5 important literay theories
1. Liberal
Humanism,
- Liberal
humanism proposes that the subject is the free, unconstrained author of
meaning and action, the origin of history.
- Unified,
knowing, and autonomous, the human being seeks a political system which
guarantees freedom of choice.
- Liberal
humanism is a modern literary theory to do approach in literary
texts. Every literary theory has its origin and its
inters-irrelativeness with other theories
2. Formalism
or Russian Formalism,
- Russian
formalism is distinctive for its emphasis on the functional role of
literary devices and its original conception of literary history.
- Russian
Formalists advocated a "scientific" method for studying poetic
language, to the exclusion of traditional psychological and cultural-historical
approaches.
- the
Russian Formalists viewed their work as a direct challenge to what they
perceived as the subjectivism and mysticism inherent in the Symbolist movemen
3. Structuralism
- In
literary theory, structuralism challenged the belief that a work of literature
reflected a given reality; instead, a text was constituted of linguistic
conventions and situated among other texts.
- Structuralist
critics analyzed material by examining underlying structures, such as
characterization or plot, and attempted to show how these patterns were
universal and could thus be used to develop general conclusions about both
individual works and the systems from which they emerged.
- Structuralism is
a mode of knowledge of nature and human life that is interested in
relationships rather than individual objects or, alternatively, where objects
are defined by the set of relationships of which they are part and
not by the qualities possessed by them taken in isolation.
4. Lesbian/
Gay Criticism (Queer Theory)
- Queer
theory is a field of critical theory that emerged in the early
1990s out of queer studies (often, formerly, gay and lesbian studies)
and women's studies.
- Queer
theory is the lens used to explore and challenge how scholars, activists,
artistic texts, and the media perpetrate gender- and sex-based binaries, and
its goal is to undo hierarchies and fight against social inequalities.
- Due
to controversy about the definition of queer, including whether the word
should even be defined at all or should be left deliberately open-ended, there
are many disagreements and often contradictions within queer theory
5. Marxism.
- Deals
with clash between classes
- The main
features of the Marxist theory of literature are that literature,
like all forms of culture, is governed by specific historical conditions, and
that literature, as a cultural product, is ultimately related to the
economic base of society.
- Justice
for all classes and backdated people
here is 3 main points related to the definition and characteristics of any 5 important literary theories.
thank you
ishrat jahan
173-10-452
contemporary literary theory