This document provides an overview of various approaches to literary criticism. It defines literary criticism as the study, discussion, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. It then discusses several common approaches to literary criticism, including reader-response criticism, formalist criticism, archetypal criticism, Marxism, and feminism. For each approach, it provides examples of how it can be used to analyze and interpret literature. The document emphasizes that there is no single right way to analyze a text and that using multiple approaches can enhance literary interpretation.

1. Literary Criticism
How Do I Evaluate a Text?

2. Who do you think is right?
2

3. What image do you see?
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10. Keala Settle - This Is Me (Lyrics
video) The Greatest Showman
10
I am not a stranger to
the dark
Hide away, they say
'Cause we don't want
your broken parts
I've learned to be
ashamed of all my
scars
Run away, they say
No one'll love you as
you are.
But I won't let them
break me down to
dust
I know that there's
a place for us
For we are glorious
When the sharpest
words wanna cut me
down
I'm gonna send a
flood, gonna drown
them out
I am brave, I am
bruised
I am who I'm meant
to be, this is me
Look out 'cause
here I come
And I'm marching
on to the beat I
drum.
I'm not scared to be
seen
I make no
apologies, this is me

11. What is “literary criticism?”
• The way people read texts
• The “lens” through which you view the
literature
• There is no “right” way to look at
literature

12. DEFINITION …
Literary criticism is the study,
discussion, evaluation, and
interpretation of literature.
Wow … thanks a lot …
now everything is crystal clear …

13. “Big Questions” about Literature
What are the influences on how we
read, interpret, and understand a
text?
How do we come to interpret a novel,
poem, play or a song?

14. CRITICAL APPROACHES PRIMER
oReader-Response
oFormalism
oArchetypal
oMarxism
oFeminism

15. Using Theories
Using multiple
theories can
enhance the
literary
interpretation

16. Reader-Response
• Making a connection
between your
experiences and the text
• Literature has no
objective meaning
• A reader brings their own
thoughts and
experiences

17. Reader Response
For Example:
• Connect the literature to your
life
• Connect the literature to
current events
• Discuss how the literature
makes you feel
• Compare the literature to the
way you view the world

18. Formalist Criticism
• Scientific “dissection”
of texts
• Focus on literary
elements
• Analyze: setting,
character, plot, theme,
imagery,
foreshadowing, irony,
etc.

19. Hello, Love, Goodbye is about the unconventional
love story of two Overseas Filipino Workers in Hong
Kong, Joy (Kathryn) and Ethan (Alden). 19

20. Archetypal Criticism
Archetypes are
universal symbols
that appear in
literature, myth,
dreams, oral
tradition, songs, etc.

21. Examples of
Archetypes
Images such as:
water
sun
certain colors or numbers
circles
the serpent
garden
tree
desert

22. Examples of Archetypes
Characters such as:
“the hero”
"the earth mother"
"the soul mate"
"the trickster"
“the damsel in distress”

23. Examples of Archetypes
Ideas such as:
• Light vs. Darkness
• Good vs. Evil
• The Journey/Quest

24. Common Assumptions of
Archetypal Criticism
• Certain images recur in texts
• Certain characters/character
types recur in texts
Recur means “to happen or
appear again”

25. How Far I'll Go
Auli'i Cravalho
I've been staring at
the edge of the water
'Long as I can
remember, never
really knowing why
I wish I could be the
perfect daughter
But I come back to
the water, no matter
how hard I try25
Every turn I take,
every trail I track
Every path I make,
every road leads
back
To the place I know,
where I can not go,
where I long to be
See the line where the
sky meets the sea? It
calls me
And no one knows,
how far it goes
If the wind in my sail
on the sea stays
behind me
One day I'll know, if I
go there's just no
telling how far I'll go

26. How Far I'll Go
Auli'i Cravalho
I've been staring at the edge of
the water
'Long as I can remember, never
really knowing why
I wish I could be the perfect
daughter
But I come back to the water,
no matter how hard I try
26
Moana recognizes
that she has
responsibilities as a
daughter, she can't
pretend to be
someone she's not,
and the water keeps
drawing her back,
whatever she does.

27. Every turn I take, every
trail I track
Every path I make, every
road leads back
To the place I know,
where I can not go,
where I long to be
27
The place that
Moana keeps
being drawn
back to is
significant,
because it's
forbidden.
How Far I'll Go
Auli'i Cravalho

28. See the line where the sky
meets the sea? It calls me
And no one knows, how
far it goes
If the wind in my sail on
the sea stays behind me
One day I'll know, if I go
there's just no telling how
far I'll go
28
The lyrics are reminiscent of
The Little Mermaid,
particularly when Ariel sings
about wanting to live in the
real world instead of under
the sea.
She wants to follow her
dreams by traveling
somewhere far away.
How Far I'll Go
Auli'i Cravalho

29. Marxist Criticism
• Based on the economic and
cultural theory of Karl Marx
• founder of communism
• Communism: a stateless,
classless society
• Wrote The Communist
Manifesto (1848)
• Deals with class struggles
May 5, 1818 – March 14, 1883

30. Marxist Criticism
• Marx argued that
capitalism, like
previous
socioeconomic
systems, will produce
internal tensions
which will lead to its
destruction

31. How to Use Marxist Theory
• Focus on power and
money in the
literature
• Who has the power
or money?
• Who does not?
• What happens as a
result?

32. Feminist Criticism
• Realizes cultural and
economic problems in a
“patriarchal” society
• Realizes issues that have
hindered or prevented
women from achievement
• Recognizes that society
sees women as “other” to
man

33. Common Assumptions of
Feminist Criticism
• Our civilization is pervasively patriarchal
• The concepts of “gender” are cultural
constructs

34. Common Assumptions of
Feminist Criticism
• The patriarchal ideology pervades writing
that has been considered “great literature”
• “Great literature” lacks autonomous
female role models
• Primarily addresses male readers
• Makes the female reader an “outsider”-
assumes male values to identify

35. Strategies for Using Feminist Criticism
• What is the author’s gender?
• What roles do women have in the text?
• Are the female characters the
protagonists or secondary and minor
characters?
• What are the attitudes toward women
held by the male characters?

37. LITERARY THEORIES
"Literary theories were developed
as a means to understand the
various ways people read texts. All
literary theories are lenses through
which we can see texts."
-Deborah Appleman
3

38. Vocabulary Enrichment
Activity #1: WORD WALL
Look at least 2 unfamiliar words
from the lyrics of the song Royals
and write them on the metacards.
Place them on the wall/board
instructed by the teacher.

39. Literary Reading
Activity #2: SONG ANALYSIS
Read, understand, and
interpret the song by group
discussion or brainstorming.

40. Literary Interpretation
Activity #3:CSI Strategy(Color, Symbol, Image)
Present the interpretation of the
song using the C.S.I Strategy

41. LITERARY THEORIES
"Literary theories were developed
as a means to understand the
various ways people read texts. All
literary theories are lenses through
which we can see texts."
-Deborah Appleman
4

42. Katie Perry’s Fireworks

43. Quiz#5
1.The way people read, evaluate and interpret
text is called _____________
2. Rigid application of a theory can spoil a
book. (Yes or No)
3. Archetypal Criticism is an approach which
uses universal ______________.
4. A Marxism which deals with class struggles
is an approach according to _____________

44. Quiz#5
5. A literary approach which shows and view the
role of women in a society is called ______
6. A literary approach which gives the readers
reaction to a certain text is called _________
7. According to Karl Marx, a stateless or
classless society is called ___________
8. There is no “right” way to look at literature.
(T/F)

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