This document summarizes an ELIT 48C class on literary theory. It introduces literary theory as different lenses critics use to analyze art and literature. Theories allow critics to focus on certain aspects of a work. Learning theory can provide new perspectives on society, media, politics, and human nature. The class will cover New Criticism, Feminist Criticism, African American Criticism, and Queer Criticisms. Students are asked discussion questions about popular theories, when theory becomes restraint, and how theory helps identify authorial devices. The class relates theories to seeing works through different lenses like glasses.
3. What is Literary Theory?
A very basic way of thinking about literary
theory is that these ideas act as different
lenses critics use to view and talk about
art, literature, and even culture. These
different lenses allow critics to consider
works of art based on certain assumptions
within that school of theory. The different
lenses also allow critics to focus on
particular aspects of a work they consider
important.
4. Why should we bother to learn
about critical theories?
According to Tyson, “Theory can help us learn to
see ourselves and our world in valuable new
ways, ways that can influence how we educate
our children, both as parents and teachers; how
we view television, from the nightly news to
situation comedies; how we behave as voters
and consumers; how we react to others with
whom we do not agree on social, religious, and
political issues; and how we recognize and deal
with our own motives, fears, and desires” (2).
5. She continues by saying, “And if we believe that
human productions—not just literature but also, for
example, film, music, art, science, technology, and
architecture—are outgrowths of human experience
and therefore reflect human desire, conflict, and
potential, then we can learn to interpret those
productions in order to learn something important
about ourselves as a species. Critical theory [. . .]
provides excellent tools for that endeavor, tools that
not only can show us our world and ourselves through
new and valuable lenses but also can strengthen our
ability to think logically, creatively, and with a good
deal of insight.
6. Four Theories this quarter
New Criticism
Feminist Criticism
African American (and minority) Criticism
Lesbian, Gay, and Queer Criticisms
8. QHQs
Q: What are the most popular
interpretative theories in academia
right now?
Q: When do we cross the line into
critical theory territory from just
enjoying something for what’s on its
surface?
Q: When do theories transform from
tools of understanding to restraints
of our appreciation of literature?
9. Q: Is there any such thing as a wrong
interpretation?
Q: If a text “unwittingly” advocates
for something it would appear to
deride, is it the fault of the author?
Q: Does critical theory help us identify
and codify the elusive devices
authors utilize to convey a message?
10. Theory and Gatsby
Q: “Think of each theory as a new pair of
eye‐ glasses through which certain
elements of our world are brought into
focus while others, of course, fade into the
background.” (Tyson 3).
How does this quote relate to the use of
eyes in The Great Gatsby?
11. HOMEWORK
Read: Critical Theory Today: Chapter 5
“New Criticism” Pp. 135-164
Post #6: QHQ: New Criticism
