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Literary theories

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Post by sassy86 Tue Dec 27, 2011 10:44 pm

Hi mates Smile This is a brief summary of M.H Abrams's Orientation of Critical Theories . I have uploaded the essay here

https://blida-english.bbactif.com/t1896-requests-ebooks-essays-articlesetc

I) – Some coordinates of art criticism: In every work of art, four elements are always present:

Literary theories  928332triangle2

1- The work: (or the artifact, or the artistic product itself)

2-
The artist: (or the artificer)

3- Universe: (or Nature) the subject of the artistic work. It is directly or indirectly derived from existing things (or Nature).

4- Audience: (the listeners, spectators, or readers)

Abrams arranges these four elements in the shape of a triangle


Literary theories  663293triangle


Abrams notices that although all theories display the four aspects, they all have an orientation towards one only. In each of the following theories you will notice that each one takes special interest in only one of the four elements.


II)- Literary orientations (or theories):

1- Mimetic theories: (the focus of course for this theories is UNIVERSE)

The mimetic orientation can be seen as the explanation of art as essentially an imitation of aspects of the universe (Nature). According to Abrams, this is in fact the most primitive (the first) orientation in the theory of art and aesthetics as initiated by Plato and Socrates :

ALL THAT IS SAID BY ANY OF US CAN ONLY BE IMITATION AND REPRESENTATION. (Plato)

THE ARTS OF PAINTING, POETRY, MUSIC, DANCING, AND SCULPTURE, SOCRATES SAYS, ARE ALL IMITATIONS. (ABRAMS p.5)

*Here I think it is essential to have basic notions on Aristotle’s mimesis. (so read also about Aristotle’s Poetics)


*I also insist that, for these, art does not give a truthful image of how nature is, but offers a somehow ‘fake’ one as Abrams remarks:’…art imitates the world of appearance and not of Essence’. And this is why also ‘Plato points out that [art’s] effects on its auditors are bad because it represents appearance rather than truth, and nourishes their feelings rather than their reason’ (ABRAMS p.6)

2- Pragmatic theories: (the focus here is the AUDIENCE)

**If you have studies Aristotle’s Poetics as I told you, you can make a nice transition saying that the interest from Nature (or universe) has shifted towards that of the audience as Aristotle added two functions to art: ‘teach and delight’ (See Aristotle’s Poetics)**

The one who highlighted and directly formulated the importance and effect a work of art is meant to produce on the audience was not Aristotle though but Sidney.
Here I think we have already dealt with the view of Sidney and Dryden and Dr. Johnson about how the artistic work should
be ( Anyway, just keep in mind their shared view concerning the didactic side the literary work should have and its ability to delight == instructing and delighting the audience)


3-Expressive theories: (the focus is on the ARTIST)

Wordsworth’s Lyrical Ballads can be seen as an important turning point in the history of aesthetics and literary
criticism as he declared:’Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings’. In other words, ‘Poetry is the overflow, utterance, or projection of the thought and feelings of the poet’ (Abrams p.17)

Abrams simplifies is:

‘This way of thinking, in which the artist himself becomes the major element generating both the artistic product and the criteria by which it is to be judged’ (Abrams p.17).

So here the author (or the artist in general) becomes the only key to the understanding of his or her work of art.

4-Objective theories: (the focus is on the WORK itself):

Here the work of art itself is the only key to its own understanding (not his/her author). The work of art is seen as complete and comprehensive entity. We do not go looking outside the literary work relying on extrinsic elements (the author, universe, or the audience’ appreciation) but we rather concentrate on the intrinsic elements (the work’s different components) to understand the artistic work.

In sum, the work of art is isolated from any extrinsic (external) elements.

You can have a look at T.S Eliot’s and Cleanth Brooks’ views on literature and how they consider that each component of the literary work is built in a network-like (if not a puzzle-like) manner to reach the hidden meaning of the work.


**** As you have seen, it is not a big deal to analyse a critical essay but what is somehow difficult is to relate all these findings to other literary theories and put them in the right orientation (so try to find examples of literary theories like those I gave you about Eliot and Brooks). Last but not least, try to be critical in your analysis, saying that in the history of literary theory, a theory comes to dethrone another one as the previous one proved to be unsatisfactory and neglecting some of the four elements and that of course there is no perfect literary theory as since each emerges do answer given needs and exigencies of a given period
.
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Post by sabine Wed Dec 28, 2011 1:03 pm

Hi Sassy! Thank you so much for this nice post. It is explained clearly.
Thank youuuuuuuuuu. in fact, I had written an essay about Abram's Orientation of Critical Theories. If you do not mind I will send it to you because I really care about your opinion. Check your mail-box please.

Thank you in advance Literary theories  5078
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Post by sassy86 Fri Dec 30, 2011 4:09 pm

You're welcome my dear Sabine. I'll be checking my mail box, can't wait to read you Smile
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Post by sabine Sun Jan 01, 2012 7:45 pm

Waitig for your remarks dear Wink
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Post by sassy86 Sun Jan 01, 2012 8:12 pm

Oh I thought you've sent it. I didn't receive it yet dear scratch
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Post by sabine Mon Jan 02, 2012 7:21 pm

OMG!!! Check your mail box now pls sassy. Really sorry Embarassed
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Post by sassy86 Mon Jan 02, 2012 9:21 pm

No worries dear, it's okay Smile I just checked it, I'll try to answer you soon sister Smile
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Post by sassy86 Wed Apr 04, 2012 5:07 pm

Sabine !!! Where are you???? Shall we continue our post on literary theories??? What's next on the list ?? I wanna prepare something about Bakhtin or on Roland Barthes' "The Death of the Author" , are you ok with that??

Let us show some more energy for this second semester Literary theories  77156
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Post by sassy86 Wed Apr 04, 2012 5:58 pm

Can't wait further, i'm naturally impatient Very Happy So let's prepare something about Roland Barthes' "The Death of the Author". I'll be posting about it tomorrow inchaAllah. In the meantime, here's the PDF of the essay and a sentence that may raise your curiosity Wink

http://www.tbook.constantvzw.org/wp-content/death_authorbarthes.pdf

".....the voice loses its origin, the author enters his own death, writing begins"
by Roland Barthes
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Post by sassy86 Thu Apr 05, 2012 7:24 pm

As promised, here is my summary of Roland Barthes' essay "The Death of the Author" Smile

Barthes starts his essay by defining 'writing', the narrative process itself as he points out: "writing is the destruction of every voice, of every point of origin. Writing is that neutral, composite, oblique space where...all identity is lost". As if to re-establish the received views concerning the act of narration, Barthes speaks of a 'disconnection' occuring during the narration in which 'the author enters into his own death' and it is only then that 'writing begins'.
It becomes clear and evident for Barthes that the author's ideas, feelings, and voice should have no place in his/her writing. The author's voice must vanish, he/she must 'die' so that his/her writing would 'live' and exist.

Barthes then turns to show us that this former idea he had advanced is not that strange, but that it is one which had always existed in the history of literature. He gives us an example of oral literature, in which the 'shaman' (story teller), has never been more than a 'mediator' "whose 'performance'-the mastery of the narrative code- may possibly be admired but never his 'genius' ". Through this, Barthes rejects any individuality of the author in the literary work or any so-called 'genius' of his. In sum, the author should forget about his 'person'.

Barthes goes on giving us other examples of some authors like Mallarmé who have 'suppress[ed]the author in the interests of writing'. For Barthes, this act of suppressing the author's individuality would 'restore the place of the reader'. Barthes goes further in rejecting any individuality of the author by suggesting to replace the words 'author' by 'scriptor' and 'writing' by 'script'.
By doing this Barthes remarks that the concept of 'Author-God' would no longer excist, and thus it is the reader who would have the most important role in the process of interpretation, as he declares: 'to give a text an author is to impose a limit on that text, to furnish it with a final signified, to close the writing'. Therefore, there is no final and correct meaning for the text once we have suppressed the author's 'person'. Barthes concludes his essays by this triumphing sentence:
'the birth of the reader must be at the cost of the death of the Author'.
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Post by sabine Sat Apr 07, 2012 5:35 pm

wooooooooooow what a greaaaaaaaat job you're doing around My sassy girl ! bless u. for the moment I'm really busy Literary theories  648540 but I'll try to prepare something about formalism and will be back soon Smile


Last edited by sabine on Sat Apr 07, 2012 5:51 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Post by sassy86 Sat Apr 07, 2012 5:40 pm

Hi sweety ! Thanks !!!! Literary theories  868265 I know I received your sms (sorry couldn't reply). I can't wait for when you'll come back Literary theories  77156 Literary theories  362107
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Post by sassy86 Sat Apr 07, 2012 5:41 pm

By the way, you told me you're working on Formalism, any help dear?? You're working on which essays??
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Post by sabine Sat Apr 07, 2012 5:56 pm

Hi Sassy! thank you dear Literary theories  865413 . In fact ,it's a too broad topic : russian formalism and new criticism: a comparative study!!!!!!!!!!!!!! it's too theoritical
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Post by sassy86 Sat Apr 07, 2012 6:25 pm

yeah it's too large ! May God help you dear. I'll try to post on Formalism, have to review it all Very Happy I forgot many things lol
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Post by sabine Sun Apr 08, 2012 7:22 pm

Here is mine Sassy Wink
Roland Barthes:a summary of " The Death of the Author"

In his essay "The Death of the Author", Barthes stresses that literature should not be appreciated from the point of view of the author. He stressed the liberation of the reader from the tyranny of the author. He posited that meaning is generated from the text and not from the author’s biography.

In his essay he asserted that “the author still reigns” and “the explanation of a work is always sought in the man or woman who produced it”. He argued that the literary critic’s job was not to retrieve meaning but to produce an interpretation of the text which is only one of the possible meanings in the text. According to Barthes, therefore, literature is not monolithic but to interpret literature one has to allow for a plurality of meaning.

Barthes is thus questioning the prevailing authorial intention and stating that the omniscient narrator is dead. He asserts that, "the text is henceforth made and read in such a way that at all its levels the author is absent". The privileged discourse of the narrator that subordinated all other discourses in the realist text is thus replaced by "a multi-dimensional space in which a variety of writings, none of them original, blend and clash", "a tissue of quotations drawn from the innumerable centres of culture".
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Post by sassy86 Sun Apr 08, 2012 9:34 pm

Wow ! Hats off Sabine !!!! I just adore it when there is such a constructive feed-back ! You have explained the essay so eloquently ! You have captured the most important ideas (some that i'v forgotten myself). Such a great job ! Literary theories  362107
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Post by sabine Mon Apr 09, 2012 7:18 pm

You're welcome dear friend.When I saw you yesterday, You gave me energy Literary theories  77156 bless you sister Literary theories  362107
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Post by sassy86 Mon Apr 09, 2012 10:45 pm

hehehehe i'm too energetic, talking a lot lol Razz Bless you my dearest friend Literary theories  865413
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