Criticism is equivalent to giving judgments. It’s not intended as a personal attack but rather, a comment about faults and merits. Although it may create a negative impact, it is important to be able to take criticism well because it helps in learning from faults and mistakes.
Take for example the judgments of our elders, parents, friends, and mentors. Those judgments mold and help us grow and learn from our shortcomings and provide a sense of clarity and realization in our lives.
Literary Criticism is the study or analysis of a writer’s literary piece where the message, intention, and purpose of his work is questioned, debated, argued, judged, and expounded through (a critic’s) opinions and perspectives supported by evidence or research. It discusses the content of the work and insights gained from research and theories and can be biased either in a positive or negative way.
Through criticism, literature is understood clearly and appreciated intellectually in its idea and entirety. Since literature uses figurative language, the message of a literary piece is not conveyed by understanding the literal meaning of the words used, but rather, its representation in the story/poem and what it means to the reader/critic while being mindful of the author’s intention.
The function of literary criticism is to evaluate, interpret and explain the merits and artistic worth of a literary piece. Since perspective differs from person to person, it is unavoidable to have contrasting views, definitions, and understanding.
Due to this diversity, the nature of criticism is more complex than it seems because there are certain factors that affect how a person criticizes: it depends on attitude, value, belief, intellect, philosophy (in life), culture, and customs.
According to S.M. Schreiber, the business of literary criticism is to distinguish a good book and a bad book and because of this, it shows how criticism affects the work of an author and its impact on the viewpoints of the readers, and the desire to read the literary piece.
Literary Analysis is a thorough study of an author’s work where the subject/content is broken down into components parts. The literary piece is divided into several parts in order for it to be understood as a whole/as its concept.
It is similar to Literary Criticism in terms of analyzing, making conclusions, and creating judgments with supporting evidence from the author’s written work; however, they differ in terms of supporting theories. Literary analysis does not need theories in order to evaluate an author’s work but literary criticism, on the other hand, needs support from theories and other sources.
In criticizing a literary piece (literary criticism), certain steps are followed which help affirm a critic/reader’s stand about the writer’s work.
1. Read – By reading thoroughly, the critic/reader will be able to understand the author’s work and be able to connect scenarios to scenarios and characters to other characters and the like.
2. Write/Collect Evidence – Write down specific scenarios, characters, and anything that is worthy of interest that will link to your criticism. Collect the elements of the literary piece (setting, plot, characters, themes, etc). By writing things down, the critic/reader will have a source that will support his opinions/stand.
3. Ask Questions - It is important to ask questions regarding the storyline, characters, theme, objective, and mood of the text and also question the style and format used by the author and how it affected the literary piece. Think about what the author might be suggesting about humanity, society, politics and etc. There is no limit in questioning the author’s work in literary criticism so throughout the reading stage it is important to write down questions as well.
4. Construct a Thesis – The thesis serves as a road map for the paper which provides specific interpretations and perspectives about the writer’s work. This is where the critic focuses on the attributes or points of interest gathered from the literary piece and will provide arguments to defend his/her stand on the subject using the evidence collected not only from the text but also from various sources.
5. Research – Find evidence that will support the thesis. Use sources from other writers or opinions of other critics because this is where you provide theories and discussions related to your argument that will strengthen your judgment.
6. Make an Outline – Create an outline using the thesis for the preparation of an organized essay. This is the step where all evidence, ideas, and opinions are put in sequential order.
7. Edit/Revise – Check your essay for grammatical errors, typographical errors, and punctuation errors, and make sure to proofread. Revising is very important because through this, some arguments are reconsidered, changed, and reorganized and mistakes are avoided.
Literary criticism is important in the study of literature because it gives a clearer analysis and interpretation of the writer’s work and it teaches the readers about their point of view.
It also provides a deeper understanding of the real message behind their work and evokes the readers into questioning the author’s political views, self-expression, philosophy, and view of life through his/her work.
Through literary criticism, we are able to see things from a different viewpoint and we are able to learn from the perspectives of others. Because of this diversity, we gain a greater understanding of the world that we live in.
Since literature is delivered through oral or written style, reading comprehension is most necessary for identifying the components and purpose of the text. According to Miliani “One should not forget that if we are to establish relationships with literature, it is through reading.”
Parallel to every form of relationship, a strong foundation of understanding is needed in order for it to work. The readers will not be able to relate or feel connected with the author’s literary piece or get the meaning of a text if there is no comprehension of what they are reading.
There is no gain in reading if the reader can’t process or comprehend the words used and at this point, it will be useless unless approaches are involved. In teaching/reading literature, methods and techniques are efficient in order to enhance and help the students/readers’ ability to cope with literature and close reading is most important in literary criticism.
Information-Based Approach - This approach is focused on the student's/readers’ knowledge of the content of the text. According to Carter and Long (1991), this approach involves critical concepts, literary conventions, and metalanguage and the students/readers should be able to use such terms and concepts in talking and writing about literature. This approach is a way of teaching knowledge about literature where literature is seen as a medium to offer a source of information to students (Carter 1988).
Moral Philosophical Approach – This approach focuses on finding the moral values incorporated in the text. It evokes the students/readers to identify the moral lesson of the literary piece and gather a deeper understanding of choosing right from wrong according to their realizations of the text.
Personal-Response Approach – This approach focuses on the student's/readers’ interpretation of the author’s work. It fosters their personal development by requiring them to give responses about what they think of the literary piece, the author, the characters, the plot, the mood and theme, and its message and purpose.
Paraphrastic Approach – This approach focuses on the simplicity of words. Beginner or not, it is easier to understand the message of a text if you understand the language. Teachers use this approach to translate or re-tell the text by using simpler words and easier sentence structures to students/readers in order for them to have a full understanding of the literary piece.
Stylistics Approach – This approach focuses on the meaningful interpretations of the text beyond the surface meaning.
