Introduction to Postmodern Literary Theory Agenda Why study literary theory?

Reaction to modernism; systematic skepticism

Anti-foundational

Postmodernism: Basic Concepts

• Life just is

• Rejection of all master narratives

• All “truths” are contingent cultural constructs

• Skepticism of progress; anti-technology bias

• Sense of fragmentation and decentered self

• Multiple conflicting identities

• Mass-mediated reality

Postmodernism: Basic Concepts

• All versions of reality are SOCIAL CONSTRUCTS

• Concepts of good and evil
• Metaphors for God
• Language
• The self
• Gender
• EVERYTHING!

Postmodernism: Basic Concepts

• Language is a social construct that “speaks” & identifies the subject

• Knowledge is contingent, contextual and linked to POWER

• Truth is pluralistic, dependent upon the frame of reference of the observer

• Values are derived from ordinary social practices, which differ from culture to culture and change with time.

• Values are determined by manipulation and domination

Postmodern View of Language

• Observer is a participant/part of what is observed

• Receiver of message is a component of the message

• Information becomes information only when contextualized

• The individual (the subject) is a cultural construct

• Consider role of own culture when examining others

• All interpretation is conditioned by cultural perspective and mediated by symbols and practice

PostModern Literature

• Extreme freedom of form and expression

• Repudiation of boundaries of narration & genre

• Intrusive, self-reflexive author

• Parodies of meta-narratives

• Deliberate violation of standards of sense and decency (which are viewed as methods of social control)

• Integration of everyday experience, pop culture

PostModern Literature

• Parody, play, black humor, pastiche

• Nonlinear, fragmented narratives

• Ambiguities and uncertainties

• Conspiracy and paranoia

• Ironic detachment

• Linguistic innovations

• Postcolonial, global-English literature

Literary Theory

Literary Theory

• THE AUTHOR

Literary Theory

• THE AUTHOR

Literary Theory

• THE AUTHOR

Literary Theory

• Different constructs of reality

• “Lenses” through which we see the world

Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)

• POETICS: Mimetic Theory (learn through example & representation)

• History represents the particular
• Poetry represents the universal
• Complete and unified action, beginning middle and end, short memorable stories
• Good plot: reversal of fortune
• Anagnorsis: recognition of an unknown truth
• Tragic mimesis: Great characters that evoke pity and fear
• Comedy: Flawed characters

First Critics

• F. R. LEAVIS—Editor of SCRUTINY (1932-1953)

• English as the supreme civilizing pursuit
• Rigorous critical analysis; “words on the page”
• Practical criticism
• Close reading
• Continued Mathew Arnold’s social mission
• Literature could cure all ills of society (crusaders)
• Elitist

New Criticism

• View literature as a valid form of knowledge and as a communicator of truths inaccessible via scientific and other discourse

• A work of literature has an organic structure

• Objective way of analyzing literature

• Author’s intentions are irrelevant

New Criticism

• I. A. RICHARDS (English)

• Principles of Literary Criticism
• The meaning of a poetic word is radically contextual, a function of the poem’s internal verbal organization