Literary approaches :: essays research papers

LiteratureChoose six of the following approaches and find one article for from each one approach.Writing&61692One page per article&616922 pgs summaryCritical approaches important in the study of lightederatureMORAL/INTELLECTUALConcerned with topic and valuesUsed not only to discover meaning, but also to determine whether works of literature are both true and significant.To study lit from this perspective is to determine whether a work conveys a lesson or a message and whether it can help readers lead better lives and improve their understanding of the world. closure these questions&61692What ideas does the work contain? &61692How strongly does the work bring forth its ideas?&61692What application do the ideas have to the works characters and situations?&61692How may the ideas be evaluated intellectually? chastely?TOPICAL/HISTORICALStresses the relationship of lit to its historical periodInvestigates relationships of this sort, including the elucidation of words and concepts that todays readers may not immediately understand.Common reflection is that in the extreme, it deals with background knowledge rather than with lit itself.NEW CRITICAL/FORMALISTFocuses on literary texts as formal works of art, and for this reason it can be seen as a reaction against the topical/historical approach.Most brilliant in the formal analysis of smaller units such as poems and short passages. Discussions of draw a bead on of view, tone, plot, character, and structure are formal ways of looking at lit from this point of view.STRUCTURALISTStems from the attempt to find relationships and connections among elements that appear to be separate and discrete. Attempts to discover the forms unite all litImportant because it enables critics to discuss works from widely disparate cultures and historical periods.Furnishes an ideal approach for comparative lit and the method also enables critics to consolidate genres such as modern romances, detective tales, soap operas and film.Best in the analysis of narratives and larger units.FEMINISTHolds that most of lit presents a masculine/ aged view in which the role of women is negated or at best minimized. Seeks to raise consciousness about the importance and unique nature of women in lit.ECONOMIC fatalist/MARXISTFeatures individuals in the grips of the class struggle. Often called proletarian litEmphasizes persons of the lower class the poor and oppressed who spend their lives in endless drudgery and misery, and whose attempts to outset above their disadvantages usually result in renewed suppression.PSYCHOLOGICAL/PSYCHOANALYTICProvided a new key to the understanding of character by claiming that behavior is caused by hidden unconscious motives.Treat lit somewhat like information about patients in therapy.ARCHETYPAL/SYMBOLIC/MYTHICPresupposes that human life is reinforced up out of patterns, or archetypes, that are similar throughout various cultures and historical times.