literary criticism - c.e. bressler | deconstruction

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l i t e r a r yC R I T I C I S M

An Intro ductio n

to Theo ry and P ractice

Charles E. BresslerIndiana W esley an U niv ers ity

L o n g m a n

Boston C olum bus Ind ianapo lis N ew Y o rk S an Fran ci s co

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Co n t e n t s

Foreword xi

To the Reader xiii

\ D efining Criticism , Theory, and Literature 1

Listening to a C o nv ersatio n 1

Eav esd ro p p ing o n a Literature C lassro o m 2

C an a Text H av e M o re Than O ne Interp retatio n? 4

H o w to Beco m e a Literary C ritic 5

W hat Is Literary C ritic ism ? 6

W hat Is Literary Theo ry ? 7

M aking M eaning fro m Text 9

The Read ing Pro cess and Literary Theo ry 10

W hat Is Literatu re? 12

Literary Theo ry and the D efinitio n o f Literature 14

The Fu nctio n o f Literature and Literary Theo ry 15

Beg inning the Fo rm al Stud y o f Literary Theo ry 17

2 A H istorical Survey of Literary Criticism 19

Intro d u ctio n 19

Plato (c. 427-347 BCE) 20

A risto tle (384-322 BCE) 22

H o race (65-8 BCE) 24

Lo ng inus (First C entu ry CE) 25

Plo tinu s (204-270 C E) 26

D ante A lig hieri (1265-1321) 27

G io v anni Bo ccaccio (1313-1375) 28

Sir Philip Sid ney (1554-1586) 29

Jo hn D ry d en (1631-1700) 30

Jo sep h A d d iso n (1672-1719) 32

A lexand er Po p e (1688-1744) 33

W illiam W o rd sw o rth (1770-1850) 34

Percy By sshe Shelley (1792-1822) 37

H ip p o ly te A d o lp he Taine (1828—1893) 38

M atthew A rno ld (1822-1888) 40

H enry Jam es (1843-1916) 42

M ikhail Bakhtin (1895-1975) 44

M o d ern Literary C ritic ism 40

V

VIContents

, Russian Form alism and N ew C riticism <

Introduction

Russinn Form alism 48

B duintf the G ap b etw een Russian Fo rm alism and N ew

A pp ly ing Russian Fo rm alism to a L ite rary T ext 51

N ew Criticism 52

H istorical D evelopm ent 54

A ssumptions 56

M ethodology 60

Q uestions for A nalysis 63

Critiques and Responses 63

4 Reader-oriented C riticism 65

Introduction 65

H istorical D evelopm ent

7. A. Richards 70

Louise M . Rosenblatt 72

A ssumptions 73

M ethodology 75

Structuralism 76

G e r a l d P r i n c e 7 6

Phenomenology 77

H a n s R o b e r t Ja u s s 7 8

W o l f g a n g Is e r 7 8

Subjective Criticism 80

N o r m a n H o l l a n d 8 0

D a v id B l e i c h 8 0

A Two-step M ethodology 81

Q u estio ns fo r A n aly sis 82

C ritiq u es and Resp o n ses 83

69

5 M odem ity /Postm odernism : Structuralism /

Po ststructuralism : D eco ns truct io n 85

M o d ernity 85

Po ststru ctu ralism o r Po stm o d e rn ism 88

M o d ernity to M o d ern ism 90

Stru ctu ralism : Its H isto ric al D e v e lo p m e n t 91

Pre-Saussurean Linguistics 91

Saussure's Linguistic Revolution 92

The Structure o f Language 93

Langue and Parole 96

96

98

100

s Redefinition o f

A ssum p tio ns o f Stru ctu

M r/ h0? 0lw 8ies o f S^ u c t C/awrfe Lev i-Strauss p

Roland Barthes 101

C on ten ts v ii

V ladimir Propp and Narratology U)2

Tzvclan Todarov and Gerard Genetic 105

Jonathan Culler 104

A M odel o f Interpretation 705

From S tructu ralism to Poststructuralism : D econstruction 105

D econstruction : Its H istorical D evelopm ent 107

D econstruction: Its Beginnings 707

Derrida's Starting Place: Structuralism 108

Derrida's Interpretation o f Saussure’s Sign 109

A ssu m p tio ns o f D eco nstru ctio n 109

Transcendental Signified 109

Logocen trism 110

Binary O ppositions 110

Phonocentrism 111

M etaphysics o f Presence 111

M etho d o lo g y 112

A cknowledging Binary Operations in W estern Thought 112

A rche-writing 112

Supplementation 114

D ifferance 114

D eco nstru ctiv e Su p p o sitio ns fo r Textual A naly sis 116

D econstruction: A New Reading Strategy 117

American D econstructionists 118

Q u estio ns fo r A naly sis 119

Structuralism 119

D econstruction 120

C ritiq u es and Resp o nses 120

Structuralism 120

D econstruction 121

6 Psychoanalytic Criticism 123

Intro d u ctio n 123

H isto rical D e v e lo p m e n t 125

Sigmund Freud 125

M o d e l s o f t h e H u m a n P s y c h e : D y n a m ic M o d e l 125

E c o n o m i c M o d e l 126

T y p o g r a p h i c a l M o d e l s 126

F r e u d 's P r e - O e d ipa l D e v e l o pm e n t a l P h a s e 127

T h e O e d i pu s , C a s t r a t i o n , a n d E l e c t r a C o m p l e x e s 128

T h e S i g n i f i c a n c e o f D r e a m s 129

L i t e r a t u r e a n d P s y c h o a n a l y s i s 130

Carl G. Jung 130

North rop Frye 132

Jacques Lacan 133

L a c a n 's M o d e l o f t h e H u m a n P s y c h e 134

' L a c a n a n d T e x t u a l A n a l y s i s 136

The Present State o f Psy cho analy tic C ritic ism 136

A ssu m p tio ns 137

V

y j j j C o n ten ts

M ethodologies i Jo

Q uestions for A nalysis

Critiques and Responses

141

141

7 Fem inism 143

Introduction 143

H istorical D evelopm ent 147

Virginia W oolf 148

Simone de Beauvoir 149

Kate M illet ISO

Fem in ism in the 1960s , " 70s, and '8 0 s 150

Elaine Showalter 152

Geographical Strains o f F'em in ism 153

A m i k k AN 154

B r i t i s h 1 5 5

F r i n c m 1 5 5

Presen t-d ay Fem in ist C ritic ism s 157

A ssu m p tio n s 159

M eth o d o lo g y 160

Q u estio n s fo r A n aly sis 161

C ritiq u es and R e s p o n s e s 161

8 M arxism 165

Intro d u ctio n 165

H isto rical D ev elo p m en t 166

AuJ/ 7 M arx and Friedrich Engels 166

Russia and M arx ism 170

Georg Lukdcs 171

The Frankfurt School 171

A ntonio G ramsci 172

Louis A lthusser 173

M arx ist Th eo rists To d ay 174




C ritiq u es and R esp o n ses 180

9 Cultural Poetics or N ew H istoricism

In tro d u ctio n 181

A N ew -C ritic al Lec tu re 181

O ld H isto ric ism 182

The N ew H isto ric ism 183


C u ltu ral M aterialism 187

N ew H isto ric ism 188

1 8 1

C o n ten ts ix

A ssum p tio n s 188

M iche l Foucault 198

C liffo rd Geertz 190

Texts, H is to ry , and Interpreta tion 191

W hat C u ltu ral Po etics R ejects 192

W hat C u ltu ral Po etics D oes and A ccep ts 192


Q uestio n s f o r A n aly s is 195

C ritiq ues and R esp on ses 195

1 0 Postco lon ialism 197

Po stco lo n ialism : "T h e Em p ire W rites Bac k " 199

H isto rical D ev e lo p m en t 200

A ssum p tio n s 203



C ritiq u es and R esp o n se 209

1 1 A frican -A m erican C riticism 210

H isto rical D ev elo p m en t, A ssu m p tio n s, and M eth o d o lo g y 211



12 Q ueer Theory : G ay and Lesb ian C riticism 220

H isto rical D ev elo p m en t and A ssu m p tio n s 224

Q u eer C ritical Th eo rists 227


C ritiq u es and R esp o n se 229

13 Ecocriticism 230

W h at Is Eco c ritic ism ? 231






Literary Selection 239

"Y o u ng G o o d m an Bro w n (1835)," N ath an ie l H aw th o rn e 239

Readings on Literary C riticism 249

"T h e Fo rm alist C ritic s ," C lean th Bro o ks 250

"Stru c tu re , Sig n and Play in the D isco u rse o f the

H u m an Sc ie n c e s," Jac q u es D errid a 256

X Contents

" I leroie ItlhiuH'entrism: The? Idea of Univer sa l i t y i,

Charles I.arson 272 y I Jh?r,ltlJ

"Criteria of N ej;ro A rt," 276

"Q ueer Theory," A nnamario Jagose 284

"John Keats and N ature, mi Ucocr it icnl In q u i r y "

Charles N giewih T UKE 288 7'

G lossary 301

Index 332

Y

Fo r e w o r d

The d ram atist, p o et, no v elist, and critic ( )s< ar W ild e d eclared that the artist

is the creato r o f beau tifu l thing s and that "The critic is [o nej w ho can trans

late into ano ther m anner o r a now m aterial fo ne'sj im p ressio n o f beautifu l

things . . . W hen critic's d isag ree, tlu* artist is in acco rd w ith h im fh erjse lf ."

A cco rd ing ly , it is the literary critic w ho transacts w ith the text, exp lo res his

to rical co ntexts, activ ely read s, and jo y o usly p articip ates in num ero us o ther

m o d es o f "tran slatin g " the beautifu l thing o f literature.

Fo r exam p le , the French p o et, no v elist, and p lay w rig ht V icto r H u g o ,

w ro te, "To learn to read is to kind le a fire; ev ery sy llab le sp elled sp arkles."

Up o n read ing this line.*, a Stru ctu ralist critic analy zes the m etap ho rs o f fire

and sp arkles; a M arxist critic co ntem p lates the class structures that m ay be

influencing the heig htened v alue o f literacy, w hile a D eco nstru ctio nist asks if

the sy llab les actu ally sp elled the w ord sparkles.

Literary theo ry co nsists o f questio ns: W hat d o es class co nflict hav e to d o

w ith the text? D o es the Lacanian m irro r stag e o f d ev elo p m ent really p lay a

ro le in the text? H o w m uch d o the read er and the typ e o f read er influ ence the

interp retatio n o f the text? Is the text an entity in itself? Do the au th o r's in ten

tio ns m atter w hen attem p ting to extract the m eaning o f a text? Each o f these

q u estio ns and still o th ers ap p ro p riate to textu al in terp retatio n rep resen t

d iv erse p ersp ectiv es fo r ap p ro aching a text. T3ut w hich questio ns can w o rk

to g ether? A nd fro m w here d o such questio ns co m e?

U nav o id ab ly and necessarily , the art o f literature has incurred nu m ero u s

scho o ls o f c ritic ism that co n tin u e to g ro w and m u ltip ly w here m o re and

m o re q u estio ns are asked by still m o re theo rists. C harles Bressler's fifth ed i

tion o f Literary C ritic ism : A n In troduction to Theory and P ractice o ffers an in-

d ep th u nd erstand ing o f these m ajo r scho o ls o f criticism in this ev er-ev o lv ing

field . Fo r a p erso n hav ing no exp erience in the literary field , Literary C ritic ism

p resents the u b iq u ito u s and so m etim es d ifficu lt term ino lo g y o f the v ario u s

scho o ls o f c ritic ism and exp lain s the use o f term s, co n cep ts, and p h ilo so

p hies in w ay s that the b eg inning critic is ab le to u nd erstand and ap p reciate.

Fo r the exp erienced critic , o n the o ther hand , Bressler s Literary C ritic ism

reco g niz es new th eo rists and critical term in o lo g y fo r each th eo retical ap

p ro ach and d iscu sses each o f the scho o ls in w ay s that w ill b etter a scho lar s

p rev io u s c o m p reh en sio n . O f p artic u lar in terest to the v eteran sch o lar,

Bressler's text no w inclu d es fo ur new chap ters and u p -to -d ate, d etailed rev i

sio ns o f all chap ters d ev o ted to ind iv id u al scho o ls o f critic ism .

xi

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