This document provides an agenda and content for an EWRT 1C class on literature. It discusses definitions of literature, what Terry Eagleton says about defining literature, and how to write a QHQ (Question-Hypothesis-Question) response to assigned readings. The document examines different ways of defining literature and their limitations. It outlines Eagleton's view that literature transforms language and is determined by social values and ideologies. Students are instructed to write a QHQ response to the class readings, starting with an open question, developing a hypothesis through close reading, and concluding with a new question. They are assigned homework to read about literary theory and post a discussion question or QHQ online.
Bahria Universiry Karachi Campus- Bs English, Semester 5.
Definition of literary criticism and theory.
Comparison between both the terms.
Types of theories and approaches to literary criticism.
The students are in dire need of something that helps them to understand basic concepts in simple language. This presentation attempts to explain key concepts like Criticism, types of criticism, critical theory and about other literary terms.
Bahria Universiry Karachi Campus- Bs English, Semester 5.
Definition of literary criticism and theory.
Comparison between both the terms.
Types of theories and approaches to literary criticism.
The students are in dire need of something that helps them to understand basic concepts in simple language. This presentation attempts to explain key concepts like Criticism, types of criticism, critical theory and about other literary terms.
Literary AnalysisWhat distinguishes literature from other forms o.docxSHIVA101531
Literary Analysis
“What distinguishes literature from other forms of knowledge is that it cannot be understood unless we understand what it means to be human.” (J. Bronowski)
There are many ways to interpret, analyze, and evaluate literature. Perhaps you’ve already been asked to make an observation or take a position about a work of literature (whether a poem, short story, novel, play, or film) and examine such elements as plot, characters, theme, setting, conflict, structure, point of view, imagery, or symbolism. When you are asked by a teacher to write an interpretation, a critique, or a literary analysis, you are being asked to figure out what is going on in a work of literature. Much more complicated than merely summarizing a piece or writing a personal reaction to it, literary analysis requires that you read between the lines of a text and discover something meaningful there. Why does a specific image recur throughout a poem? How does a novel relate to a social issue facing the author at the time it was written? Do you recognize a pattern or perceive a problem with a character’s behavior in a play? How is the role of women significant in a movie? Answers to all of these questions can be determined only through critical thinking and the synthesis of your ideas.
· An interpretation—explains a text’s overall meaning or significance, explaining your reasoning for this interpretation with supporting evidence from the text.
· A critique—also called a critical response or a review, it provides your personal judgment about a text, supported by reasons and references to the work of art and often secondary sources.· A formal analysis—different from a critique in that examines a work of art by breaking it down into various elements to discover how the parts interrelate to create meaning of effect.
· A cultural analysis—examines a work of art by relating it to the historical, social, cultural, or political situations in which it was written to show how the author was influenced by personal experiences, events, prevailing attitudes, or contemporary values.
How can I persuade readers that my view or interpretation is reasonable?
First, be sure that your view or interpretation asserts a debatable claim.
For instance, if you were to say that “Antigone is a play about a young woman who questions authority,” you wouldn’t be saying much beyond a summary. But if you said that, “Antigone’s punishment is well-deserved because she violates the laws of the king,” that is debatable. Another student could just as easily argue that Antigone’s punishment is not well-deserved and that she should be commended for respecting the higher laws of the gods over the laws of the king.
Because you are essentially arguing that your perspective is a valid one, you have to support it effectively with reasons, evidence from the piece (direct references to specific quotations, lines, passages, scenes, etc.), and—if required—secondary sources (articles and bo ...
Assignment InstructionsWrite a 500-750 word essay on one of the fo.docxsimba35
Assignment Instructions
Write a 500-750 word essay on one of the following topics. The word count does not include formatting or the works cited page.
Write a critical analysis of one of the works from weeks 1 or 2. An overview of approaches can be found
here
, but many are quite straightforward. Psychological, gender, sociological, biographical, and historical are all approaches that many use naturally in viewing a work. However, if your interest lies elsewhere, feel free to choose another approach.
Compare and contrast two of the stories from weeks 1 and 2. Be sure that you have isolated a strong and debatable thesis on which to build the essay. Simply pointing out the differences is not analysis. Toward that end, you may want to focus on a specific element of the stories.
If there's an aspect of the stories from these two weeks that particularly interests you, you may choose your own topic, but you must run it by me first to be sure it is headed in an analytical direction.
Your essay should be formatted in
MLA style
, including double spacing throughout. All sources should be properly cited both in the text and on a works cited page. As with most academic writing, this essay should be written in third person. Please avoid both first person (I, we, our, etc.) and second person (you, your).
In the upper left-hand corner of the paper, place your name, the professor’s name, the course name, and the due date for the assignment on consecutive lines. Double space your information from your name onward, and don't forget a title. All papers should be in Times New Roman font with 12-point type with one-inch margins all the way around your paper. All paragraph indentations should be indented five spaces (use the tab key) from the left margin. All work is to be left justified. When quoting lines in literature, please research the proper way to cite short stories, plays, or poems.
You should use the online APUS library to look for scholarly sources. Be careful that you don’t create a "cut and paste" paper of information from your various sources. Your ideas are to be new and freshly constructed. Also, take great care not to plagiarize.
Whatever topic you choose you will need a debatable thesis. A
thesis
is not a fact, a quote, or a question. It is your position on the topic. The reader already knows the story; you are to offer him a new perspective based on your observations.
Since the reader is familiar with the story, summary is unnecessary. Rather than tell him what happened, tell him what specific portions of the story support your thesis.
Formalist Criticism:
This approach regards literature as “a unique form of human knowledge that needs to be examined on its own terms.” All the elements necessary for understanding the work are contained within the work itself. Of particular interest to the formalist critic are the elements of
form
—style, structure, tone, imagery, etc.—that are found within the text. A primary goal for formalist critic ...
Essays are generally scholarly pieces of writing giving the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of an article, a pamphlet and a short story.
Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. Almost all modern essays are written in prose, but works in verse have been dubbed essays (e.g. Alexander Pope's An Essay on Criticism and An Essay on Man). While brevity usually defines an essay, voluminous works like John Locke's An Essay Concerning Human Understanding and Thomas Malthus's An Essay on the Principle of Population are counterexamples. In some countries (e.g., the United States and Canada), essays have become a major part of formal education. Secondary students are taught structured essay formats to improve their writing skills; admission essays are often used by universities in selecting applicants, and in the humanities and social sciences essays are often used as a way of assessing the performance of students during final exams.
Do you know what expository essay is? If no, please watch this presentation and read an article. We hope it will be useful https://essay-academy.com/account/blog/what-is-an-expository-essay
The Proposal In a paper proposal, your job is to answer t.docxssusera34210
The Proposal
In a paper proposal, your job is to answer the what, how, and why of your essay topic so that
your audience understands the basic parameters of your argument.
For this proposal, you will write me (your professor) a letter that contains the following:
1) Capture the reader’s interest with your introduction, which should be a brief explanation
of your topic as a whole. This is where you explain the exigency (show why this is a
problem/idea worth considering and why?)
2) Write your working thesis statement. Formulate the question that will govern your
research, and then answer it with a strong statement/claim that your paper intends to
prove.
3) Supply background/context on your topic along with the purpose and relevance of your
thesis. Explain what you hope to prove or uncover. Provide concrete examples of the
issues you will be exploring, and explain why the research you will conduct is important.
This is where you will branch away from the primary source (the novel) to explain why
the theme or idea you are exploring is relevant beyond the page.
4) Discuss preliminary research on your topic while developing your proposal; explain how
this research fits into your argument and plans for the paper. How are you going to use
your sources? (make sure to include primary and secondary sources).
Project Text: The Road
In this project we will explore the post-apocalyptic genre and how texts of this genre reflect issues
and anxieties coursing through everyday life.
You will begin this Project by reading and analyzing Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. During this
time, we will pay close attention to themes being built within the text that provide insight on
“real-world” issues. You will then conduct research of your own (using the CSUN databases) in
order to find evidence that supports your theme in that “real-world” context.
The essay itself will be an argument made by you with an explicit thesis that is proven with
evidence from our primary text: The Road, and at least three resources you have found on the
CSUN databases.
Basic Requirements:
- 6 page minimum with Works Cited (not included in page count)
- Standard MLA Format
- A completed essay packet.
- Essay needs to be posted to your Class Website AND turned in at the beginning of class.
- Minimum of 3 secondary sources. You may use the articles I have provided for you, but
these will not count towards the minimum requirement.
- Proof of visit to the LRC.
- Completion of all lead-up exercises.
Exercise 1: The Review
For this assignment, you will be required to write a scholarly review of Cormac McCarthy’s The
Road. In this review, you will be required to interpret The Road within a larger conversation (based
on the themes you have been developing throughout the past few weeks). Your review will need
to include supplemental information from two of our previous texts.
750 Word Minimum. Posted to your Class Websit ...
Take the quiz to discover what poem you have been assigned to discus.docxbriankimberly26463
Take the quiz to discover what poem you have been assigned to discuss this week;
"On Being Brought From Africa to America" By: Phillis Wheatley
2.Look through the critical approaches in the Week 4 lesson, and CHOOSE 2 that you think could be used to analyze the poem you chose.
Literary Critical Theory:
Interpretive Strategies
1. Historicism considers the literary work in light of "what really happened" during the period reflected in that work. It insists that to understand a piece, we need to understand the author's biography and social background, ideas circulating at the time, and the cultural milieu. Historicism also "finds significance in the ways a particular work resembles or differs from other works of its period and/or genre," and therefore may involve source studies. It may also include examination of philology and linguistics. It is typically a discipline involving impressively extensive research.
2. New Criticism examines the relationships between a text's ideas and its form, "the connection between what a text says and the way it's said." New Critics/Formalists "may find tension, irony, or paradox in this relation, but they usually resolve it into unity and coherence of meaning." New Critics look for patterns of sound, imagery, narrative structure, point of view, and other techniques discernible on close reading of "the work itself." They insist that the meaning of a text should not be confused with the author's intentions nor the text's affective dimension--its effects on the reader. The objective determination as to "how a piece works" can be found through close focus and analysis, rather than through extraneous and erudite special knowledge.
3. Archetypal criticism "traces cultural and psychological 'myths' that shape the meaning of texts." It argues that "certain literary archetypes determine the structure and function of individual literary works," and therefore that literature imitates not the world but rather the "total dream of humankind." Archetypes (recurring images or symbols, patterns, universal experiences) may include motifs such as the quest or the heavenly ascent, symbols such as the apple or snake, or images such as crucifixion--all laden with meaning already when employed in a particular work.
4. Psychoanalytic criticism adopts the methods of "reading" employed by Freud and later theorists to interpret what a text really indicates. It argues that "unresolved and sometimes unconscious ambivalences in the author's own life may lead to a disunified literary work," and that the literary work is a manifestation of the author's own neuroses. Psychoanalytic critics focus on apparent dilemmas and conflicts in a work and "attempt to read an author's own family life and traumas into the actions of their characters," realizing that the psychological material will be expressed indirectly, encoded (similar to dreams) through principles such as "condensation," "displacement," and "symbolism."
5. Femini.
Slideshow for the fifth lecture in my summer course, English 10, "Introduction to Literary Studies: Deception, Dishonesty, Bullshit."
http://patrickbrianmooney.nfshost.com/~patrick/ta/m15/
3. +
What is Literature
According to the Oxford Dictionary, the word “Literature has three
definitions:
1. Written works, especially those considered of superior or lasting artistic
merit: a great work of literature.
Many scholars consider this novel a modern classic in US literatures.
2. Books and writings published on a particular subject: the literature on
environmental epidemiology
It is certainly true that the published literature on the subject is well surveyed.
3. Leaflets and other printed matter used to advertise products or give
advice.
They will be visiting problem areas to hand out literature and advice to people on
how best to secure their vehicles, and offering support to victims.
4. +
One Guide to Literary Terms defines
it this way:
Literature: writings in which expression and form, in
connection with ideas and concerns of universal and apparently
permanent interest, are essential features. While applied to any
kind of printed material, such as circulars, leaflets, and
handbills, there are some who feel it is more correctly reserved
for prose and verse of acknowledged excellence, such as
George Eliot’s works. The term connotes superior qualities.
5. +
What does Terry Eagleton Say?
Eagleton's "Introduction: What is
Literature?" addresses this
question, which is prompted by the
study of literary theory systems
used in critically thinking about and
understanding literature.
6. + Your First
Group!
Get into your groups of
three or four.
Once your groups is
established, choose
one person to be the
keeper of the points.
Write down members’
names
Turn in your sheet at
the end of the class
period.
Discuss Eagleton’s
introduction (6-7
minutes)
7. +
Who is Terry Eagleton
Terry Eagleton is an influential cultural
theorist who is widely regarded as the one
of the foremost contemporary Marxist
literary critics. With the publication of
Marxism and Literary Criticism (1976) and
Literary Theory (1983), Eagleton earned
recognition for producing smart, accessible
works of literary criticism that explore the
relationship between literature, history, and
society. He urges critics to promote a more
equitable society, that is to use
intellectualism and critical inquiry to serve a
broader good than just the academy.
8. +
Eagleton’s Introduction to Literature
Eagleton examines several different ways of defining literature
and points out the difficulties with each of them.
First he says “You can define it, for example, as
'imaginative' writing in the sense of fiction -writing which
is not literally true,” but then he explains that this definition is
fragile because “our own opposition between 'historical' and
'artistic' truth does not apply at all to the early Icelandic sagas.”
He also tells us that “in the English late sixteenth and early
seventeenth centuries, the word 'novel' seems to have been
used about both true and fictional events, and even news
reports were hardly to be considered factual.” He points out
that “our sharp discriminations between these categories
simply did not apply.”
9. Then he suggests that literature might be identified
“because it uses language in peculiar ways.” He refers to
the Russian formalists when he offers this definition:
“Literature transforms and intensifies ordinary
language, deviates systematically from everyday
speech.” As an example, he says “If you approach me
at bus stop and murmur 'Thou still unravished bride of
quietness' then I am instantly aware that I am in the
presence of the literary. I know this because the texture,
rhythm and resonance of your words are in excess of
their abstract able meaning -or as the linguists might
more technically put it, there is disproportion between the
signifies and the signifies.”
10. He explains that Russian formalists reduce a work of literature to
the formal parts of the text, disregarding both the author and
message. They asserted that Criticism should “concern itself
with how literary texts actually worked.” that is how they
operated within “specific laws, structures and devices, which
were to be studied in themselves rather than reduced to
something else.”
Eagleton makes his point about the fragility of the formalist
definition when he tells us that Formalist Osip Brick once said, in
defense of disregarding the author when analyzing literature, that
Eugene Onegin [own-yay-ghin] (a novel in verse which features a
thinly veiled version of the author as protagonist) “would have
been written even if Pushkin had not lived” because it was a
textual expression of a present material reality.
11. Eagleton goes on to explain that literature is often what is
determined to be good. He says, “value-judgments would
certainly seem to have a lot to do with what is judged
literature and what isn't -not necessarily in the sense that
writing has to be 'fine' to be literary, but that it has to be of
the kind that is judged fine.” Then he points out that this
determination is shaped by inescapable social ideologies.
Our value judgments “refer in the end not simply to private
taste, but to the assumptions by which certain social
groups exercise and maintain power over others.”
12. +
What do you think?
What is literature? How does
Eagleton’s explanation reinforce or
destabilize your ideas about
literature?
14. + How do I know what I think until I see what I say?
--E.M. Forster
Each text we study will provide material for response writing
called a QHQ (Question-Hypothesis-Question). The QHQ
requires students to have second thoughts, that is, to think
again about questions that arise during their reading and to
write about questions that are meaningful to them.
Begin your QHQ by formulating some question you have about
some aspect of the reading. The first question in the QHQ may
be one sentence or longer, but its function is to frame your QHQ
writing. A student might start with a question like, “Why is the
house in this story haunted? Or, “Why do I suspect the
murdered child has come back to life?” A student might even
write, “Why am I having so much trouble understanding this
story?”
15. After you pose your initial question, focus on a close reading of the
text in search of a hypothesis. This hypothesis section comprises the
body of your text. The student who asked about the haunted house
might refer to multiple passages about haunting in the text,
comparing and contrasting them to other instances of haunting with
which he or she is familiar. The student who asked about the dead
child might connect passages associated with the death to sections
about a new child who abruptly appears in the text. The student who
struggled to understand the text might explore those passages
whose meanings were obscure or difficult to understand, connecting
them to other novels and/or cultural texts.
After carefully exploring your initial question (200-300 words), put
forward another question, one that has sprung from your hypothesis.
This will be the final sentence of your QHQ and will provide a base
for further reflection into the text.
16. The QHQ is designed to help you formulate your response to the texts
we study into clearly defined questions and hypotheses that can be
used as a basis for both class discussion and longer papers. The QHQ
can be relatively informal but should demonstrate a thoughtful
approach to the material. While the papers need to be organized and
coherent, because you will sharing them in class, the ideas they
present may be preliminary and exploratory.
Remember, a QHQ is not a summary or a report—it is an original,
thoughtful response to what you have read. All QHQs should be posted
on the website the evening before the class for which they are due.
This will give both me and other students time to ponder your ideas and
think about appropriate responses. Moreover, this sharing of material
should provide plenty of fodder for essays. Even though you have
posted your QHQ, you should bring a copy of it to class in order to
share your thoughts and insights and to stimulate class discussion.
17. +
Homework
Read: “Literary Theory”: Internet
Encyclopedia of Philosophy (This is linked to the
website under “Course Readings” and then
“Theory Texts.”
Post #2: Choose one
What is the difference between literary theory and
traditional modes of literary criticism? What might
literary theory serve to reveal about a literary text
that traditional criticism cannot? Which major
school of literary theory interests you and why?
QHQ on “Literary Theory.”