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Literature
Major forms

Epic · Romance · Novel
Tragedy · Comedy · Drama · Satire
Media

Performance · Book
Techniques

Prose · Poetry
History and lists

Basic topics · Literary terms
History · Modern history
Books · Writers
Literary awards · Poetry awards
Discussion

Criticism · Theory · Magazines

Literary criticism is the study, discussion, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Literature is the Art of written works Literally translated the word means "acquaintance with letters" (from Latin littera letter An epic is a lengthy Narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation As a Literary genre of High culture, romance or chivalric romance refers to a style of heroic Prose and verse Narrative A novel (from Italian novella, Spanish novela, French nouvelle for "new" "news" or "short story Comedy (from the Greek κωμωδίαkomodia has a popular meaning (any discourse generally intended to amuse especially in Television, Film, and Drama is the specific mode of Fiction represented in Performance. Satire is often strictly defined as a literary genre or form; although in practice it is also found in the graphic and Performing arts In satire human A performance, in Performing arts, generally comprises an event in which one group of people (the performer or performers behave in a particular way for another group of people A Book is a set or collection of written printed illustrated or blank sheets made of Paper, Parchment, or other material usually fastened together For the Wikipedia guideline regarding editing articles see WikipediaManual of Style. The following is a list of literary terms; that is those words used in discussion classification criticism and analysis of Literature. The history of literature is the historical development of Writings in Prose or Poetry which attempt to provide Entertainment, enlightenment The History of literature in the Modern period in Europe begins with the Age of Enlightenment and the conclusion of the Baroque period in the 18th century This is a list of lists of Books in Wikipedia General lists List of anonymously published works List of books The following are lists of Writers: By name A &ndash B &ndash Y &ndash Z By type of writing This is a list of literary awards from around the world Worldwide in scope Nobel Prize in Literature Neustadt International Prize This is a list of awards that are or have been given out to writers of Poetry, either for a specific poem collection of poems or body of work Literary theory in a strict sense is the systematic study of the nature of Literature and of the methods for analyzing literature A literary magazine is a Periodical devoted to Literature in a broad sense Literature is the Art of written works Literally translated the word means "acquaintance with letters" (from Latin littera letter Modern literary criticism is often informed by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of its methods and goals. Literary theory in a strict sense is the systematic study of the nature of Literature and of the methods for analyzing literature Though the two activities are closely related, literary critics are not always, and have not always been, theorists. The word critic comes from the Greek el κριτικός ( el-Latn kritikós) "able to discern" which in turn derives from the word

Whether or not literary criticism should be considered a separate field of inquiry from literary theory, or conversely from book reviewing, is a matter of some controversy. Literary theory in a strict sense is the systematic study of the nature of Literature and of the methods for analyzing literature For example, the Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism draws no distinction between literary theory and literary criticism, and almost always uses them together to describe the same concept. Some critics consider literary criticism a practical application of literary theory, as criticism always deals directly with a literary work, albeit from a theoretical point of view.

Modern literary criticism is often published in essay or book form. Academic literary critics teach in literature departments and publish in academic journals, and more popular critics publish their criticism in broadly circulating periodicals such as the New York Times Book Review, the New York Review of Books, the London Review of Books, The Nation, and The New Yorker. An academic journal is a peer-reviewed Periodical in which scholarship relating to a particular Academic discipline is published The New York Times Book Review is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to The New York Times in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed The New York Review of Books (or NYREV or NYRB) is a semimonthly Magazine on Literature, Culture, and current The London Review of Books (or LRB) is a Fortnightly British literary and political magazine This article is about the US Publication. For other newspapers magazines and alternate uses by the same name see The Nation (disambiguation. The New Yorker is an American Magazine that publishes reportage commentary criticism essays fiction satire cartoons and poetry

Contents

History of literary criticism

Classical and medieval criticism

Literary criticism has probably existed for as long as literature. Aristotle wrote the Poetics, a typology and description of literary forms with many specific criticisms of contemporary works of art, in the 4th century BC. Aristotle (Greek Aristotélēs) (384 BC – 322 BC was a Greek philosopher a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. Aristotle 's Poetics ( Greek: Ποιητικός, c 335 BCE aims to give an account of what he calls 'poetry' (for him the term includes the Poetics developed for the first time the concepts of mimesis and catharsis, which are still crucial in literary study. Mimesis ( μίμησις from μιμεîσθαι) is a critical and Philosophical term that carries a wide range of meanings including Catharsis ( Κάθαρσις) is a Greek word meaning "purification" "cleansing" or "clarification Plato's attacks on poetry as imitative, secondary, and false were formative as well. Biography Early life Birth and family Plato was born in Athens Greece

Later classical and medieval criticism often focused on religious texts, and the several long religious traditions of hermeneutics and textual exegesis have had a profound influence on the study of secular texts. Hermeneutics may be described as the development and study of Theories of the interpretation and understanding of texts Exegesis (from the Greek 'to lead out' involves an extensive and critical interpretation of an authoritative text, especially of a Holy

Renaissance criticism

The literary criticism of the Renaissance developed classical ideas of unity of form and content into literary neoclassicism, proclaiming literature as central to culture, entrusting the poet and the author with preservation of a long literary tradition. The Renaissance (from French Renaissance, meaning "rebirth" Italian: Rinascimento, from re- "again" and nascere Neoclassicism (sometimes rendered as Neo-Classicism or Neo-classicism) is the name given to quite distinct movements in the decorative and Culture (from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning "to cultivate" generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic The birth of Renaissance criticism was in 1498, with the recovery of classic texts, most notably, Giorgio Valla's Latin translation of Aristotle's Poetics. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Aristotle (Greek Aristotélēs) (384 BC – 322 BC was a Greek philosopher a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. The work of Aristotle, especially Poetics, was the most important influence upon literary criticism until the latter eighteenth century. Lodovico Castelvetro was one of the most influential Renaissance critics who wrote commentaries on Aristotle's Poetics in 1570. Lodovico Castelvetro (c1505-1571 was an important figure in the development of Neo-classicism, especially in Drama.

19th-century criticism

The British Romantic movement of the early nineteenth century introduced new aesthetic ideas to literary study, including the idea that the object of literature need not always be beautiful, noble, or perfect, but that literature itself could elevate a common subject to the level of the sublime. Romanticism is a complex artistic literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Western Europe, and gained strength during the The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar Aesthetics or esthetics ( also spelled æsthetics) is commonly known as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values sometimes called In Aesthetics, the sublime (from the Latin sublimis ( up from under the lintel high lofty elevated exalted is the quality of greatness or vast German Romanticism, which followed closely after the late development of German classicism, emphasized an aesthetic of fragmentation that can appear startlingly modern to the reader of English literature, and valued Witz – that is, "wit" or "humor" of a certain sort – more highly than the serious Anglophone Romanticism. For the general context see Romanticism. In the Philosophy, Art, and Culture of German -speaking countries German Romanticism For the works or study of works from classical antiquity see Classics Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to The late nineteenth century brought renown to authors known more for critical writing than for their own literary work, such as Matthew Arnold. Matthew Arnold (24 December 1822 &ndash 15 April 1888 was an English Poet, and Cultural critic who worked as an inspector of schools

The New Criticism

However important all of these aesthetic movements were as antecedents, current ideas about literary criticism derive almost entirely from the new direction taken in the early twentieth century. Early in the century the school of criticism known as Russian Formalism, and slightly later the New Criticism in Britain and America, came to dominate the study and discussion of literature. Russian formalism was an influential school of literary criticism in Russia from the 1910s to the 1930s New Criticism was a dominant trend in English and American Literary criticism of the mid twentieth century from the 1920s to the early 1960s Both schools emphasized the close reading of texts, elevating it far above generalizing discussion and speculation about either authorial intention (to say nothing of the author's psychology or biography, which became almost taboo subjects) or reader response. In Literary criticism, close reading describes the careful sustained interpretation of a brief passage of text In Literary theory and Aesthetics, authorial intentionality is a concept referring to an Author 's intent as it is encoded in his or her Reader-response criticism is a school of Literary theory that focuses on the reader (or " Audience " and his or her experience of a Literary This emphasis on form and precise attention to "the words themselves" has persisted, after the decline of these critical doctrines themselves.

Theory

In 1957 Northrop Frye published the influential Anatomy of Criticism. Herman Northrop Frye, CC, MA (Oxon, DD, DLitt, FRSC ( July 14, 1912 &ndash January 23, 1991 Herman Northrop Frye 's Anatomy of Criticism Four Essays (Princeton University Press 1957 attempts to formulate an overall view of the scope theory principles In his works Frye noted that some critics tend to embrace an ideology, and to judge literary pieces on the basis of their adherence to such ideology. An ideology is a set of beliefs aims and Ideas especially in politics

In the British and American literary establishment, the New Criticism was more or less dominant until the late 1960s. New Criticism was a dominant trend in English and American Literary criticism of the mid twentieth century from the 1920s to the early 1960s Around that time Anglo-American university literature departments began to witness a rise of a more explicitly philosophical literary theory, influenced by structuralism, then post-structuralism, and other kinds of Continental philosophy. Literary theory in a strict sense is the systematic study of the nature of Literature and of the methods for analyzing literature For the use of structuralism in biology see Structuralism (biology Structuralism is an approach to the human sciences that attempts to analyze Post-structuralism encompasses the intellectual developments of continental philosophers and critical theorists who wrote with tendencies of twentieth-century Continental philosophy, in contemporary usage refers to a set of traditions of 19th and 20th century philosophy from mainland Europe It continued until the mid-1980s, when interest in "theory" peaked. Many later critics, though undoubtedly still influenced by theoretical work, have been comfortable simply interpreting literature rather than writing explicitly about methodology and philosophical presumptions.

History of the Book

Related to other forms of literary criticism, the history of the book is a field of interdisciplinary enquiry drawing on the methods of bibliography, cultural history, history of literature, and media theory. The history of the Book is the story of a suite of technological Innovations that improved the quality of text conservation the access to Information Bibliography (from Greek grc βιβλιογραφία bibliographia, literally "book writing" as a practice is the academic study of Books The term cultural history (from the German term) refers both to an Academic discipline and to its subject matter The history of literature is the historical development of Writings in Prose or Poetry which attempt to provide Entertainment, enlightenment In Psychology, Communication theory and Sociology, media influence or media effects refers to the theories about the ways the Mass media Principally concerned with the production, circulation, and reception of texts and their material forms, book history seeks to connect forms of textuality with their material aspects.

Among the issues within the history of literature with which book history can be seen to intersect are: the development of authorship as a profession, the formation of reading audiences, the constraints of censorship and copyright, and the economics of literary form.

The current state of literary criticism

Today interest in literary theory and Continental philosophy coexists in university literature departments with a more conservative literary criticism of which the New Critics would probably have approved. Literary theory in a strict sense is the systematic study of the nature of Literature and of the methods for analyzing literature Continental philosophy, in contemporary usage refers to a set of traditions of 19th and 20th century philosophy from mainland Europe New Criticism was a dominant trend in English and American Literary criticism of the mid twentieth century from the 1920s to the early 1960s Acrimonious disagreements over the goals and methods of literary criticism, which characterized both sides taken by critics during the "rise" of theory, have declined (though they still happen), and many critics feel that they now have a great plurality of methods and approaches from which to choose.

Some critics work largely with theoretical texts, while others read traditional literature; interest in the literary canon is still great, but many critics are also interested in minority and women's literatures, while some critics influenced by cultural studies read popular texts like comic books or pulp/genre fiction. The Western canon is a term used to denote a canon of books and more widely music and art, that has been the most influential in Cultural studies is an academic discipline which combines Political economy, Communication, Sociology, Social theory, Literary theory A comic book (often shortened to simply comic and sometimes called a comic paper or comic magazine) is a Magazine or Book of narrative Pulp magazines (or pulp fiction; often referred to as "the pulps" were inexpensive Fiction magazines Genre fiction is a term for fictional works ( Novels short stories) written with the intent of fitting into a specific Literary genre Ecocritics have drawn connections between literature and the natural sciences. Ecocriticism is the study of the relationship between Literature and the Natural environment. Many literary critics also work in film criticism or media studies. Film review redirects here for the similar sounding Film revue please visit Revue#Film revues. Media studies is a collection of academic programs regarding the content history meaning and effects of various media. Some write intellectual history; others bring the results and methods of social history to bear on reading literature. Intellectual history refers to the History of the people who create discuss write about and in other ways propagate Ideas Although the field emerged from Social history is an area of historical study considered by some to be a Social science that attempts to view historical evidence from the point of view of developing

Ronald Dworkin, the well respected American legal philosopher, has argued that the purpose of literary critique (from the so-called "aesthetic hypothesis") is to show which manner of reading reveals a text to be the best possible work of art. Ronald Dworkin, QC, FBA (born December 11, 1931) is an American Legal philosopher, currently professor of Jurisprudence

Bibliography

See also

External links

Marxist literary criticism is a loose term describing Literary criticism informed by the philosophy or the politics of Marxism. Feminist literary criticism is Literary criticism informed by Feminist theory, or by the politics of Feminism more broadly Ecocriticism is the study of the relationship between Literature and the Natural environment. Postcolonialism ( postcolonial theory, post-colonial theory) is an intellectual discourse that holds together a set of theories found among the texts and Psychoanalytic literary criticism refers to Literary criticism which in method concept theory, or form is influenced by the tradition of Psychoanalysis Semiotic literary criticism, also called literary semiotics, is the approach to Literary criticism informed by the theory of signs or Semiotics. Genre studies are a structuralist approach to Literary theory, Film theory, and other cultural theories. Hysterical realism, also called recherché postmodernism or Maximalism, is a Literary genre typified by a strong contrast between elaborately The Modern Language Association of America (usually referred to as simply Modern Language Association or MLA) is the principal Professional association Comparative literature (sometimes abbreviated "Comp lit" is critical scholarship dealing with the Literature of two or more different Linguistic Poetic tradition is a concept similar to that of the poetic or Literary canon (a body of works of significant Literary merit, instrumental in shaping Western culture Darwinian Literary Studies (aka Literary Darwinism is a branch of Literary criticism that studies Literature in the context of Evolution through Natural Reader-response criticism is a school of Literary theory that focuses on the reader (or " Audience " and his or her experience of a Literary New Historicism developed in the 1980s primarily through the work of the critic Stephen Greenblatt, and gained widespread influence in the 1990s Sociological Criticism is criticism directed to understanding (or placing literature in its larger social context it codifies the literary strategies that are employed to represent

Dictionary

literary criticism

-noun

  1. (literature) The study, discussion, evaluation, and interpretation of literature.
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