BSED 3 PLEASE STUDY, BY FRIDAY WE

WILL HAVE AN ORAL RECITATION.

THE TEACHING OF LITERATURE?

Goals of Teaching Literature
Develop and/or extend literary competence. Jonathan Culler defines literary competence as the ability to
internalize the ‘grammar’ of literature which would permit a reader to convert linguistic sequences into literary
structures and meaning.

Goals of Teaching Literature

2. Develop and/or enhance learners’ imagination and creativity.3. Develop students’ character and emotional
maturity.4. Develop creative thinking.5. Develop literary appreciation and refine one’s reading taste.

HOW DO WE READ LITERATURE?

(or, what does literary analysis entail?)What is literature? What is a literary analysis?

What is literature? a record of significant human experiences written in words well-chosen and arranged

What is literature? it is language it is aesthetic it is fictional

it is true it is expressive writers use language more fully, more consciously, more systematically, and more
creatively it is the overall order and coherence of language, characters, events, details of the form that provides
pleasure it is the reinterpretation of the existing world through the writer’s artistic control the world view,
WELTANSCHAUUNG, which embodies the representation of typical characters and probable actions It
expresses the writer’s personality, emotions, beliefs

What is a literary analysis?

an argument involves the discussion of the written literary text discusses concepts that are very specifically
associated with literature

Important literary concepts

The Basics Plot Setting Narration/point of view Characterization Symbol Metaphor Genre Irony/ambiguity
Other key concepts Historical context Social, political, economic contexts Ideology Multiple voices Various
critical orientations Literary theory

Three (3) Approaches to literary study

LANGUAGE-BASED: focuses on the general awareness and understanding of the grammatical, lexical and
discourse categories of English to make aesthetic judgments of the text LITERATURE AS CONTENT:
concentrates on the history and characteristics of literary movements; the social, political, and historical
background to a text; literary genres and rhetorical devices LITERATURE FOR PERSONAL
ENRICHMENT: draws from the students’ personal experiences, feelings, and opinions

Five (5) BASIC LITERARY THEORIES

HOW TO READ LITERATURE Five (5) BASIC LITERARY THEORIES
The work and the world it imitates (MIMETIC)
literature is studied as a product of its setting: the time and place where it exists – its social, historical and
cultural context stakes from the classical Aristotlean idea that literature imitates or reflects the real world or the
world of ideal concepts or things from which the subject of literature is derived Mimetic theory thus presents
the literary work in relation to its social, historical, and cultural contexts. The work and the world it imitates
(MIMETIC)

The concept of mimesis was very important for the Greeks because they believed that art was a search for
imitating the beauty of reality, and this concept of imitation is very important in the search for true art that
reflects reality accurately. Aristotle also believed that mimesis is the key to cathartic response in a tragedy.

The work in relation to its author (AUTHORIAL)

holds that the author is the sole source of meaning – literature is a very private expression of the writer’s
feelings, imagination, inspiration, and intension contends that an author consciously or unconsciously writes
about the self thus, meaning is dependent on one’s knowledge of the author’s life. also required in making
sense of the work are the genesis of the author’s works, the sources of the material, and the development of
writing craft and style. The work in relation to its author (AUTHORIAL)

The work and its readers (READER-RESPONSE)

reading is a collaboration among the writer, the text, and the reader who receives the message and enriches it
with his/her own experiences, thoughts, and beliefs is also called as affective or pragmatic theory. It recognizes
the ability of literature to arouse a particular emotion or produce a certain effect on its readers. Reading a
literary text is part of a complex process that includes a collaboration between the writer (who has the
message), the text (consisting of symbols the writer uses to convey the message), and the reader (who receives
the message and enriches it with his or her own experiences, thoughts, and beliefs).reading relies on one’s
personal experiences and state of mind, meaning is not fixed. Textual response is re-created every time one
reads the literary text. The work and its readers (READER-RESPONSE)

The work in relation to other works of literature (LITERARY TRADITION)

literature belongs to a continuum: it is influenced by earlier works and, in turn, influences later works relates
the work to its literary history by identifying the tradition to which it belongs. This means probing the literary
text’s link to other works of the same period or movement, or by comparing it with other works of the same
genres. This theory entails examining the common characteristics, the shared literary style, the communal
ideas, and the collective attitude that unites the literary work to its tradition. The work in relation to other
works of literature (LITERARY TRADITION)

The work as an entity in itself (TEXTUAL ANALYSIS)

a literary work has its own merit and significance and reflects the elements of a literary genre, literary devices,
and style maintains that any literary study should be limited to the text. All other considerations like the
writer’s milieu, the author, the tradition, and the reader responses are all secondary to the text itself. The work
as an entity in itself (TEXTUAL ANALYSIS)

Textual Analysis is formalistic focusing on:

Elements of the literary texts: setting, characters, plot, conflict, point of view, theme, persona, images, etc.
Literary devices: symbol, metaphor, simile, analogy, irony, foreshadowing, alliteration, sarcasm, oxymoron,
metonymy Literary style: form, structure, magic realism, poetic schema, satire, parody, epistolary, gothic,
picaresque, romantic.

An analysis of a literary work may discuss –

how the various components of an individual work relate to each other how two separate literary works deal
with similar concepts or form show concepts and forms in literary works relate to larger aesthetic, political,
social, economic, or religious contexts.
How is Literary Analysis an Argument?
when writing a literary analysis, you will focus on specific attribute(s) of the text(s)when discussing these
attributes, you will want to make sure that you are making a specific, arguable point (thesis) about these
attributes you will defend this point with reasons and evidence drawn from the text

Which is a good thesis statement?

The World is an Apple is about the problem of good and evil in the world. The World is an Apple is boring
and pointless. The World is an Apple is about the life of urban poor. The use of the apple as symbol illustrates
the uncertainty of the life of Mario that is expressed throughout the play.

How is the Thesis Statement supported?

Examples from the text: Direct quotations Summaries of scenes Paraphrase Other critics’ opinions Historical
and social context Useful passages and quotes.