L2 | LITERARY APPROACH, CRITICISM, THEORY

• LITERARY APPROACH

  • General way you study literature. 
• LITERARY CRITICISM

  • Interpreting and evaluating a specific text using a theory.
• LITERARY THEORY

  • Ideas that guide your interpretation and evaluation.
• LITERARY LENSES

  1. Marxism
  2. Feminism
  3. Queer Theory
  4. Reader Response
  5. Formalism
• MARXISM

  • Views literature through the lens of class and economic power.
  • Reflects or challenges power dynamics.
  • Society is structured around a struggle between:
  • Bourgeoisie
  • Proletariat
  • Examines how economic conditions shape characters' lives, how power is distributed, and how literature can reinforce existing social hierarchies. 
  • Text serves as propaganda material.
• BOURGEOISIE

  • Capitalist class
  • Own most of the society’s wealth and means of production
• PROLETARIAT

  • Working class
• FEMINISM

  • How literature reflects societal biases to men marginalizing women.
  • Explores how women are represented (or misrepresented), how gender roles are constructed, and how patriarchal ideologies shape our understanding of texts. 
  • Feminist critics challenge traditional interpretations that often privilege male perspectives and seek to uncover the hidden or marginalized voices of women. 
• QUEER THEORY

  • Challenges the idea that there are fixed and natural categories of gender and sexuality. 
  • Examines how literature reinforces or subverts norms, exploring themes of identity, desire, and resistance.
  • How characters who deviate from heteronormative expectations are portrayed
  • How the text itself might challenge or reinforce dominant ideas about gender and sexuality
• READER RESPONSE

  • Emphasizes that meaning is created through the interaction between the reader and the text (reader’s context). 
  • Focuses on how different readers might interpret the same text differently, exploring the subjective nature of reading. 
  • They might analyze how their own personal experiences influenced their understanding
• FORMALISM

  • Formalist critics pay close attention to the literary devices
  • Analyze how these elements work together to create meaning and aesthetic effect. 
  • Emphasizes close reading and textual analysis, arguing that the meaning of a text can be discovered through a careful examination of its form and language