Please sit with your group Please sit with your group from yesterdayfrom yesterdayGet ready to add to your notes from yesterday.

Group Work—Children’s Group Work—Children’s BooksBooks1. One member of the group reads the story aloud

to the group (make sure to share the pictures!)

2. Discuss the story and determine 2 things:◦ What is the story about on the surface?◦ What does the story mean—what’s the theme?

3. Write a summary of the story in 1 or 2 sentences

4. Describe the theme and how it’s shown in the story.

5. Choose a picture from the book that best illustrates the theme.

6. One member of the group reports to the class

Literary CriticismLiterary Criticism

Sources include:

Jamie L. Wills,Kennesaw State University

Timothy Sexton, eHow Contributor

What is literary analysis?What is literary analysis?

The practice of reading a work of literature with a critical eye rather than for mere entertainment.

Provides an interpretation of the work based on one of the multiple schools of literary criticism.

A Short History of Literary A Short History of Literary CriticismCriticism(Very short!)

EaEarliest known examples of literary analysis appeared rliest known examples of literary analysis appeared during the Hellenistic periodduring the Hellenistic period

The time between the death of Macedonian king Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of ancient Rome

Representative works of early literary analysis include Aristotle's "Poetics" and "On the Sublime," by Longinus.

In the beginning…In the beginning…For most of the history of literary analysis, the primary focus revolved around the attempt to penetrate through to the author's intent in putting words to paper. Literary analysis really meant authorial analysis.

What was the author trying to say?

Twentieth-century literary analysis upended this tradition by placing the emphasis on analyzing the work alone."Art is not truth. It is a lie that makes us realize

truth", Braque

New Criticism—1920sNew Criticism—1920sDid away with placing any emphasis on an attempt to understand the intent or motivation of an author.

The rise of Freudian psychoanalysis and the revelation that a great deal of human intent is subconscious and unknown.

If the author did not even know what his intent was, how could anyone attempting to analyze it know?

Literary theories continue to evolve as different schools of thought react to and modify those that came before.

CRITIQUING “SNOW CRITIQUING “SNOW WHITE”WHITE”

Literary Theories and Snow Literary Theories and Snow WhiteWhite

Versus

Structuralist Theory

Enables us to see how language itself produces meaning.

Binary Oppositions•good/evil•youth/age •innocence/artifice• castle/cottage

Literary Theories and Snow Literary Theories and Snow WhiteWhite

Feminist Criticism

Exploring women’s redefinition of their identity in writing.

Snow White’s life with the dwarves as important to her education as a submissive female who learns lessons of service, selflessness, and domesticity.

Literary Theories and Snow Literary Theories and Snow WhiteWhite

The role of the dwarves is similar to that of the peasant classes in that it echoes the value of hard work and solidarity needed for survival. These dwarves support the fairytale’s social order.

Marxist TheorySeeing society asa class struggle.

““Criticism adds another Criticism adds another level to our literary study level to our literary study and gives the students and gives the students added insight into the added insight into the mysteries of literary mysteries of literary

interpretations.”interpretations.”

“Demystifying the Text: Literary Criticism in the High School Classroom” – Lisa Schade

Theories used in Imaginary Theories used in Imaginary Worlds:Worlds:HistoricalReader ResponseFeministBiographical

Historical Historical For New Historicists, a piece of literature is

shaped by the time period in which it was written

Must be examined and interpreted in the context of that time period

Ties the characters, events and language in a piece of literature to events from the time period in which it was written.

Considers political and cultural events that the author lived through.

All of these various pieces, along with the time period the piece of literature is set in, are part of the interpretation process for New Historicists.

Apply an Historical Critique Apply an Historical Critique to your Children’s storyto your Children’s storyIn what time period was your

story written?How does the story relate to the

time period in which it was written?

FeministFeministAnalyzes text through the lens of how

women have historically been portrayed in literature.

Examines the political, social and economic subjugation of women in society.

Looks at how the characters, the dialogue, the events and resolution of a piece of literature can serve to either reinforce or challenge stereotypical representations of women.

Apply a Feminist Critique to Apply a Feminist Critique to Your Children’s story:Your Children’s story:What message, if any, does the

story seem to suggest about male/female /gender roles?

Was the story written by a male or female?

Reader ResponseReader Response Interpreting a piece of literature as an

interaction between the reader and the literature, rather than solely on the merits of the piece of literature.

The reader's reaction, how the piece affects the reader, is taken into consideration when interpreting a piece.

The text itself has meaning and the interaction between the reader and the text also carries meaning.

The interpretation in Reader-Response Criticism lies between the intersection of these two sets of meaning when evaluating a text.

BiographicalBiographicalLooks at the writer's biographical

details and relates this to the literature to show how much the work reflects the life and personality of the writer, his/her personal views and opinions.

Understanding the writer, the times he wrote in and his personal experience is needed for biographical criticism.