An Apology for Literary Criticism and Theory
“Ok, ok, so I agree, reading is a good investment of my time. But is there really any point in understanding literary criticism and theory? All literary critics ever seem to do is suck the joy out of reading by making us dissect a perfectly enjoyable book and spot things that probably aren’t even there!”
Great question… and maybe a fair, if overstated, observation!
In 2005 I was researching my first undergraduate essay for the grandly titled Theory and Practice of Literary Criticism when I came across an article which drew on the work of a philosopher called Judith Butler, who argued that gender was best understood as a social construct, a performance. I remember chuckling to myself and thinking something along the lines of, “well, I can see what they’re saying about all the cross dressing in Twelfth Night, but I’m not sure I’d push it quite that far…” and getting on with my day. Scroll on two decades, and there really isn’t anything to laugh about in the current conversation around gender identity and gender politics. The point is, far from being irrelevant, the issues academics think about and dispute over in one decade impinge upon the cultural trends emerging in the next.
This example has interesting implications for answering the age-old question: Does art imitate life, or does life imitate art? And what is meant by the verb “imitate”?[1] Does the critic impact how the artifact is received and understood by the wider world? Other than sucking the joy out of receiving it, of course.
Back to Basics: Distinguishing Criticism From Theory
Literary criticism is a relatively young academic discipline, although the informal work of literary critics is as old as creative writing itself. That is because a critic is simply someone who judges the merits of literary or artistic works. A critic’s job is to admire excellence in writing, expression, and storytelling, and describe the enriching effects of engaging with literature. Since Plato and Aristotle, debates have raged about what to draw on in making these assessments, considering several variables which most fundamentally include the writer, the physical work they produce, the world created by the work and the reader’s engagement with that world. Depending on which of these aspects of the creative process are emphasised, the kinds of questions critics ask varies. The critic’s major job is to elucidate what other readers might have rushed past or otherwise have missed.
As history unfolded so did the kinds of literature people produced. Theories surrounding the point and purpose of literature also exploded. People have argued that literature helps humanity to reflect on and complete their experience of being in the world. Some suggest it furthers our understanding of morality and ethics. Others felt literature imagined a different way of life and gestured towards societal change. An inward turn emphasised the poet’s self-expression, focusing on the process of artistic creation rather than engaging with the external world.[2] Critics also curated outstanding examples from each literary period which are considered timeless in their ability to capture deeper truth about human experience and demonstrating literary skill. Collectively, these volumes comprise The Canon.[3]
As the discipline formalised, different schools of thought evolved with different priorities and criteria for passing critical judgment. Formalism arrived from Russia and influenced the New Critical School, who focused largely on the text in front of them. What do the words on the page mean? What kinds of images and symbols and metaphors and literary techniques are being used to achieve its effects? How does the form participate in the production of meaning? The chief end of literature in their eyes was to defamiliarize the familiar, to jolt the reader into imagining everything new by their fresh and vivacious use of language.[4] After encountering the fictional world, the reader closed the book and stepped back into reality with an altered perspective.
Towards the end of the twentieth century, some new kids arrived on the literary department block. They had recently left the cafes of Paris and had been reading French philosophers and applying these insights to their readings of literature (renamed “texts”). Literary theorists develop ideas about the explanation for literary works, organising the critic’s observations into meaningful structures or patterns. Or making a pattern out of exposing the lack of a pattern. At one end of the spectrum, literary theory maintains an interest in understanding the art of storytelling, interrogating the interactions between the object of study (the text), the reader, the author, the nature of language and the impact of contextualising each of these elements for every individual work of art. At the other, the priorities of alternative philosophical schools, such as Freudian or Jungian psychoanalysis, feminism or Marxism, introduce innovative approaches to understanding the meaning subconsciously inscribed in literary works. An outworking of some of the wilder articulations of the reader’s agency over a text’s meanings have led theorists to note how a reader’s priorities can entirely alter the interpretative task. Less nuanced theory runs the risk of reducing the joy of reading to spotting general, pre-determined patterns and dismissing the delightful quirks contained in any good book.
Flattening Theories
This kind of flattening effect can sometimes be seen in adaptations of literary classics because of the difficulty of capturing the nuances of the written word on film. Film adaptations create a visual, external rendering of some of the mental process and interpretative choices we make when we read, whether consciously or not. Take, for example, Treasure Planet (2002) the Disney version of Treasure Island (1883). My friend loved the fast-paced update which organised the narrative to emphasise Jim’s hunt for a father figure. I was disappointed over this interpretative decision to flatten all the poetic ambiguity and plurality of meaning skilfully kept in tension by Stevenson’s masterful “old romance, retold/exactly in the ancient way”.[5] I’m well aware that the art of film-making is complex, so I’m hesitant to make any claims which suggest I’ve fully grasped the artistic process, but I’d venture that the director was persuaded by a psychoanalytic reading of the adventure and that this influenced the interpretation of the story.
Part of the joy of reading is found in remaining alive to the full semantic range of every word, image and literary figure, while delighting in getting to know the characters, their world, their story and what it communicates. A good writer distils universal truths about the human condition, the world we live in, and what is valuable about being alive through telling a particular tale. A good reader grows in the skills necessary to identify, examine, and evaluate these things and to pass them on in discussing the work. As C. S. Lewis puts it, “Literature exists to teach what is useful, to honour what deserves honour, to appreciate what is delightful.”[6] When misreading occurs in the academy, the substance of what is deemed useful, honourable and delightful begins to erode and eventually to reshape the culture.
Ignoring the musings of literary critics and theorists is tantamount to sleepwalking into future cultural debates surrounding what it means to be human, how words generate truth and meaning, and how all this is captured in the stories we tell. It’s worth paying attention and joining in the discussion. It could shape how people think!
External Links
Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island (it’s not just for boys!), £3.50. Good introduction and includes an essay on Stevenson’s writing experience.
- S. Lewis, The Discarded Image: An Introduction to Medieval and Renaissance Literature, (more of an investment), £9.50.
Treasure Planet is available to stream on Disney Plus.
References
[1] By “age old” I mean since the time of Plato (429-348) and Aristotle (384-322)
[2] This is a very general overview of centuries of writing! Future posts will return to these ideas.
[3] Lots to say around this contentious issue!
[4] Viktor Shklovsky is one of the major thinkers in this critical school.
[5] Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, from “To the hesitating purchaser” in the preface.
[6] C. S. Lewis, Discarded Image.