Literary theory facts for kids
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Literary theory is like a special way of studying literature. It helps us understand what stories, poems, and plays are all about. It also looks at how we can best understand and explain them. Think of it as a set of tools that helps people read and think about books in deeper ways.
Since the 1800s, studying literature has grown to include ideas from history, philosophy, and other subjects. This helps us see how people find meaning in what they read. Today, literary theory is a big part of studying the humanities. The word theory now covers many ways of reading texts. These ways are often based on ideas from semiotics (the study of signs and symbols) and philosophy.
Contents
History of Literary Theory
Studying literary theory became a job for many people in the 1900s. But its roots go back a very long time!
Ancient Beginnings
People in ancient Greece, India, and Rome were already thinking about literature. For example, Aristotle wrote Poetics in ancient Greece. This book talked about how plays and poems work. In ancient India, Bharata Muni wrote Natya Shastra, which was about theater and arts.
During the Middle Ages, scholars in the Middle East and Europe also wrote about literature. Their ideas about beauty and art from these times still influence how we study literature today.
Modern Debates
In the 1980s and 1990s, there were big discussions about literary theory. Some people called these the "theory wars." They debated how useful and good these new ways of studying literature really were. Some scholars still argue that certain theories have made it harder to learn and research properly.
What is Literary Theory?
One main question in literary theory is: "What exactly is literature?" Many modern experts believe that "literature" can mean almost any use of language.
Understanding Texts
Different theories help us understand how meaning is made in a "text". A text can be a book, a poem, or even a movie. Some theorists believe that texts do not have just one correct meaning. Instead, different readers might find different meanings.
There are many types of literary theory. They all have different ways of looking at texts. Some important types include:
- New Criticism: Focuses only on the text itself.
- Formalism: Looks at the structure of the text.
- Structuralism: Examines the basic patterns in texts.
- Post-structuralism: Questions fixed meanings in texts.
- Marxism: Looks at class and power in stories.
- Feminism: Focuses on gender roles and women's experiences.
- Post-colonialism: Studies the effects of colonialism.
- Psychoanalytic criticism: Explores the mind of the author, reader, or characters.
How Theories Differ
Different literary theories often come from different ideas about life and politics. This means they might read the same story in very different ways.
Different Interpretations
For example, a New Critic might read a poem by T. S. Eliot to see how honestly it talks about searching for belief. But a Marxist critic might say this reading ignores important social issues. A post-structuralist critic might focus on how the words themselves create meaning, rather than what they refer to.
These different ways of reading are hard to settle. This is because each theory comes from very different ways of thinking. A New Critic might be influenced by religious ideas. A Marxist might use ideas about society and money. A post-structuralist might use ideas from modern philosophy about language.
Author's Intentions
Another big difference among theories is how much they care about what the author meant. Before the 1900s, most people thought the author's intentions were key to understanding a text.
However, New Criticism was the first to say that the author's ideas don't matter as much. They wanted to focus only on "the text itself." Many later theories also agree that the author's own thoughts about their work are not more important than anyone else's.
Types of Literary Theories
Here are some of the most common types of literary theory and some famous people connected to them:
- Aestheticism: This idea says that beauty and art are the most important things in literature.
- Cognitive literary theory: This theory uses ideas from brain science and how we think to study literature.
- Lisa Zunshine, David Herman
- Cultural studies: This looks at how literature connects to everyday life and culture.
- Deconstruction: This way of reading tries to show how words and ideas in a text can have many meanings, sometimes even opposite ones.
- Eco-criticism: This explores how literature connects to nature and the environment.
- Feminist literary criticism: This theory looks at how gender roles and women's experiences are shown in literature.
- Marxism: This theory focuses on how class, money, and power affect stories and characters.
- Georg Lukács, Terry Eagleton
- New Criticism: This approach focuses only on the words in the text itself, not on the author's life or goals.
- Cleanth Brooks, Robert Penn Warren
- New historicism: This looks at literature by understanding its historical time and culture.
- Stephen Greenblatt, Louis Montrose
- Postcolonialism: This theory studies how colonialism (when one country takes over another) affects literature. It often looks at the experiences of people from countries that were once ruled by others.
- Edward Said, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak
- Postmodernism: This theory looks at modern society, often focusing on people who are seen as different or "the Other."
- Psychoanalysis: This explores how the conscious and unconscious mind of the author, reader, or characters influences literature.
- Reader-response criticism: This theory focuses on how the reader actively understands and reacts to a text.
- Wolfgang Iser, Norman Holland
- Structuralism and semiotics: These theories look for the basic patterns and structures in a text. They also study how language and symbols create meaning.
See also
In Spanish: Teoría literaria para niños
- Communication theory
- List of literary terms
- List of literary movements
- Literary criticism
