AP Lit 9 Critical Approaches to Literature Flashcards

10488187502	Archetypal/Symbolic/Mythic Approach	Presupposes that human life is built up out of patterns, or archetypes that are similar throughout various cultures and historical times. Approach is similar to Structuralist analysis of literature, for both approaches stress the connection that may be discovered in literature written in different times and in different locations of the world. Approach asserts that the recurring patterns provide evidence for a "universal human consciousness"	0
10488187503	Deconstructionist Approach	Deconstructionism produces a type of analysis that stresses ambiguity and contradiction. Deconstructionists do not believe that central truth is knowable and entire--there is no central truth because circumstances and time (changeable and sometimes arbitrary) govern the world of the intellect. "All interpretation is misinterpretation" Approach believes that both language and literature are unstable--the understanding of both can never be exact or comprehensive because of all the possible shades of meaning.	1
10488187504	Economic Determinist/Marxist Approach	Often called 'proletarian literature', it emphasizes persons of the lower class--the poor and oppressed who spend their lives in endless drudgery and misery, and whose attempts to rise above their disadvantages usually result in renewed suppression.	2
10488187505	Feminist Approach	Holds that most of our literature presents a masculine-patriarchal view in which the role of women is negated or at best minimized. Seeks to raise consciousness about the importance and unique nature of women in literature. Approach seeks to evaluate various literary works from the standpoint of the presentation of women	3
10488187506	New Critical/Formalist Approach	It depends on the traditional topical/historical approach because it focuses upon literary texts as formal works of art. Based on French practice of explication de texte, a method that emphasizes detailed examination and explanation. Formal ways of looking at literature include everything from analysis of smaller units such as entire poems and short passages to analysis of larger structures, point of view, tone, plot, character, etc. Approach believes that content and form--including all subtleties and contradictions--were originally within the conscious or subconscious control of the author. There are no accidents.	4
10488187507	Psychological/Psychoanalytical Approach	Provided a new key to the understanding of character by claiming that behavior is caused by hidden and unconscious motives. This had a profound effect on twentieth-century literature. Some critics use the approach to explain fictional characters and others use it as a way of analyzing authors and the artistic process.	5
10488187508	Reader-Response Approach	Theory of approach is rooted in phenomenology, a branch of philosophy that deals with "the understanding of how things appear." Reality is not to be found in the external world, but rather in the mental perception of externals. Approach stresses response rather than interpretation. All that we human beings can know--actual knowledge--is our collective and personal understanding of the world and our conclusions about it. Approach holds that the reader is a necessary third party in the author-text-reader relationship that constitutes a literary work. Approach is open. It allows beginning readers to bring their own personal reactions to literature, but it also aims to increase the discipline and skill of readers. As readers become more skilled, their responses will become more "competent" and comprehensive.	6
10488187509	Structuralist Approach	Stems from the attempt to find relationships and connections among elements that appear to be separate and discrete. Attempts to discover the forms unifying all literature. Approach enables critics to discuss works from widely separate cultures and historical periods. Structuralism furnishes an ideal approach for comparative literature and also enables critics to consolidate genres such as modern romance, detective tales, soap operas, and film. Because Structuralism shows how fiction is organized into various situations, it merges with the archetypal approach.	7
10488187510	Topical/Historical Approach	Stresses the relationship of literature to its historical period. Our knowledge of the relationship of literature to its historical period can never be complete. This approach can require research and investigation.	8