Lesson 2

NOTRE DAME OF MARBEL UNIVERSITY
Alunan Avenue, Koronadal City 9506
LITERARY APPROACHES &

ELEMENTS IN THE STUDY OF
GREAT BOOKS
AHE 111 - Great Books
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:
1. discerningly reflect on the importance of the critical approaches and

literary elements in the study of great books;
2. critically interpret the meaning of a text using the critical approaches.
The life which is

unexamined is not worth
living.
SOCRATES
LITERARY
APPROACHES
STRUCTURALISM
It is a theory in which all elements of human culture, including
literature, are thought to be parts of a system of signs.
Its essence is the belief that things cannot be understood in

isolation, they have to be seen in the context of larger structures
they are part of.
STRUCTURALISM
Structuralists relate the text to some larger containing structure, such as:
a. the conventions of a particular literary genre, or

b. a network of intertextual connections, or
c. a projected model of an underlying universal narrative structure, or
d. a notion of narrative as a complex of recurrent patterns of motifs.
STRUCTURALISM
FORMALIST CRITICISM
All the elements necessary for understanding the work
are contained within the work itself.
It is concerned with the completeness of the elements of

a story (characters, plot, theme, setting) in a text.
FORMALIST CRITICISM
A primary goal for formalist critics is to determine how
such elements work together with the text’s content to
shape its effects upon readers.
Queer
Frank Bidart
Lie to yourself about this and you will
forever lie about everything.
Everybody already knows everything
so you can
lie to them. That’s what they want.
But lie to yourself, what you will
lose is yourself. Then you
turn into them.
For each gay kid whose adolescence
was America in the forties or fifties
the primary, the crucial
scenario
forever is coming out—
or not. Or not. Or not. Or not. Or not.
GENDER CRITICISM
This approach examines how sexual identity influences the
creation and reception of literary works.
Originally an offshoot of feminist movements, gender criticism

today includes a number of approaches, including the so-called
“masculinist” approach recently advocated by poet Robert Bly.
GENDER CRITICISM
The bulk of gender criticism, however, is feminist and takes as a
central precept that the patriarchal attitudes that have dominated
western thought have resulted, consciously or unconsciously, in
literature “full of unexamined ‘male-produced’ assumptions.”
GENDER CRITICISM
Feminist criticism attempts to correct this imbalance by analyzing
and combatting such attitudes—by questioning, for example in the
classic play ‘Othello’ by Shakespeare, why none of the
characters ever challenge the right of a husband to murder a
wife accused of adultery.
READER-RESPONSE CRITICISM
According to reader-response critics,
literary texts do not “contain” a meaning;
meanings derive only from the act of
individual readings.
READER-RESPONSE CRITICISM
Reader-response criticism, then, emphasizes how
religious, cultural, and social values affect readings; it
also overlaps with gender criticism in exploring how
men and women read the same text with different
assumptions.
BIOGRAPHICAL CRITICISM
This approach begins with the simple but central insight
that literature is written by actual people and that
understanding an author’s life can help readers more
thoroughly comprehend the work.
BIOGRAPHICAL CRITICISM
The biographical critic focuses on explicating the literary
work by using the insight provided by knowledge of
the author’s life and the biographical data should
amplify the meaning of the text, not drown it out with
irrelevant material.
PSYCHOLOGICAL CRITICISM
Psychological criticism has a number of approaches, but in general, it
usually employs one (or more) of three approaches:
An investigation of the The psychological study of a

creative process of the artist: particular artist, usually noting The analysis of fictional
what is the nature of literary how an author’s biographical characters using the
genius and how does it circumstances affect or language and methods
relate to normal mental influence their motivations
and/or behavior.
of psychology.
functions?
SOCIOLOGICAL CRITICISM
This approach examines literature in the cultural,
economic and political context in which it is written or
received, exploring the relationships between the artist
and society.
SOCIOLOGICAL CRITICISM: MARXISM

Literature is not simply a matter of personal expression
or taste; it somehow relates to the social and political
conditions of the time. Marxist scholars will seek to find
problems relating to capitalism, wealth inequality, class
struggle, etc.
The approach through literature is always

through life, and if a book no longer reflects
life, it will cease to be read, no matter what
its importance for antiquarian purposes.
John Erskine, The Delight of Great Books

REFLECTIVE ACTIVITY
Which approach/approaches appeal/s the most to you? Why?
Write your answers in a ¼ sheet of paper and prepare to share

your thoughts/justification in class.
LITERARY
ELEMENTS
LITERARY ELEMENTS: SHORT STORY
1. Characters
2. Setting
3. Plot
4. Conflict
5. Theme
LITERARY ELEMENTS: SHORT STORY

LITERARY ELEMENTS: POEMS

1. Sound Devices
2. Stylistic Devices (Figures of Speech)
LITERARY ELEMENTS: POEMS

LITERARY ELEMENTS: ESSAY

1. Tone
2. Thesis
3. Structure
4. Evidence
5. Conventions
6. Drama
INTERTEXTUALITY //
FOREGROUNDING
INTERTEXTUALITY
Intertextuality- refers to the interdependence of texts in relation
to one another (as well as to the culture at large).
Texts can influence, derive from, parody, reference, quote,

contrast with, build on, draw from, or even inspire each other.
INTERTEXTUALITY
It may involve an implicit reference by alluding to other works
through ideas, symbols, or styles; and/ or explicit reference
when the composer directly mentions, quotes, or references
other texts in their work.
FOREGROUNDING
Foregrounding is the act of emphasizing a
particular part of a literary work through a writer's
linguistic choices, for example, using a particularly
interesting literary device in order to make a line
or paragraph stand out.

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NOTRE DAME OF MARBEL UNIVERSITY

Alunan Avenue, Koronadal City 9506

LITERARY APPROACHES &

1. discerningly reflect on the importance of the critical approaches and

The life which is

Its essence is the belief that things cannot be understood in

a. the conventions of a particular literary genre, or

It is concerned with the completeness of the elements of

Originally an offshoot of feminist movements, gender criticism

An investigation of the The psychological study of a

SOCIOLOGICAL CRITICISM: MARXISM

The approach through literature is always

John Erskine, The Delight of Great Books

Which approach/approaches appeal/s the most to you? Why?

Write your answers in a ¼ sheet of paper and prepare to share

LITERARY ELEMENTS: SHORT STORY

LITERARY ELEMENTS: SHORT STORY

LITERARY ELEMENTS: POEMS

LITERARY ELEMENTS: POEMS

LITERARY ELEMENTS: ESSAY

Texts can influence, derive from, parody, reference, quote,

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