Literary Criticism And Theories

3y ago
81 Views
4 Downloads
4.73 MB
365 Pages
Last View : 14d ago
Last Download : 2m ago
Upload by : Cannon Runnels
Transcription

Literary Criticism and TheoriesDENG501Edited by:Dr. Gowher Ahmad Naik

LITERARY CRITICISM AND THEORIESEdited ByDr. Gowher Ahmad Naik

Printed byUSI PUBLICATIONS2/31, Nehru Enclave, Kalkaji Ext.,New Delhi-110019forLovely Professional UniversityPhagwara

SYLLABUSLiterary Criticism and TheoriesSr.No.12345678910ContentAristotle’s PoeticsStanley Fish .Jaques DerridaLionel TrillingJaques LacanMikhail BakhtinEdward Said and OrientalismGynocriticism and Feminist CriticismElaine Showwalter Four models of FeminismUmberto’s Eco’s Casablanca: Cult Movies andinter-textual Collage

CONTENTSUnit 1:Aristotle: The Poetics—Introduction to the Author and the Text1Digvijay Pandya, Lovely Professional UniversityUnit 2:Aristotle: The Poetics: Introduction, Tragedy15Gowher Ahmad Naik, Lovely Professional UniversityUnit 3:Aristotle: The Poetics-Catharsis and Hamartia33Gowher Ahmad Naik, Lovely Professional UniversityUnit 4:Aristotle: The Poetics: Ideal Tragic Hero, Comedy45Digvijay Pandya, Lovely Professional UniversityUnit 5:Is There a Text in This Class—Introduction to Stanley Fish52Digvijay Pandya, Lovely Professional UniversityUnit 6:Is There a Text In This Class—Stanley Fish: Analysis59Gowher Ahmad Naik, Lovely Professional UniversityUnit 7:Structure, Sign, and Play in the Discourse of the Human Sciences—Jacques Derrida74Digvijay Pandya, Lovely Professional UniversityUnit 8:Structure, Sign, and Play in the Discourse of the Human Sciences’—Jacques Derrida: Detailed Study91Digvijay Pandya, Lovely Professional UniversityUnit 9:Structure, Sign and Play in the Discourse of the Human Sciences’—Jacques Derrida: Critical Appreciation102Gowher Ahmad Naik, Lovely Professional UniversityUnit 10:Freud and Literature—Lionel Trilling: An Introduction113Gowher Ahmad Naik, Lovely Professional UniversityUnit 11:Freud and Literature—Lionel Trilling: Detailed Study121Digvijay Pandya, Lovely Professional UniversityUnit 12:Freud and Literature—Lionel Trilling: Critical Appreciation128Digvijay Pandya, Lovely Professional UniversityUnit 13:The Insistence of the Letter in the Unconscious—Jacques Lacan: An Introduction137Digvijay Pandya, Lovely Professional UniversityUnit 14:The Insistence of the Letter in the Unconscious— Jacques Lacan: Detailed Study149Gowher Ahmad Naik, Lovely Professional UniversityUnit 15:The Insistence of the Letter in the Unconcious— Jacques Lacan: Critical Appreciation166Gowher Ahmad Naik, Lovely Professional UniversityUnit 16:Mikhail Bakhtin and his ‘From the Prehistory of Novelistic Discourse-Dialogics in Novels: IntroductionGowher Ahmad Naik, Lovely Professional University176

Unit 17:Mikhail Bakhtin and his “From the Prehistory of Novelistic Discourse”—Dialogics in Novels:Detailed Study185Gowher Ahmad Naik, Lovely Professional UniversityUnit 18:Mikhail Bakhtin and his ‘From the Prehistory of Novelistic Discourse(Textual Analysis with Chronotopes and Perennial Narativity)198Digvijay Pandya, Lovely Professional UniversityUnit 19:Two Types of Orientalism—Orientalism as a Literary Theory209Digvijay Pandya, Lovely Professional UniversityUnit 20:Edward Said's Crisis [In Orientalism]: Textual Analysis225Gowher Ahmad Naik, Lovely Professional UniversityUnit 21:Edward Said's Crisis [In Orientalism]: Detailed Study240Digvijay Pandya, Lovely Professional UniversityUnit 22:Edward Said's Crisis [In Orientalism]: Inter-Textual Analysis (Alluding Fanon, Foucaut and Bhabha)250Digvijay Pandya, Lovely Professional UniversityUnit 23:Gynocriticism and Feminist Criticism: An Introduction259Gowher Ahmad Naik, Lovely Professional UniversityUnit 24:Features of Feminist Criticism269Gowher Ahmad Naik, Lovely Professional UniversityUnit 25:Gynocriticism and Feminist Criticism: Analysis276Gowher Ahmad Naik, Lovely Professional UniversityUnit 26:Elaine Showalter: Four Models of Feminism in 'Ferminist Criticism in the Wilderness'282Digvijay Pandya, Lovely Professional UniversityUnit 27:Elaine Showalter: Four Models of Feminism in “Feminist Criticism in Wilderness”—Biological and Linguistic Difference288Digvijay Pandya, Lovely Professional UniversityUnit 28:Elaine Showalter: Four Models of Feminism in “Feminist Criticism in Wilderness”—Psychological and Cultural Difference305Gowher Ahmad Naik, Lovely Professional UniversityUnit 29:Umberto Eco’s ‘Casablanca: Cult Movies and Intertextual Collage’ (History and War-Background)316Gowher Ahmad Naik, Lovely Professional UniversityUnit 30:Umberto Eco's 'Casablanca: Cult Movies and Intertextual Collage’ (Textual Analysis)327Gowher Ahmad Naik, Lovely Professional UniversityUnit 31:Umberto Eco’s ‘Casablanca: Cult Movies and Intertextual Collage’(Deconstructing and Disciplinarising Hollywood)336Digvijay Pandya, Lovely Professional UniversityUnit 32:Umberto Eco’s ‘Casablanca: Cult Movies and Intertextual Collage’ (Intertextual Analysis)Gowher Ahmad Naik, Lovely Professional University346

Digvijay Pandya, Lovely Professional UniversityUnit 1: Aristotle: The Poetics—Introduction to the Author and the TextUnit 1: Aristotle: The Poetics—Introduction to the Author and the TextNotesCONTENTSObjectivesIntroduction1.1 Life and Works of Aristotle1.2 Aristotle’s Poetics—An Introduction1.3 “The Poetics”: Its Universal Significance1.4 Plato’s Objection to Poetry1.5 Aristotle’s Views on Poetry1.6 Summary1.7 Key-Words1.8 Review Questions1.9 Further ReadingsObjectivesAfter reading this Unit students will be able to: Know about Aristotle’s Works and His Life. Understand Aristotle’s Views on Poetry.IntroductionIn this unit we shall try to know about Aristotle and his life and works and also understand aboutthe relationship between Criticism and Creativity. We shall see how criticism is valued like creativewritings. We shall know the role and place given to 'the critic' in the field of literary criticism.In order to appreciate Aristotle's criticism of poetry and the fine arts it is essential to have someknowledge of literary criticism in antiquity prior to him, of the current critical theories and methods,and of the general, social and political conditions that prevailed in Greece at that time. It is alsoessential to have an idea of the views of Aristotle on ethics and morality in general.The history of literary criticism has witnessed several critics who themselves had not been creativewriters. Plato and Aristotle were such critics who gave guidelines of good literature withoutthemselves being creative writers. Plato was the most distinguished disciple of Socrates. The 4thcentury BC to which he belonged was an age of inquiry and as such his chief interest wasPhilosophical investigations, which form the subject of his great works in form of Dialogues. Hewas not a professed critic of literature and his critical observations are not found in any singlebook. They lie scattered in seven of his dialogues, more particularly in The Ion, The Symposium,The Republic and the Laws. The first objection to his critical views came form his disciple, Aristotle.1.1 Life and Works of AristotleAristotle was born of a well-to-do family in the Macedonian town of Stagira in 384 B.C. Hence thenickname Stagirite given to him by Pope. His father, Nicomachus, was a physician who diedwhen Aristotle was young. In 367, when Aristotle was seventeen, his uncle, Proxenus, sent him toAthens to study at Plato's Academy. There he remained, first as a pupil, later as an associate, forthe next twenty years.LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY1

Literary Criticism and TheoriesNotesAt Plato's AcademyAt seventeen, in B.C. 368-67, Aristotle began the first phase of his career-a twenty years' residencein Athens as a member of Plato's Academy. When Plato died in 347, the Academy came under thecontrol of his nephew Speusippus, who favored mathematical aspects of Platonism that Aristotle,who was more interested in biology, found uncongenial. Perhaps for this reason - but more likelybecause of growing anti-Macedonian sentiment in Athens - Aristotle decided to leave. He acceptedthe invitation of Hermeias, his friend and a former fellow student in the Academy, to join hisphilosophical circle on the coast of Asia Minor in Assos, where Hermeias (a former slave) hadbecome ruler. Aristotle remained there for three years. During this period he married Hermeias'sniece, Pythias, with whom he had a daughter, also named Pythias.In 345, Aristotle moved to Mytilene, on the nearby island of Lesbos, where he joined anotherformer Academic, Theophrastus, who was a native of the island. Theophrastus, at first Aristotle'spupil and then his closest colleague, remained associated with him until Aristotle's death. Whilethey were on Lesbos the biological research of Aristotle and Theophrastus flourished. In 343,Philip of Macedon invited Aristotle to his court to serve as tutor to his son Alexander, thenthirteen years old. What instruction Aristotle gave to the young man who was to become Alexanderthe Great is not known, but it seems likely that Aristotle's own interest in politics increased duringhis stay at the Macedonian court. In 340 Alexander was appointed regent for his father and hisstudies with Aristotle ended.The events of the next five years are uncertain. Perhaps Aristotle stayed at the court; perhaps hewent back to Stagira. But in 335, after the death of Philip, he returned to Athens for his secondlong sojourn. Just outside the city he rented some buildings and established his own school, theLyceum, where he lectured, wrote, and discussed philosophy with his pupils and associates.Under his direction, they carried out research on biological and other philosophical and scientifictopics. Theophrastus worked on botany, Aristoxenus on music; Eudemus wrote a history ofmathematics and astronomy, Meno of medicine, and Theophrastus of physics, cosmology, andpsychology. In addition, Aristotle and his group produced a monumental account of theconstitutions of 158 Greek city-states - an account Aristotle draws on in his own Politics.Tutor to AlexanderThe second phase of his carrer may be said to begin when after three years in Lesbos, passed in thestudy of Biology, in B.C. 343-42.But, despite the presence of philosophy, the court of Pella remained barbarous and sinister. Tomarry a new bride, Philip put away his Queen Olympias; in B.C. 336, she had him murdered, andher son Alexander came to the throne. After an absence of some twelve years, Aristotle returnedto the quiet of Athens. Some twelve years more of life were left to him. This was the beginning ofthe third phase in his career.Aristotle was invited by King Philip to his capital of Pella, as tutor to Alexander,then only thirteen or fourteen; mainly, it seems, in political science and in literature.For Aristotle refused to follow the puritanical ban of his master, Plato, on poetryin education.Return to Athens: His SchoolNo doubt Athenian patriots, like Demosthenes, may have knit their brows at the return of thisalien, for he was the hereditary friend of that Macedonian monarchy which had crushed Greekfreedom at Chaeronea (338); he was friend, too, of Antipater, made regent of Macedon whileAlexander stormed through Asia ; and foe to extreme democracy, as to all extremes. But Aristotlewas a self-possessed character. On hearing that some one had abused him, “Let him even beat2LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY

Unit 1: Aristotle: The Poetics—Introduction to the Author and the Textme”, was his traditional reply, “provided I am not there.” At Athens, though broken, was still theintellectual capital of Greece, “the eye of Greece”. There Aristotle now founded his own school,the Lyceum, in a grove of Appollo, at Lyceius, south of Lycabettus, and not far from the presentBritish School. Its buildings included a covered walk or walks, a museum, and a library. He wouldwalk up and down the grove as he taught, and hence the term ‘peripetic’, used for his philosophy.More and more his mind seems to have turned to scientific study of concrete realities : as if he hadtaken to heart the old Chinese saying—”I spent a whole day meditating—I should have donebetter to learn; I stood on tiptoe for a good view—better had I climbed a hill.” And so research wasnow organised by him on an encyclopaedic scale—in politics, history, literature, natural scienceand biology. His fame spread. He became, what Dante calls him, “the Master of those who know”.NotesLast Years and DeathBut his last years were not unshadowed. His wife had died; Alexander, though he had sent his oldtutor biological data from his conquests, deteriorated with success, saw fit to become a god,ignored Aristotle’s advice to treat his Greek subjects on a higher footing than Orientals, and put todeath Aristotle’s nephew, the tactless Callisthenes. Lastly, when Alexander himself expired atBabylon, Athens leapt to arms against the Macedonians; and, as part of the campaign, Aristotlewas accused of impiety, largely for the praises lavished in his poem, years ago, on his dead fatherin-law Hermeias. To save the Athenians, as he put it, “from sinning against philosophy a secondtime,” the old philosopher withdrew of Chalcis in Euboea, where he died next year (B.C. 322),aged sixty-three.His WillWe still have the will in which he provided with careful considerateness for his family and slaves,in particular for his mistress Herpyllis and his son by her; with his own ashes were to be laid, asshe had wished, those of his dead wife Pythias. In this will he provided for the deliverance of hisslaves : “It is the first emancipation proclamation in history”.His Views on GodA brief review of Aristotle’s views on God, on the state and the government, and on morality andethics, is essential for a proper understanding of his theory of poetry and the fine arts as developedin The Poetics. We, therefore, give here the salient features of his views on these subjects.In the philosophical system of Aristotle, God is not the Creator of the universe but the Cause of itsmotion. For a creator is a dreamer, and a dreamer is a dissatisfied personality, a soul that yearnsfor something that is not, an unhappy being who seeks for happiness—in short, an imperfectcreature who aims at perfection. But God is perfect and since he is perfect he cannot be dissatisfiedor unhappy. He is, therefore, not the Maker but the Mover of the universe. He is the unmovedmover of the universe.Every other source of motion in the world, whether it be a person or a thing or a thought, is(according to Aristotle) a moved mover. Thus the plough moves the earth, the hand moves theplough, the brain moves the hand, the desire for food moves the brain, the instinct for life movesthe desire for food and so on. In other words, the cause of every motion is the result of some othermotion. The master, of every slave is the slave of some other master. Even the tyrant is the slaveof his ambition. But God is the result of no action. He is the slave of no master. He is the source ofall action, the master of all masters, the instigator of all thought and movement.Furthermore, God is not interested in the world, though the world is interested in God. For to beinterested in the world means to be subject to emotion, to be swayed by prayers or by criticism, tobe capable of changing one’s mind as a result of somebody else’s actions or desires or thoughts—in short, to be imperfect. But God is passionless, changeless, perfect. He moves the world as abeloved object moves the lover.The Aristotelian God, who is loved by all men, but who is indifferent to their fate, is a cold,impersonal and, from our modern religious standpoint, “perfectly” unsatisfactory type of SupremeBeing. He resembles the Primal Energy of the scientists rather than the Heavenly Father of thepoets.LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY3

Literary Criticism and TheoriesNotesOn GovernmentWhen Aristotle moves down from heaven to earth his thought becomes more logical, moreunderstandable, more concrete. One by one he takes up the various forms of government thathave been tried out in the world—dictatorship, monarchy, oligarchy, (the rule of the few) anddemocracy. He analyzes each of them in turn, admits their strong features and points out theirweaknesses. Of all the forms of government, dictatorship is the worst. For it subordinates theinterests of all to the ambition of one. The most desirable form of government, on the other hand,is that which, “enables every man, whoever he is, to exercise his best abilities and to live his daysmost pleasantly.” Such a government, whatever its name, will always be a constitutionalgovernment. Any government without a constitution is a tyranny, whether it is the government ofone man, of a few men, or of many men. The unrestrained will of a handful of aristocrats or of ahorde of common men is just as great a tyranny as the unrestrained will of one man. The dictatorshipof a class is no better than the dictatorship of an individual.Dislike of CommunismIn the first place, the government should not be—like Plato’s Republic—communistic. The commonownership of property, and especially of women and of children, would result in continualmisunderstandings, quarrels and crimes. Communism would destroy personal responsibility.“What everybody owns, nobody cares for.” Common liability means individual negligence.“Everybody is inclined to evade a duty which he expects another to fulfil.” You can no more hopeto communize human goods than you can hope to communize human character. Aristotle advocatesthe individual development of each man’s character and the private ownership of each man’sproperty.Public WelfareBut just as each man’s personal character must be directed to the public welfare, so, too, must eachman’s private property be employed for the public use. “And the special business of the legislatoris to create in all men this co-operative disposition.” It is the legislator’s entire business to providefor public interests of the citizens. To this end there should be no hard-and-fast distinction betweenclasses, particularly between the class of the rulers and the class of the ruled. Indeed, all thecitizens alike should take their turn of governing and being governed, with the general provisothat, “the old are more fitted to rule, the young to obey”.EducationThe ruling class must be vitally concerned with the education of the young. And this educationmust be both practical and ideal. It must not only provide the adolescent citizens with the meansfor making a living, but it must also teach them how to live within their means. In this way, thestate will be assured of an enlightened, prosperous, co-operative and contended body of citizens.DemocracyAbove all, the rulers must aim at the contentment of the ruled. They should achieve contentmentthrough justice. It is only in this way that they can avoid revolutions. “No sensible man, if he canescape from it or overthrow it, will endure an unjust government.” Such a government is like a firethat heats the pent-up resentment of the people to the bursting point. It is bound, sooner or later,to result in a violent explosion. Judged from the standpoint of fairness toward its citizens,“democracy appears to be safer and less liable to revolution than any other form of Government.”The countries that are most likely to explode into early rebellion are those that are governed bydictators. “Dictatorships” observes Aristotle, “are the most fragile of governments.”Happiness: Conditions for Its AttainmentThe aim of government, writes Aristotle, is to ensure the welfare of the governed. And thuspolitics translated into ethics. The state exists for man, and not man for the state. Man is born foronly one purpose—to be happy. But what is happiness ? It is that pleasant state of mind which is4LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY

Unit 1: Aristotle: The Poetics—Introduction to the Author and the Textbrought about by the habitual doing of good deeds. But to be happy it is not sufficient merely tobe good. It is necessary also to be blessed with a sufficiency of goods—that is, goo

Introduction In this unit we shall try to know about Aristotle and his life and works and also understand about the relationship between Criticism and Creativity. We shall see how criticism is valued like creative writings. We shall know the role and place given to 'the critic' in the field of literary criticism.

Related Documents:

Introduction to Literary Criticism. Definition and Use “Literary criticism” is the name given to works written by experts who critique—analyze—an author’s work. It does NOT mean “to criticize” as in complain or disapprove. Literary criticism is often referred to as a “secondary source”. Literary Criticism and Theory Any piece of text can be read with a number of different .

An Introduction to Literary Criticism and Theory Before we begin our examination and study of literary theory, it is important that we define exactly what literary theory is and is not, identify some of the main characteristics of such, as well as identify some of the key differences between traditional “literary criticism” and “literary theory.” While literary criticism since the late .

ENG125: Introduction to Literature Critical Literary Theories Purpose: Use this resource to learn about literary criticism. What is literary criticism? Literary Critical Theory is a tool that helps you find meaning in stories, poems

expository guide to literary criticism or literary concepts, nor does it attempt to catalogue the entire body of literary terms in use. It offers instead to clarify those thousand terms that are most likely to cause the student or general reader some doubt or bafflement in the context of literary criticism and other discussion of literary works.

Feminist Literary Criticism and Wuthering Heights BISWANATH MAHAPATRA Department of English, Khatra Adibasi Mahavidyalaya, Khatra, West Bengal, India Feminist criticism is the most outstanding discovery in the realm of theory as well as in the world of women. Feminist criticism comes in literary world in many forms and feminist critics have .

Welcome to ENG 111: Introduction to Literature and Literary Criticism. This three-credit unit course is available for students in the second semester of the first year BA English Language. The course serves as a foundation in the study of literary criticism. It exposes you to forms critical theories and concept in literary criticism. You will also

Academic literary criticism prior to the rise of “New Criticism” in the United States tended to practice traditional literary history: tracking influence, establishing the canon of major writers in the literary periods, and clarifying historical context and allusions within the text. Literary biography was and still is an important interpretive method in and out of the academy; versions of .

Abrasive jet machining is a modern machining process in which the Metal Removal takes place due to the impact of High Pressure, High Velocity of Air and Abrasive particle (Al2O3, Sic etc.) on a .