Discussion Topic
Literary Theory vs. Criticism: Relationship and Differences
Summary:
Literary theory and criticism are interconnected yet distinct concepts. Literary criticism involves evaluating a work's quality based on certain standards, while literary theory focuses on understanding literature through various lenses like feminist, psychoanalytic, or Marxist perspectives. Theory provides frameworks to uncover deeper meanings and contexts, which can enhance criticism. Often, theory and criticism overlap, as theory informs the critic's evaluation process. Historically, theorists like Plato and Aristotle laid foundational ideas, with modern theorists expanding these concepts globally.
What is the relationship between literary theory and criticism?
Literary Criticism and Literary Theory are phrases that have been used interchangeably. But there is a technical difference between the two. Literary Criticism refers to the evaluation of a work. The term "criticism" suggests that the critic is making judgments about how "good" the literary text is. If a novel adheres to the critic's standards in terms of form, content, etc., he/she will judge it to be a good work of literature. Literary Theory is more about how the reader understands literature. The theorist might be interested in the text's function, the historical background of the author, or the hidden meanings in the text. A Feminist theorist will have a different approach than a theorist with a New Critical lens. Theory allows the reader and/or theorist to investigate and evaluate literature from many different angles.
This is where the two (theory and criticism) overlap. For example, if a theorist investigates...
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a novel and determines that it is much more nuanced, with more hidden meanings and clever satiric comments about societal roles, then that theorist might judge the novel to be a more ingenious work than was previously supposed. In this case, the reader can use theory to better understand the work and be in a better position to criticize or judge the work.
Because theory has become so prevalent in literary studies, theoretical concerns often accompany a critical evaluation. And in that sense, one is doing theory and criticism and the two are necessarily linked. In order to be a good critic, I may need to understand different theoretical interpretations of the literary work. For this reason, many modern critics use theory in evaluating a literary work, and you will find that the terms "criticism" and "theory" are often used interchangeably.
What is the relationship between literary theory and criticism?
Just to elaborate a little more on these posts: Literary theory is often used in an attempt to frame the literary work in a certain context: as it was said - in a Feminist, Psychoanalytical, Marxist, Post-colonial context, and so on. This is not to narrow its meaning, but to tease out any meanings which would otherwise be hidden with a more traditional analysis. Some people make no distinction between literary theory and literary criticism: but like the last poster said, it is often thought that literary theory is the abstract work and criticism is the practical application of that work.
The earliest theorists whom I learned about were Plato and Aristotle. In a lot of theory classes, we usually jump ahead to Dante, then the Neoclassical, Metaphysical and Romantic/Transcendentalists. Then the 19th and 20th with Formalist, New Criticism and some of the more recent theories like the ones mentioned above. This is a Western-centric summary: there are theorists from the East as well. (i.e. Al-Jahiz, Ibn-Rushd (Averroes), Confucious, Basho, Abhinavagupta) - to mention a few of the more ancient Eastern theorists. Homi Bhabha and Gayatri Spivak are the most talked about modern eastern theorists that I know of.