Introduction

Bonnie Klomp Stevens, Larry L. Stewart. A Guide to Literary Criticism and Research , 3rd ed., Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1996 Introduction Nearly forty years ago, a book on modern literary criticism began with the observation that criticism had become increasingly specialized, ”partial and fragmentary” (Hyman viii). Today, there seems an even greater sense of literary scholarship as a specialized and fragmented activity, inaccessible not only to the general public but also to many serious students of literature. Much of the work found in scholarly journals and books appears at a far remove from what is done either in the classroom or in the reader’s private encounter with a literary text. This book attempts to bridge the gap by supplying the materials necessary to understand current practices of literary criticism and research and by offering a reminder that even highly technical literary studies have their origin in an individual’s questions about a work of art. ln a sense, then, the true subjects of this book are fascination, curiosity, the desire to know more, and the need to share experiences and thoughts with others. Surely, most of us at some time have read a book, or perhaps seen a play or film, and been moved to read it or see it again, to find out more about its ideas or techniques, to think out our own views and opinions of it, and to talk about it with others. Probably most of us have been, in class discussions, excited by an exchange of ideas but frustrated by the lack of time to formulate our own statements and perhaps feeling we do not know quite enough to say what we want. This book views literary criticism and research as arising from these same needs and frustrations and sees literary studies, even very specialized ones, as organized ways of expanding our knowledge and sharing our ideas about literature. Criticism and research are interdependent aspects of a single process. Knowing more about a literary work calls for the application of certain insights and knowledge. Gaining that knowledge demands research or study, whether it be study of poetic techniques or of psychology or of historical events. Intrigued by Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels and, perhaps, feeling that it shows something important about human frailties and pretensions, a reader may want to find out more about Swift and his ideas; or the reader might wish to discover if there were other, similar satires at the time and if they were concerned with the same issues. The reader might find it useful to explore satire as a form and to determine how it usually works. He or she might want to know more about politics and society at the time Swift was writing. The possibilities are nearly limitless; but they all demand study and thought, and they are all likely to result in a reader’s seeing more in Gulliver’s Travels and thereby enjoying and appreciating it more. The kinds of questions a person wants to ask and the procedure used to answer the questions determine an individual’s approach to literary study. This book classifies critical approaches according to the field or area from which the methods and insights of the approach come. The classification has the advantage of allowing the use of the most widely recognized labels for current approaches, and it also emphasizes the common pursuit of all approaches: to bring to bear insights from certain fields in order to understand literary works more fully. Looking at approaches according to the fields from which they draw information may also avoid the sometimes misleading distinction between scholarship and criticism. There seems to be no reason to speak of a study of literary history as scholarship and a rhetorical study as criticism. Both are attempts to gain the knowledge and insights needed for a better understanding of literature. The fields from which they draw their knowledge may differ but not their rigor or their objective. lnsights about literature may come from the study of language and literature itself, the traditional focus of English studies. Obviously, any student of literature must become well acquainted with the elements of literary works. Formalist criticism deals with the techniques and forms of the individual literary text, with the text as a unified entity that can be studied and analyzed in its own terms. Genre criticism, the study of types of literary works, gains information by considering works that have similar forms. Rhetorical criticism studies the way in which literary works affect readers and the techniques through which they accomplish their purposes. Structuralist studies use a knowledge of language and linguistics to describe the structures of literary works. all these ask the reader to know literature and language well in order to understand the individual work. They assume that the knowledge of one work is built on a knowledge of many others. Literary history is a traditional area of study and is concerned with the origin and composition of literary works. Although the field could be divided in several ways, the following are in accord with contemporary critical practice: historical studies, those studies concerned with the intellectual and social context of the time at which the work was written; biographical studies, which deal with the creator of the work; and studies of the literary tradition, which are concerned with the literary context from which the work comes. These share the assumption that a knowledge of the factors surrounding a work’s composition increases our understanding of the work itself. For example, we can more fully appreciate John Milton’s ”Lycidas” if we know about the events and ideas of the time, if we know more about Milton himself, and if we know about the tradition of the pastoral elegy and its uses up to the time Milton wrote. Finally, insights about literature come from the special knowledge of other fields. As literature concerns the whole life of humanity, not simply a part, so literary studies draw on all those fields that can tell us more about ourselves. Traditionally, the areas to which literary critics have looked for new insights have been religion, sociology, psychology, political science, anthropology, and philosophy. Recently, feminist studies have added a new dimension to our thinking about literature and have caused us to reassess many of our attitudes and procedures, and studies of ethnic and minority literature have called our attention to issues of particular concern to various groups. Any list of extrinsic approaches, as these are sometimes called, is limited only by the number of fields of knowledge and the possibility of their contributing to literary understanding. Readers should not be misled by the schematic nature of the list. There are few ”pure” studies, that is, studies that take one and only one approach, and there probably should not be. Certainly, the person who wants to know more about a piece of literature should read widely and not be limited by the insights of a single approach. The concept of approaches can be helpful, however, in ”placing” literary studies and recognizing what they are trying to accomplish. For example, it is sometimes dismaying to read three studies of Joseph Conrad’s Lord Jim and to find one discussing Conrad’s experiences as a sailor, another viewing Jim as a Christ figure, and a third tracing the archetypal pattern of Jim’s descent to the depths. This seems proof that literary criticism is a hopelessly fragmented product of idiosyncratic writers who cannot even agree on their subject. Once we realize, however, that these critics are trying to increase understanding of the novel by applying knowledge gained from Conrad’s life, from religion, and from myth, we can at least recognize their common goal. The concept of approaches can also help the person beginning a literary study by providing a place to start and a sense of direction. To ask, in somewhat more precise and limited form, ”What does sociology tell us about the events of this novel?” or ”What are the techniques by which this play moves the audience?” is at least a starting point for shaping one’s own perceptions about the work. Of course, these questions should arise from a studied response to the work. The events are intriguing and seem especiaiiy significant, or the play’s effect is pronounced or, perhaps, ambiguous. Most studies do begin with a question about the text, and the knowledge of different approaches helps to shape the question more precisely and to find appropriate methods of pursuing the answer. Once an answer is found, the impulse to communicate it almost inevitably follows. The second part of this text discusses the composition of critical essays and demonstrates the practice of successful scholars and critics. Although each study has its own special problems and challenges, it is likely to share certain goals not only with other critical essays but also with works of argumentation and exposition generaiiy. To see the strategies used by professional writers to achieve these goals may be especiaiiy beneficial in one’s own attempt to communicate effectively with readers. Most critical essays are informed not only by the writer’s own ideas but also by a knowledge of the ideas others have proposed. Knowing how to plan a research strategy, being aware of the appropriate reference materials, understanding how to locate the necessary sources, and simply having the skills to keep track of research are imperative for following through on any line of inquiry. Research supplies the content of literary studies. Learning its techniques is essential. The third section of this text guides the reader through the process of research.

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