Writing Help 129 | - ☆ Freelance Writer
Apr 08, 2013 | #1
Theory: The How's and Why's of Literature
Before we dive into the various divisions of literary studies that comprise much of what we tend to think of as theory, it will be most useful, perhaps even necessary, to clear up a very common confusion that many students who are new to theory have about the difference between literary theory and literary criticism. I will admit that this distinction was lost on me until I gained a sharper idea of what theory really was, and that the way literary studies positions both of them does not help. In your average literature class, especially one beyond the first and second year, the professor will be delivering content based most directly on the literary works you will all be reading. Along with their own original insights, the professor will bring appropriate literary criticism to bear on the work, as well as introducing a theoretical approach, or several, or setting the criticism in its theoretical context. As a result, the student gets the full treatment, which is excellent, but the ideas of criticism and theory are presented at the same time, and as a result, are easily confused. Further, but less seriously, it does not help matters that major bookstores and libraries label entire sections "literary theory and criticism." Yes, it is nice that the sign at least refers to both individually, but their constant combination leads one to believe that they are interchangeable, or synonymous. I have a similar beef with the "sci-fi and fantasy" sections in such places as well, but that is another matter for another time.
The problem is also understandable in that students often get introduced to both ideas together when they are first expected to make use of secondary materials in their essays. Works of criticism and works of theory are both good targets for secondary texts, and this means that the student often begins to associate the two from the beginning. There are also many similarities between the two, especially as they manifest themselves in the student's imagination. After all, both kinds of texts are devoted to talking about literature, rather than being literature itself, which is an important division to make, though it does not do justice to the different concepts.
The distinction between the two rests on the conceptual level at which each operates. Literary criticism is material written by scholars about specific literary works, either individually, or taken in some common group (like the works of an author, of a given time period, or works centered on a given theme). Criticism looks closely at the texts it has chosen to consider, and explores them in great depth, explaining difficulties and perhaps outlining a position about an aspect of the text or texts that would not normally be obvious, but which is nonetheless supported by the text. Note that literary criticism, unlike the way we use the term every day, indicates an in-depth exploration of a work, not (necessarily) an evaluation of its quality, nor an opinion giving it a given number of stars. Theory, on the other hand, is not concerned with the exploration of individual texts, but rather with outlining broad concepts about the study of literature itself. Some works, which examine specific texts according to a given theoretical approach, and which use the texts to highlight and explain the theory as much as the reverse, perform both critical and theoretical functions. Indeed, all critical works come from a given theoretical position, but the difference between them is one of concentration; if the focus is on the text, and the theory is largely unstated and understood, this is criticism. If the texts are merely used as examples of the theory that is being illustrated, we have theory.
Criticism vs. Theory
Before we dive into the various divisions of literary studies that comprise much of what we tend to think of as theory, it will be most useful, perhaps even necessary, to clear up a very common confusion that many students who are new to theory have about the difference between literary theory and literary criticism. I will admit that this distinction was lost on me until I gained a sharper idea of what theory really was, and that the way literary studies positions both of them does not help. In your average literature class, especially one beyond the first and second year, the professor will be delivering content based most directly on the literary works you will all be reading. Along with their own original insights, the professor will bring appropriate literary criticism to bear on the work, as well as introducing a theoretical approach, or several, or setting the criticism in its theoretical context. As a result, the student gets the full treatment, which is excellent, but the ideas of criticism and theory are presented at the same time, and as a result, are easily confused. Further, but less seriously, it does not help matters that major bookstores and libraries label entire sections "literary theory and criticism." Yes, it is nice that the sign at least refers to both individually, but their constant combination leads one to believe that they are interchangeable, or synonymous. I have a similar beef with the "sci-fi and fantasy" sections in such places as well, but that is another matter for another time.
The problem is also understandable in that students often get introduced to both ideas together when they are first expected to make use of secondary materials in their essays. Works of criticism and works of theory are both good targets for secondary texts, and this means that the student often begins to associate the two from the beginning. There are also many similarities between the two, especially as they manifest themselves in the student's imagination. After all, both kinds of texts are devoted to talking about literature, rather than being literature itself, which is an important division to make, though it does not do justice to the different concepts.The distinction between the two rests on the conceptual level at which each operates. Literary criticism is material written by scholars about specific literary works, either individually, or taken in some common group (like the works of an author, of a given time period, or works centered on a given theme). Criticism looks closely at the texts it has chosen to consider, and explores them in great depth, explaining difficulties and perhaps outlining a position about an aspect of the text or texts that would not normally be obvious, but which is nonetheless supported by the text. Note that literary criticism, unlike the way we use the term every day, indicates an in-depth exploration of a work, not (necessarily) an evaluation of its quality, nor an opinion giving it a given number of stars. Theory, on the other hand, is not concerned with the exploration of individual texts, but rather with outlining broad concepts about the study of literature itself. Some works, which examine specific texts according to a given theoretical approach, and which use the texts to highlight and explain the theory as much as the reverse, perform both critical and theoretical functions. Indeed, all critical works come from a given theoretical position, but the difference between them is one of concentration; if the focus is on the text, and the theory is largely unstated and understood, this is criticism. If the texts are merely used as examples of the theory that is being illustrated, we have theory.