.
New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1999

Culler, Jonathan. Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 1997

Leary L. Criticisms: Some Major Americans Writers. USA: Holt, Rhineheart and
Winston, Inc.,1971

James H. & Parks E.W. The Great Critics. New York: WW Norton & Company, 1951

Richards I.A. Principles of Literary Criticism. London: Routledge & Raegan Paul, 1976

Seldan, R. The Theory of criticism from Plato to the Present. London & New York:
Longman, 1988

Winsatt, w.k. & Brooks. Literary Criticism: A Short History. New Delhi: Oxford & IDH
Publishing Company