Download Allingham, Philip V. “Contemporary Literary and Critical Theory.”

Critical Stances
Generally, literary critics analyze literature within “schools of thought.” Although each critic
attempts to look at a piece of literature with a fresh outlook, for the most part his perspective on
that piee is grounded from a set of beliefs that he holds to be paramount for viewing the world.
Listed below are nine widely used critical lenses. Although a critic usually works from one of
these stances, the approaches are not mutually exclusive; indeed, most critics use a variety of
lenses through which to view a piece of literature.
1. Gender
Literature reveals patriarchal assumptions, and traditional critics have viewed literature with
male-dominated assumptions. This newer perspective is an outgrowth of the women's movement
that followed WWII to pursue a "feminist critique" of works by male authors and investigate
how literary texts present women and men and the role of women and men in culture and
society. Look at societal expectations, social roles for men and women, gender stereotypes, and
the role of the family in the novel
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Is Hawthorne’s portrayal of women in the novel sympathetic or critical?
What does he appear to consider as admirable traits in a woman?
What qualities is he referring to when he describes Ann Hutchinson as “sainted”?
How does Hester satisfy or fail to satisfy the expectations others have of her as a woman.
What is Hawthorne’s attitude toward Hester?
If cultures construct their expectations of men and women, what is Hawthorne trying to
accomplish by creating Pearl as he does? What sense can you make of her ultimate good
fortune?
Is Hawthorne’s Dimmesdale a critical or sympathetic portrayal of manhood?
Chillingsworth is called a “Dark Man.” Who other than he has power in the novel?
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2. Biographical
Literature attains meaning through understanding the life and experiences of its author.
does the novel reflect the author’s life and his central concerns and beliefs?
How
3. Formalist/Rhetorical (“New Criticism”)
This critical approach emphasizes the actual form of the work rather than any historical, social or
biographical context and assumes that literature is a unique form of knowledge that can be
understood and enjoyed from a close reading of its literary elements. This would involve
examining and analyzing plot, characters, theme, symbols, foreshadowing, structure, etc. New
critics “assume that a work of literature is a freestanding, self-contained object whose meaning
can be found in the complex network of relations between its parts…Formalists ultimately make
sense of the ambiguities they find in a given text, arguing that every ambiguity serves a definite,
meaningful – and demonstrable - literary function” (The Bedford Glossary).
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Examine the voice of the narrator who guides our thinking about the various issues raised in
the novel. How do we know what to think about the characters and events of the novel?
What motifs and symbols does Hawthorne use to develop his thematic concerns?
Can you discern a structure of the novel? Is the scaffold a landmark of some kind?
4. Deconstruction (See exercise at deconstruction here) Because language is unstable,
literature can have no fixed, single meaning. This opposes the close reading of the formalist who
claims the literary elements reveal meaning. The author cannot control the meaning of his text
because he cannot control the language of his text.
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From Bedford Glossary of Literary Terms: Deconstruction “involves the close
reading of texts in order to demonstrate that any given text has irreconcilably
contradictory meaning, rather than being a unified, logical whole. Jacques Derrida
coined the term deconstruction, argues that in Western culture, people tend to think and
express their thoughts in terms of binary oppositions” where one is “considered positive
or superior and another considered negative or inferior, even if only slightly so”
(white/black, masculine/feminine/beginning/end/conscious/unconscious). "Through
deconstruction, Derrida aims to erase the boundary between binary oppositions….He
rejected the structuralist belief that texts have identifiable “centers” of meaning.”
Structuralist would say that the signifier, “dog” would be signified the same way in
everybody’s mind, but Derrida would say that is not true. (I see terrier; you see retriever)
From Angelfire.com “What is Deconstructionism”: Derrida wants to show us that
interpretation of our language in literature involves a kind of "game" in which we much
keep an open mind as to what a word or sentence may point to. We must also realize that
a vast uncertainty exists in our language that leaves the door open for a wide variety of
interpretations to come occur, a huge variety of responses to a text. (Cowles 113)
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… there is no absolute truth, no correct interpretation, and no right answer.
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From Yale.edu, “Deconstruction:
Deconstruction does not show that all texts are meaningless, but rather that they are
overflowing with multiple and often conflicting meanings. Similarly, deconstruction does
not claim that concepts have no boundaries, but that their boundaries can be parsed in
many different ways as they are inserted into new contexts of judgment.
5. Religious/Mythical
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This approach requires that you examine the allusions used by the author to add layers
to the novel and to support the thematic concerns: Greek Mythology, Biblical
allusions, the idea of sin, redemption, forgiveness, free will, predestination
6. Psychological
The emphasis of this approach is to discover symbols and language that, often unconsciously,
explain meanings or unconscious intention, including the motives and actions of characters.
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Examine characters whose agendas are deeply psychological
Guilt, obsession, healing
Freudian criticism specifically employs the concepts of id (unconscious, instinctual
drives) ego (consciousness which mediates between the pressures of reality and libidinal
demands), and the superego (an internal censor produced by socialization).
7. Historical/Political
The study of literary works within their historical, political and cultural contexts; it developed in
the 1980s in reaction to critical stances that ignored such contextual matters and concentrated
exclusively on the text. Historical critics are interested in discovering the reaction of the original
audience, how the work was received in its original historical context.
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Examine the novel against the backdrop of the period about which and within which it
was written. Careful not to step on the toes of the Economic/Social group; concentrate
your focus on the American Romantic period and the Puritans in general.
What was going on in America at this time? In “The Customs House” Hawthorne
mentions the shifting sands elections caused. Who was the President when he wrote the
novel? What was Hawthorne’s political affiliation?
What other writers were publishing during this time and do they have any artistic or
philosophical kinship with Hawthorne?
What kind of audience did The Scarlet Letter reach? How was it published, printed and
read/purchased by whom? What kind of critical reception did it have?
8. Archetypal
Literature reveals recurrent universal patterns. Archetypes of symbols, characters, situation and
images create a universal response across cultures and time. Jungian archetypes dominate this field.
The approach originated in the early 20th c. with anthropologist J. G. Frazer and psychologist C.
G. Jung as a means of interpreting literary symbols as residues of ancestral memory preserved
within the collective unconscious. Don’t just resort to your freshman handout. Do the research.
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Look for the Hero, Trickster, Shadow, Angel, Child, Great Mother, wise old man, the
Anima (the feminine in the man’s psyche), Animus (the masculine in a woman’s psyche).
9. Marxist or Economics and/orSociological
Based on the theories of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, this literary lens emphasizes class
struggle and the economic influence of all social actions and institutions as the basic pattern of
history. Included in this perspective are kinds of audience, modes or conditions of publication
(publishers and magazines), and the class positions of authors and readers (consumers). Also
investigate the sociological issues of the rural and urban worlds of the book: rules of marriage,
divorce, child-rearing, deviance from the law, race and ethnic divisions, work and industry.
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What kind of economic success did the Puritan settlement enjoy?
Your textbook said that the “elect” made their society undemocratic; did some Puritans
enjoy more wealth, power, privilege than others? Why?
Is there evidence that the rigid constraints of the Puritans gave it a better change to be a
viable community on the frontier of the new world – what would it take to create a
successful community in a landscape that included hostile indigenous people?
How does Hawthorne incorporate the idea of the “Other” in the Native American
presence in the novel? Are they are key players in this society?
What does Hawthorne have to say about the group vs. the individual? Does the behavior
of the crowd differ from what is possible from the individual?
Adapted from:
Allingham, Philip V. “Contemporary Literary and Critical Theory.” Victorian Web. 2003. 6 May 2009. Web.
Religious/Mythical
Biographical
Deconstruction
Gender
Historical/Political
Formalist/Rhetorical
Archetypal
Marxist/Economic/Sociological
Psychological