Literary Theory

Literary Theory is a systematic study that uses methods, techniques and principles in understanding the nature of literature. The ideas and interpretations gathered and produced in this theory act as lenses that critics use in order to see the different aspects and various viewpoints that need to be focused on which will lead to understanding the importance and message of the literary piece. It influences literary criticism in a philosophical way by which methods and goals of the literary piece are discussed.

It is through literary theory that the relationship between the authors and their works are identified and made assumptions through the reflection and influence according to their race, culture, belief, class, gender identity and philosophy. This is exactly its purpose – it influences literary criticism by theories formulated through discussions of the lessons, message and background of the literary piece and goes over the author’s biographies for support and thoroughly analyzing the themes used. All of these relate to historical context and information that will conclude to understanding standpoints.

The role of literary theory in literature is to provide critical tools and lenses in approaching and supporting the perspectives gathered from analyzing the text. Just like any other school of thought, there are many types of literary theories and they all serve the same purpose - to gather and conclude interpretations.    

Mimesis is a literary theory that originated from the Greeks which means imitation or reproduction of words in representing or portraying a specific character. This theory is also known as Mimetic Theory or Mimesis Criticism which means that this is a method used to interpret texts by relating them to their literary form and cultural dimensions. It puts importance in how art and literature imitates life and signifies to the readers how the author is influenced with his surroundings and imitates those observations through his works.

Formalism Theory features grammar, syntax and literary devices such as meter and tropes in analyzing and interpreting the text or literary piece meaning it focuses more on the form and structure. It can be done without doing much research because it does not need the influence of outside sources such as biographies, assumptions from other critics, historical context or cultural background but only focuses on the intrinsic influences such as the elements, themes and the literary devices used in the literary piece.

New Criticism was created out of the formalist movement and emphasizes the importance of close reading in order to identify and understand how a literary piece functions as a “self-contained” and “self-referential” object. Unlike the formalist theory, it focuses on both form and content and views them as equally important.

Affectivism also known as Affect or Affective Theory evaluates literary works by the emotions and feelings of the readers. It is focused on the emotional effects that the literary piece contributes and it seeks to organize these effects by putting those emotions and experienced feelings into categories of physiological, interpersonal, social or internalized manifestations.

Reader-Response is a literary theory that focuses on the responses and reactions of the readers and the audience. The scope and variety of the reactions are examined and analyzed into personal reactions or cultural influences and in this theory, it is argued that a text has no meaning unless the reader experiences, relates or reads it. It analyzes the readers’ role in producing meaning to the text and gives importance their understanding and perception of the literary piece.

Feminism or Feminist Theory is focused on how a literary piece reinforces concerns about women. It undermines the oppression, economic and political injustice, and the physiological and social concerns that women suffer because of men.  This theory aims to argue that sexism exists in the author’s work because it is inherent misogyny that devalues a woman and separates equality in all sexes. It questions and answers the difference and the treatment of men and women, how characters are stereotyped according to their gender and its effects.

New Historicism is a literary theory that aims to derive historical significance from literary pieces. This theory therefore views literature as a part of history and an expression of the forces of the events that happened in history. The literary piece will be studied according to its time and setting meaning it is understood in its historical context.

Psychoanalytic Theory or Psychoanalytic Criticism argues that literary texts express the secrets of the author by going into the fields of psychology. It is coined from Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory which argues that human behavior is the result of the interactions of the id, ego and superego (the natural impulses/pleasure principle, the reality principle and moral compass of the personality) which means that this theory aims to prove the relationship of the author’s needs, desires and personality in reflection to their literary piece and that the author’s psychology affects their literary piece.

Structuralism is a literary theory that focuses on the text as something that is part of a much larger introspective. It argues that there is structure and order in everything and that literary texts are composed of a series of signs which all lead and conclude to the hidden message/logic. This theory is also a belief that society, behavior and all elements of human culture are understood as a system of signs for it is structured and formed in literature.

Deconstruction theory argues that literature is not dismantled through close reading or criticism, but that it has been already dismantled by itself. This involves close reading as it aims to point out the contradictory meanings in the literary piece rather than its overall message and its connections to the other parts of the text. It generally aims to demonstrate that the text is not holistic or a complete whole but that it contains a contradictory meaning which means that any text has more than one interpretation or more meaning.

Postcolonialism or Postcolonial Criticism focuses on the culture of the colonized and the colonizer. It seeks to investigate the effect of when two cultures clash and when one is deemed superior while the other is oppressed. This theory argues that literature is a product of different cultures because of colonialism.

Marxism is a literary theory that argues the political nature of a literary text and that it is a response to larger and social material aspects in life. It focuses on the struggles of the oppressor and the oppressed, the “haves” and “not haves”, explicit assumptions about race, class and power and it views literature as a product or reflection and is related to social constructs.