1.

Literary Approaches

2. Cultural Approach  Considers literature as one of the principal manifestations and vehicles of a
nation’s or race’s culture and tradition.  It includes the entire complex of what goes under “culture” -
the technological, the artistic, the sociological, the ideological aspects, and considers the literary piece in
the total culture milieu in which it was born.

3.  This approach in one of the richest ways to arrive at the culture of the people and one of the most
pleasurable ways of appreciating the literature of the people. It goes by the dictum “culture teaching
through literature”.

4.  Also called “PURE” or “LITERARY” approach  The selection is read and viewed intrinsically, or for
itself; independent of author, age, or any other extrinsic factor.  This approach is close to the “art for
art’s sake” dictum  The study of the selection is more is more or less based on the so – called literary
elements which is more or less boil down to the literal level, the affective values, the ideational values,
technical values, and total effects. FORMALISTIC / LITERARY APPROACH

5.  The literal level (subject matter)  The affective values (emotional, mood, atmosphere, tone
attitudes, empathy)  The ideational values (themes, visions, universal truths, character)  Technical
Values (plot, structure, scene, language, point of view, imagery, figure, metrics, etc.)  Total Effect (the
interrelation of the foregoing elements)

6.  The nature of man is CENTRAL to literature. The reader or teacher or critic more or less “requires”
that the piece present MAN AS ESSENTIALY RATIONAL, that is endowed with intellect and free will; or
that the piece does not misinterpret the true nature of man MORAL AND HUMANISTIC APPROACH

7.  In these times of course the TRUE NATURE OF MAN is hotly contested, making literature all the
more challenging.  This approach is close to the “MORALITY” of literature, to the questions of ethical
goodness and badness

8.  Sees literature as both a reflection and product of the times and circumstances in which it is written.
Man as a member of a particular society or nation at a particular time, is central to the approach and
whenever a teacher gives historical or biographical backgrounds in introducing a selection, or arranges a
literature course in chronological order, he is hewing close to this approach. HISTORICAL APPROACH

9.  Literature is viewed to elucidate “reacting- response” which is considered as something very
personal, relative and fruitful. Unconditioned by explanations and often taking the impact of the piece as
a whole, it seeks to see how the piece has communicated. IMPRESSIONISTIC APPROACH

10.  Set in dizzying motion, principally, by FREUD, perhaps beyond his wildest expectations, it considers
literature as the EXPRESSION OF PERSONALITY of “Inner Drives” of neurosis. It includes the psychology
of the author, of the character, and even the psychology of creation.  It has resulted in an almost
exhausting and exhaustive “psychological analysis” of the characters of symbols and images, of
recurrent themes, etc. PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACH

11.  Literature is viewed as the expression of man within a given social situation which is reduced to
discussions on economic, in which men are somewhat simplistically divided into haves and haves not,
thus passing into the “proletarian approach” hitch tends to underscore the conflict between the two
classes. The sociological approach stresses on social “relevance”, social “commitment,”
contemporaneity, and it deems communication with the reader important. SOCIOLOGICAL APPROACH

12. Cultural – an approach in knowing the culture of the people and one of the pleasurable ways of
appreciating the literature of the people. Formalistic – based on the literary elements Moral /
Humanistic – close to the morality of literature , to questions of ethical goodness and badness.
Conclusion

13. Historical – sees literature as both a reflection and a product of the times and circumstances in
which it is written. Impressionistic Approach - seek to capture a feeling or experience rather than to
depict accurate depiction and perfection. Psychological – considers literature as the expression of
“personality”, of “inner drive” of neurosis. Sociological - analyzes both how the social functions in
literature and how literature works in society.

14. Critical Approaches

15.  It views literature as a reflection of an author’s life and time or of the characters’ life and times  It
is necessary to know about the author and the political, economical, and sociological context of his
times in order to truly understand his works. BIOGRAPHICAL CRITICISM

16. FEMINISM CRITICISM  Literature may be interpreted as a battle of the sexes or a reaction or result
of oppressive patriarchy.  Concerned with the impact of gender on writing and reading.  Usually
begins with a critique of patriarchal culture.  Concerned with the place of female writers. Concerned
with the roles of female characters within works.

17. READER-RESPONSE CRITICISM  Literature may be judged according to how the reader perceives it
instead of what the author intends. The text itself has no meaning until it is read by a reader. The reader
creates the meaning.  Analyzes the reader's role in the production of meaning makes someone's
reading a function of personal identity.  Recognizes that different people view works differently and
that people's interpretations change over time.

18. DECONSTRUCTIONIST CRITICISM  Texts must be read many times to be able to get the real meaning
of a text.  The texts can have multiple meaning .  Readers can have their own interpretation.  Real
meaning conceals in the texts.  Texts can be reinterpreted many times.  Decoding of texts can be a
difficult task to do.

19. MYTHOLOGICAL CRITICISM Mythological critics explore the universal patterns underlying a literary
work. This type of criticism draws on the insights of anthropology, history, psychology, and comparative
religion to explore how a text uses myths and symbols drawn from different cultures and epochs. A
central concept in mythological criticism is the archetype, a symbol, character, situation, or image that
evokes a deep universal response
Approaches to Literary Criticism
Formalist criticism is placed at the center because it deals primarily with the text and not with
any of the outside considerations such as author, the real world, audience, or other literature.
Meaning, formalists argue, is inherent in the text. Because meaning is determinant, all other
considerations are irrelevant.

Deconstructionist criticism also subject texts to careful, formal analysis; however, they reach
an opposite conclusion: there is no meaning in language. They believe that a piece of writing
does not have one meaning and the meaning itself is dependent on the reader.

Historical criticism relies heavily on the author and his world. In the historical view, it is
important to understand the author and his world in order to understand his intent and to make
sense of his work. In this view, the work is informed by the author’s beliefs, prejudices, time,
and history, and to fully understand the work, we must understand the author and his age.

Inter-textual criticism is concerned with comparing the work in question to other literature, to
get a broader picture. One may compare a piece of work to another of the same author, same
literary movement or same historical background.

Reader-response criticism is concerned with how the work is viewed by the audience. In this
approach, the reader creates meaning, not the author or the work. Once the work is published, the
author is no longer relevant.

Mimetic criticism seeks to see how well a work accords with the real world. How does a piece
of literature accurately portrays the truth is the main contention of this literary approach.

Psychological criticism attempts to explain the behavioral underpinnings of the characters

Archetypal criticism assumes that there is a collection of symbols, images, characters, and

Marxist criticism concerns with the analysis of the clash of opposing social classes in society,
namely; the ruling class (bourgeoisie) and the working class (proletariat) as it shaped the events
that transpired in the story.

Feminist criticism concerns with the woman’s role in society as portrayed through texts. It
typically analyzes the plight of woman as depicted in the story. Generally, it criticizes the notion
of woman as a construct through literature.