LIT

• Literary Criticism


  The evaluation, analysis, or interpretation of literary works
• Literary Theory


  The various methods we use to analyze and understand literature
• Literary Criticism


  The practical application of the different Literary Theories
• Literary perspectives help us explain why people might interpret the same text in different ways
• No single lens gives us the clearest view, but it is sometimes fun to read a text with a particular perspective in mind because you often end up discovering something intriguing and unexpected
• While readers typically apply more than one perspective at a time, the best way to understand these perspectives is to employ them one at a time
• Perspectives

  • Empathy
  • Problem-Solving
• Reader Response Criticism - At its most basic level, reader response criticism considers readers' reactions to literature as vital to interpreting the meaning of the text.
• Reader Response Criticism meaning is understood in the context of the reader
• A literary work has no inherent or fixed meaning; rather, it means whatever an individual reader makes it mean.
• Formalism, also known as New Criticism, emphasizes close reading of the text itself, focusing on its formal elements such as structure, language, and imagery.
• Objectivity: Formalism seeks to analyze the text as an autonomous entity, independent of external factors such as authorial intention or reader response.
• Close Reading: This approach involves a detailed examination of the text's formal elements, including its structure, language, symbols, and motifs.
• Literary Devices: Formalism pays particular attention to literary devices such as metaphor, symbolism, irony, and foreshadowing, analyzing how they contribute to the text's overall meaning.
• Historical Context: Although formalist critics generally avoid considering historical context when interpreting texts, some have argued that understanding the social, political, and cultural climate in which a work was produced can shed light on its meaning.