Structuralism as a Literary Movement The document discusses structuralism as a literary movement that emerged in the 1950s led by Claude Levi-Strauss. Structuralism holds that human activities and products like language are structured systems and not natural. It focuses on how underlying structures shape surface level meaning. Structuralism examines how language constructs reality and how literary texts are structured to produce meaning through relationships between elements. Some key aspects are that structures determine each element's position, structures deal with coexistence over change, and structures are the "real things" beneath surface meanings.

1. M. K .BHAVNAGAR UNIVERSITY
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Structuralism as a Literary Movement
Presented by: Bhumi V Joshi.

2. Structuralism as a literary movement
Structuralism is 20th century intellectual
movement.
Inaugurated in the 1950 by Claude Levi-
Strauss - cultural anthropologist
Basically a French movement.

3. The Father of structuralism
Ferdinand – De – Saussure
It is the human science profound effect on linguistics,
sociology, anthropology, & other fields in addition to
philosophy.
Structuralism holds that all human activates & its products
even perception & thought itself are constructed and not
nature. It closely related to Semiology , the study of sign ,
symbols and communication and how meaning is constructed
and understood.

4. “Language
speaks us
rather than
we speak
language.”

5. Critic Pramad K. Nayar :

6. Structuralism as a general
movement:
1. Every system has a structure .
2. Structuralism is what determines the position of
each element of whole.
3. ‘Structural laws’ deals with Co- existence rather
than Changes.
4. Structures are the “ real things” that lie beneath
the surface of the appearance of meaning.

7. The major focuses
was on the origin and
development of
language. The
importance was given
to the ‘Diachronic
Mode’ of study. It
indicates a study of
language across the
time.

9. Sign
Sign is essentially arbitrary and
that there is no natural relation
between a signifier .
Sign is constituted by the
signifier and signified because
the words has no meaning.
.

10. “Language
constitutes
our world
and our very
existence.”
- Saussure
Meaning comes only from the context

11. Signifier :
Signifier is the
“word” or
alphabets which
are arranged in
particular order
and through
the context
image popes up
in our mind

12. Signified :
Signified is the concept that the signifier stands for.
Something is already there.
Signified is the mental concept because it is
already in our mind.

13. Fundamental Elements
1. Arbitrary
2. Relational
3. Systematic

14. Example:

18.  Language constructs the basic nature of our
perception or reality.
Structuralism allows the structuralists to investigate
the manner in which literary texts are structured.
 Structuralism seeks the process of meaning, &
production. It even analyses how the text constructs
meaning.
 Characteristics of structuralism :

19. Influence of structuralism
Claude Levi-Strauss – Psychoanalyst

21. Michael Foucault – Philosopher