Literary criticism

The formal study and discussion of works of literature, which involves judging and

explaining their importance and meaning.

Literary theory

The set of concepts and intellectual assumptions on which rests the work of

explaining or interpreting literary text.

Ideology

such a body of doctrine, myth, etc., with reference to some politica

land social plan, as that of fascism, along with the devices for putti

ng itinto operation..

Orientation of critical

theories According to Abrams, historically, there are four orientations dealing with the reading on literary

work. The four orientations of reading are mimetic, pragmatic, expressive, and objective. He explains

that this progression starts from mimetic theory of Plato, Aristotle’s Poetics modification concerning

plausibility within plot that generates pragmatic theory, the expressive theory that comes from German

and English romantic criticism, and then the last progression is the objective theory that puts the work as

itself (Abrams, 1979: 28).

A - Mimetic theories tries to explain literary work as “essentially an imitation of aspects of the

universe”. Imitation refers to relational term and the significance between two things in comparison. This

kind of orientation involves three categories. The first is the mortal Ideas, the second is the world of

sense (natural or artificial), and the third category is the reflection. These three categories become the

basic point of mimetic analysis (Abrams, 1979: 8). Thus, mimetic analysis lays a literary work as a

mortal Ideas. Nothing is new because the idea is already in the world so the judgement over a work lies

upon the quality of imitation towards the world.

B - Pragmatic theories puts the judgment of a literary work on its effect in an audience. Literary work is

regarded as a rethorical product. It focuses in the way a literary work creating a beauty on the reader’s

mind. Therefore, the principle to judge is the success of a literary work in delivering its aim.
For convenience we may name criticism like that, like Sidney’s, is ordered toward the audience, a

‘pragmatic theory,’ since it looks at the work of art chiefly as a means to an end, an instrument for

getting something done, and tends to judge its value according to its success in achieving that aim

(Abrams, 1979: 15). Briefly, pragmatic theories has an orientation to see the work as how far the author

succeeds to serve the public pleasure.

C -Expressive theories defines a literary work as the overflow, utterance, or projection of the thought

and feelings of the author or in other words, the work itself modifies and synthesizes the images,

thoughts, and feelings of the author (Abrams, 1979: 21-22). Later on the next passage, Abrams

summarizes this expressive theories.

In general terms, the central tendency of the expressive theory may be summarized in this way: A work

of art is essentially the internal made external, resulting from a creative process operating under the

impulse of feeling, and embodying the combined product or the poet’s perceptions, thought, and

feelings. The primary source and subject matter of a poem [work], therefore, are the attributes and

actions of the poet’s own mind; or if aspects of the external world, then these only as they are converted

from fact to poetry by the feelings and operations of the poet’s mind (Abrams, 1979: 22).

D -Objective study of literature appreciates “the work of art in isolation from all external points of

reference, analyzes it as a self-sufficient entity constituted by its parts in their internal relations, and sets

out to judge it solely by criteria intrinsic to its own mode of being” (Abrams, 1979: 26). This theories

assay to hinder from ‘the personal heresy’, ‘the intentional fallacy’, and ‘the affective fallacy’. Its doctrine

in criticizing is ‘art for art’s sake’ (Abrams, 1979: 27-28).

Post modernism : A late 20th-century style and concept in the arts,

architecture, and criticism, which represents a departure from modernism and
is characterized by the self-conscious use of earlier styles and conventions,
by the idea of the autonomy of art . a mixing of different artistic styles and
media, and a general distrust of theories

Modernism is a style of art, architecture, literature, etc., that uses ideas and methods
which are very different from those used in the past
Realism
An approach to philosophy that regards external objects as the mostfu
ndamentally real things, with perceptions or ideas as secondary. Realis
mis thus opposed to idealism. Materialism and naturalism are forms ofr
ealism. The term realism is also used to describe a movement in literat
urethat attempts to portray life as it is.

Materialism
In philosophy, the position that nothing exists except matter —
things thatcan be measured or known through the senses

Idealism 1
any system or theory that maintains that the real is of the nature oftho
ught or that the object of external perception consists of ideas. 2
treatment of subject matter in a work of art in which amental concepti
on of beauty or form is stressed, characterized usuallyby the selection
of particular features of various models and theircombination into a wh
ole according to a standard of perfection.

Naturalism
a deterministic theory of writing in which it is held that a writershould
adopt an objective view toward the material written about,be free of pr
econceived ideas as to form and content, and representwith clinical acc
uracy and frankness the details of life.

Post-Zionism refers to the opinions of some Israelis, diaspora Jews and others,
particularly in academia, that Zionism has fulfilled its ideological mission with the creation
of the modern State of Israel in 1948, and that Zionist ideology should therefore be
considered at an end.

Stereotype is a thought that can be adopted about specific types of

individuals or certain ways of doing things.

Subconscious
the totality of mental processes of which the individual is not aware;un
reportable mental activities.

Post structuralism
an approach to literature that, proceeding from the tenets ofstructurali
sm, maintains that, as words have no absolute meaning, anytext is op
en to an unlimited range of interpretations
Marxism is a worldview and a method of societal analysis that focuses on class relations
and societal conflict, that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, and
a dialectical view of social transformation.

Aesthetic : is Being or relating to a work of art; artistic

Epistemology
a branch of philosophy that investigates the origin, nature, methods,an
d limits of human knowledge.

Ontology
the branch of metaphysics that studies the nature of existence or being
as such.

False consciousness
any belief or view that prevents a person from being able tounderstand
the true nature of a situation.

Class consciousness
a feeling of identification and solidarity with those belonging to thesam
e social or economic class as oneself.

Social class
a broad group in society having common economic, cultural, or political
status.

Inferiority complex
Psychiatry. intense feeling of inferiority, producing a personalitycharact
erized either by extreme reticence or, as a result ofovercompensation,
by extreme aggressiveness.

Misogyny : means admiring woman,

hatred, dislike, or mistrust of women, or prejudice against women.

Metafiction
fiction that discusses, describes, or analyzes a work of fiction or the
conventions of fiction.

Intertextuality's
the interrelationship between texts, especially works of literature; thew
ay that similar or related texts influence, reflect.
Formalism" is, as the name implies, an interpretive approach that emphasizes
literary form and the study of literary devices within the text.

Chauvinism
Exaggerated belief in the supremacy of one's nation, class, caste, or gr
oup.Chauvinism usually involves xenophobia.

Patriarchy
A family or society in which authority is vested in males, through who
mdescent and inheritance are traced.

Matriarchy
A family or society in which authority is held by females, through who
mdescent and inheritance are traced. More generally, a matriarchy is a
society dominated by women.

Egoism
the habit of valuing everything only in reference to one's personalinter
est; selfishness

Perspective

the theory or art of suggesting three dimensions on a two-

dimensionalsurface, in order to recreate the appearance and spatial rel
ationshipsthat objects or a scene in recession present to the eye

Gender
A grammatical category indicating the sex, or lack of sex, of nouns and
pronouns. The three genders are masculine, feminine, and neuter.

The term classlessness has been used to describe different social phenomena.