To begin with, it is vital to highlight what literary criticism is. So, it is the analysis, interpretation, comparison and evaluation of works of literature. Even though literary criticism is often an opinion, it is typically supported by evidence. Whether you want to find out more about literary criticism in order to do my college homework or are simply interested in the subject, acquiring more knowledge about the main principles of literary criticism is the first step for you to take. Another significant aspect to mention is that there are different types of literary criticism: historical, expressive, autobiographical, comparative, ethical, feminist, psychological, social and so on.
Scientific approach
A lot of researchers believe that literature should be all about the experience of the reader. What is more, the way in which the reader reacts to a certain text can be described through psychology. Yet, fiction is so much more than a basic scientific approach. If it were, it would be possible for fiction to answer our biological needs.
Two uses of language
According to literary researchers, language is divided into two uses – emotive and scientific. Emotive language is used in order to provoke emotional reactions from others. In this case, such language is used to get some kind of reaction from the reader. It can be happy, sad, positive or negative. The goal is not to leave the reader unimpressed. Speaking about the scientific language, it’s main goal is to reference real and true things in the world.
What is vital to highlight is that scientific and emotive languages are able to hold truth. However, it will be a different kind of truth. In addition, the means of its depiction will be different as well. When we are talking about fiction, what is true and what is not is often different depending on the reader in question. The way we understand and accept it is what matters more than the actual truth itself. Apart from that, fiction can tell us something about the real world which we either don’t want to accept, or have not figured out how to comprehend all of it yet.
Prose vs poetry in terms of literary criticism
Clearly, the approaches to analyzing poetry and prose will differ as these genres don’t have much in common. In addition, the language used in prose is often more scientific in nature while poetic language is typically more emotive.
Poetry is considered to be pure while prose is often all about making statements, assertions and arguments. Perhaps, the majority of avid readers are going to agree that poetry is much closer to evoking emotions than poetry. In a way, poetry reminds us of songs, and most people typically have an emotional reaction when they listen to music.
The role of formalism
What it all boils down to is that formalism is one of the defining factors in literary criticism and the way in which we perceive text as a whole. Formalism studies the individual components of a given text. Therefore, knowing more about formalism helps to understand what makes literature what it is. In other words, deconstructing a text helps to better understand the so-called black box of creativity.
A lot of people are afraid of literary works because they can’t understand it or decode all the hidden meanings. That is the reason why studying formalism is so vital. It helps readers comprehend a piece of literature and they are no longer afraid of complex literary works. Some writing feels emotional and distinctive. Other pieces don’t evoke any emotions. Some authors are able to incorporate strong messages in their works, and these messages are quite obvious. Others are much more eloquent about it which takes the reader longer to figure out what is actually going on. Yet, one thing is clear – familiarizing oneself with the basics of literary criticism helps to better understand a work of literature. Besides, the more knowledge one has about the author and their stylistic choices, the easier it will be for them to read the book under consideration. Acquiring additional knowledge on the subject of literary criticism is what gives the reader a head start, especially when they are about to embark on an unknown and mysterious literary journey.
