Sociological Approach

Dianna May C. Macapulay

- considers the literary work as
the product of social
institutions. Its task is to
interpret the work in terms of
its connection to social,
political, and economic
 Proponents of
Sociological approach
insist that literature
cannot be regarded
separately from its social
context.
Wellek and Warren 1956:94 reasons:

1. The medium of literature is language,

and language is a product of society.
2. Literary conventions are social in nature.
3. The writer is a member of society
4. Literature has a social function
5. Social reality is, to a large extent, the
subject of literature
SOCIOLOGY OF
LITERATURE
SOCIOLOGY (Laurenson and
Swingewood – 1972:11)

“Sociology is essentially the scientific,

objective study of man in society, the
study of social institutions and of social
processes; it seeks to answer the
question of how society is possible, how
it works, why it persists.”
APPROACHES TO A SOCIOLOGY OF LITERATURE

1. The study of literature as a reflection of social

realities;
2. The study of the production aspect of
literature, and especially the social situation of
the writer; and
3. The study of literary reception and
patronage- how literary works are actually
received by a particular society at a particular
moment in history
 PREOCCUPATION OF A SOCIOLOGICAL
APPROACH TO THE STUDY OF LITERATURE

A sociological approach to literature should be interested in the external

circumstances of a literary work not in themselves but in terms of their value
in facilitating the task of interpretation.