Literary theories can offer various ways of reading, interpreting and analyzing literature. These theories aim to explain or demystify some of the assumptions or beliefs implicit in literature.
LITERARY CRITICISM AND LITERARY THEORY
Literary criticism involves the reading, interpretation and commentary of a specific text or texts which have been designated as literature.
ü It is best understood as the application of a literary theory to specific texts.
ü It is literary theory that formulates the relationship between author and work; literary theory develops the significance of race, class, and gender for literary study, both from the standpoint of the biography of the author and an analysis of their thematic presence within texts.
ü A very basic way of thinking about literary theory is that these ideas act as different lenses critics use to view and talk about art, literature, and even culture. These different lenses allow critics to consider works of art based on certain assumptions within that school of theory. The different lenses also allow critics to focus on particular aspects of a work they consider important.
1. The World of the Writer
When someone writes something, he/she does so in context. This includes the writer’s beliefs, past experiences, goals, needs and physical environment.
Ex. Edgar Allan Poe’s Annabel Lee
2. The World of the Text
The text develops its own context—call it a world in its own.
Ex. Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey
3. The World of the Reader
When one reads, one reads in context of his/her own world. The meaning does not reside in the text or in the author’s intentions. The meaning happens as the text is read and reflected upon.
Ex. James Joyce’s Araby
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