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Literary Criticism (lecture 1 by Prof. Shihab Ahmed, University of Basra) — Transcript

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0:00well good morning
0:03today we're going to start with
0:06definitions
0:09beginning with literary criticism
0:13literary theory and literature
0:18normally literary criticism is divided
0:21into three types
0:23or three categories
0:26history of literary criticism
0:30practical criticism
0:33and theoretical criticism
0:39what is required is that you have to
0:42have
0:42a copy of chapter 1
0:45[Music]
0:46of the assigned book which goes under
0:50the title literary criticism
0:53and introduction to theory and practice
0:57which i suppose that you've already got
1:02so let us start
1:07by the way we are not going to go
1:09through the book line by line
1:11but we may jump or leap according to the
1:14requirements
1:16of what is quite necessary for us
1:20to get along with the topic
1:23what is left as your own
1:27a duty to cover
1:31let us start with page six
1:37what is literary criticism
1:41matthew arnold the problem with literary
1:43criticism is that you you may get across
1:45or exposed to so many names that you
1:47have no idea whatsoever about them
1:50one of who of those names is matthew
1:53arnold he is a 19th century
1:55poet and a critic so what we are going
1:59to deal with is
2:00the definition that has already been set
2:02by matthew arnold
2:05in nsa
2:08which is entitled the function of
2:10literary criticism
2:12at the present time it was
2:15incorporated in a book by matthew arnold
2:18under
2:18under the title essays in criticism so
2:21the author
2:22and it's wrong to answer the question
2:24what is literary criticism
2:26has a quoted matthew arnold
2:29so let us read and follow up
2:33matthew arnold a 19th century literary
2:36critic
2:36describes literary criticism as
2:40disinterested endeavor by by being
2:42disinterested means it's quite
2:45objective and with no
2:49biases endeavor to learn and
2:52propagate the best that is non unthought
2:56in the world he goes on
2:59to elaborate as to what is implicit or
3:03what is latent
3:04or what is in this definition
3:07implicit in this definition is that
3:08literally criticism is a disciplined
3:11activity by being disciplined he means
3:14that it should be very much uh
3:18objective and it's not
3:22open to everyone because there is a time
3:25of criticism by
3:26by by being called or labeled
3:30as anything goes criticism such kind of
3:33criticism does not have
3:34a room here a disciplined activity that
3:37attempts
3:39describe study analyze justify interpret
3:42and evaluate or evaluate a work of art
3:45all these activities are
3:49incorporated in the activity of literary
3:51criticism
3:52in other words literary criticism
3:56covers description studying analysis
3:59justification
4:00interpretation and finally evaluation of
4:04work of art
4:07by necessity arnold would argue this
4:09discipline attempts to formulate
4:11aesthetic
4:12and methodological principles so
4:15literary criticism has got two bases
4:20one of which is aesthetic and this
4:22aesthetics is the science that studies
4:25a beauty and methodological principles
4:28that is to say
4:29it should be guided by certain
4:31methodologies
4:35the critic on which the critic can
4:38evaluate a text
4:40he goes on anyone who attempts to
4:43evaluate text and this fashion is a
4:44literary critic a term derived from two
4:47greek words
4:48karina meaning a judge and a christ
4:51meaning
4:52judge or jury person so what we are what
4:55we can see here
4:58is that you know he is working out
5:01the idiomology of the word etymology
5:08etymology
5:11judge ordered a literary critic or a
5:13critical
5:14is therefore a judge of literature to
5:17put it
5:18in simple terms criticism is
5:20comparatively
5:21equal to a critic is comparatively equal
5:25to
5:25a judge of literature he goes on to
5:29raise a question and thereby answers it
5:33by trying to name who was the first
5:37person who can deserve such
5:41a term or such a label the first
5:43recorded such
5:44judge is the 4th century bce teacher
5:47felitas
5:48who arrived in alexandria in 305
5:52bce to tutor that tutor means to teach
5:56a child who would become king ptolemy ii
5:59i suppose that you have already come
6:01across
6:03a person by the name of toler of ptolemy
6:06because there is ptolemic theory of
6:10astronomy when you studied your own uh
6:14when you studied the 16th century poetry
6:17when judging literature felitas was
6:18actively engaged
6:20in the disciplined activities of
6:23literary
6:23criticism
6:27we go on when we consider its function
6:29and its relationship to text
6:31literary criticism is not usually
6:32considered a discipline
6:34in and of itself or it must be related
6:36to something
6:37else that is to say criticism can never
6:40be independent
6:41unless there is a work of art
6:45to work on and this
6:48gets clearer without the work of art the
6:51activity of
6:52criticism cannot exist
6:56in other words priority is given to
6:58literature
6:59first and literary criticism as an as a
7:02disciplined activity
7:04comes next
7:07significantly
7:10we could not analyze a text
7:14without having at the very beginning
7:16certain questions at the back of our
7:19mind
7:20and these questions are going to be
7:22tabulated
7:24as following as follows look at this
7:28when analyzing a text literary critics
7:31ask
7:31basic questions
7:34such as these about the philosophical
7:36psychological functional descriptive
7:38nature of the text
7:39itself unfortunately we don't have
7:44any philosophical background
7:48because there is no no course in our
7:51study
7:52called introduction to philosophy and
7:55philosophy is comparatively
7:56missing psychological
7:59although in studying novels plays
8:04and parents you are dealing with so many
8:07aesthetic aspects
8:09whether it is in the form of a character
8:13manner a woman but we don't have
8:16again as a study or
8:19we don't have a background in psychology
8:22that's why you can recognize that to be
8:24a critic is not an easy task
8:26it is multi-layered task it draws on so
8:29many
8:30disciplines beginning with philosophy
8:31psychology
8:33functionality linguistics and so on and
8:36so forth let us look at those
8:38questions and the answer to each one of
8:40these
8:41takes a lot of time and if it is to be
8:44covered it might
8:45take more than six months to cover
8:49each sing each single question
8:53but we are done to go through them as it
8:56is required
8:58in the text does a text have only one
9:02correct meaning
9:05is is a text always didactic
9:09but to be didactic means to carry a
9:12moral lesson
9:14that is to say does literature give more
9:17lessons or is there any moral
9:20aspect in a text you read
9:23that is he is going to explain it must i
9:25read learn
9:26something from every text
9:30can a text be read only for enjoyment
9:35does a text affect each reader in the
9:38same way and this is
9:40very much closely related to what is
9:43critically called
9:45response of readers what is your own
9:48response when you finished reading a
9:50novel
9:51which is your own personal response when
9:54you finish reading a play
9:55and it goes on
10:00along with these questions there are
10:02some other questions this is on page
10:04seven
10:06how is a text influenced by the culture
10:08of the author and the culture
10:09in which it is written
10:14that is to say how far influential
10:16culture is supposed to be
10:18or is supposed to exercise on the author
10:21how could we understand a text
10:27the framework of a different culture
10:31and you can recognize this by having a
10:34very example
10:35if you read othello here in iraq
10:38your response to it will be different
10:42if the play is read in south africa for
10:46example
10:46and hence the significance of culture
10:51again what part or function does gender
10:54play in the writing or reading of the
10:56text
10:57in other words a woman reading a text
10:59will be radically different
11:00from a man reading the same text and
11:03this has got something to do
11:05with what is called feminist criticism
11:09and gender is not only used in grammar
11:12as but
11:15you have come across it but also gender
11:19this is a cultural concept what makes
11:22a woman into a woman how far influential
11:24culture is
11:25on response of women does a woman read
11:29in the same way that a man reads and so
11:31on and so forth
11:33how does our personal feelings affect
11:35our interpretation of the text
11:37that is to say your response as a
11:39student
11:40will be different from someone else's
11:44response and in terms of your own
11:48personal background if you are well read
11:52in a drama or in the novel definitely
11:54you are going to respond
11:56to a text in a different way from
11:58someone who has
11:59never read a book across his own life
12:04and finally can a text become a catalyst
12:06to change in a giving culture
12:08a catalyst is virtually a chemical term
12:14which means in arabic
12:22foreign
12:26so can a text be a catalyst for change
12:28this is the
12:29social aspect of the social functions
12:33of literature and you know
12:37this chemical term
12:40which figures here is first used by t.s
12:44eliot
12:46in an essay a very famous essay under
12:49the total
12:50tradition on the individual talent
12:57so so now we have covered
13:01two basic points one what is literary
13:03criticism
13:05second what are the basic questions that
13:08the critics
13:09often ask when dealing
13:13with a literary text and you can
13:15recognize
13:17they are of a wide range
13:23almost to the middle of the of page
13:26seven
13:28we are going to have a division
13:31or classification rather of literary
13:35criticism let's read
13:38traditionally literary critics involve
13:40themselves in either theoretical or
13:42practical criticism
13:44that's to say as or as i
13:48started criticism can be divided in two
13:51types
13:52one theoretical and the other practical
13:55practical criticism
13:57is a type of criticism that dates back
14:00an edge
14:02actual origin to a critic by the name of
14:05ia richards who published a book
14:08by uh under the title practical
14:11criticism in 1929.
14:19and he has got another book which is
14:23purely theoretical principles of
14:27literary criticism which was published
14:29in 1924
14:33if there is a time
14:36i might speak to you about
14:40i.a richards who he is and what books he
14:43has written
14:44and how far he is influential as far as
14:47another school of criticism
14:49which goes under the name or the label
14:52of
14:53american new criticism so at least
14:56let us limit ourselves to two types of
14:59criticism as they are tabulated here
15:01practical criticism and theoretical
15:03criticism so
15:05what is a theoretical criticism he is
15:08going to answer
15:09theoretical criticism formulates the
15:12theories
15:12principles and tenants of the nature
15:16and value of art
15:19by citing general aesthetic and moral
15:21principles of
15:22art theoretical criticism provides the
15:25necessary formwork
15:27for a practical criticism in other words
15:30practical
15:31criticism usually works against the
15:34background
15:35of a theory without a theory there will
15:38be
15:39no practical criticism hence
15:42theory and practice are
15:47closely related together theory comes
15:50first
15:50and practice comes second
15:55uh practical criticism also known as
15:58apply the criticism
16:00apply criticism this is a different name
16:05to what is called practical criticism
16:08the theory
16:09what what what job does it do
16:12it applies the theories and tenants of
16:16theoretical criticism tennis means
16:18principles
16:19or premises
16:23and what you are required to do is that
16:26this is a piece of advice for you
16:28whenever you read
16:29you try to keep a dictionary beside you
16:32and when you come across
16:33a word that you have no uh
16:39you haven't an idea of what it means try
16:42to look it up
16:44to look it up in your own dictionary
16:46never try to rely on your own memory
16:49because memories have gaps
17:01yes using the theories and principles of
17:04theoretical criticism the practical
17:07critic defines the standards of taste
17:13test is a very significant has a
17:16significantly place here
17:18we've got literary taste okay
17:21so is the case true when we eat food
17:26this meal has got a very good taste
17:31with the help of taste you can tell the
17:32difference between what's good and
17:34what's bad
17:38and explains evaluates or justify a
17:41particular piece of literature
17:42a further distinction
17:46is made between the practical critic who
17:49visits that there is only one theory or
17:51set of
17:52principles a critic may use when
17:54evaluating
17:55a literal work and the absolutist critic
17:59so here we have got two types of acrylic
18:02practical critic
18:03and absolutist critical absolutist
18:07is derived from the word absolute
18:12element
18:15and the relativistic critic
18:20this is a different type of a critic one
18:21who uses various and even
18:23contradictory theories and critiquing
18:25attacks that's to say
18:27in studying analyzing and evaluating a
18:30work
18:31a literary work he may the critic may
18:34draw upon what draw upon means
18:38to borrow from
18:46one who uses various and even
18:48contradictory theories
18:49in critiquing a text the basis for
18:52either kind of work
18:54of a critic or any form of criticism is
18:56a literary theory
18:58so criticism whether it is applied or
19:01theoretical
19:03is literary theory without theory
19:07practical criticism could not exist
19:12this final statement
19:15paves the way for what is to come
19:18that is to say to answer the question
19:22which is comparatively as important as
19:24the first one
19:26what is literary theory what is
19:29literary theory this is an area of study
19:32which is comparatively
19:34uh more difficult and not handy to
19:37everyone because
19:38after all it is a literary theory you
19:41might have
19:42come across the word theory
19:46when you were introduced to linguistics
19:48we've got linguistic theories and so on
19:50and so forth
19:52as he has done with the etiology of the
19:54word of criticism he is going to tell us
19:56something more about the origin
19:59evolution
20:00and development of the term theory
20:04but let us move to page eight page
20:07eight
20:12what we tend to forget during
20:15the reading of ocana the example he is
20:18citing
20:19is a shorter story by a famous short
20:22story writer
20:23okana it's not necessary that you have
20:26an idea about the story what is
20:28required is to have some sort of a
20:30general idea as what is
20:32included here what we tend
20:35to forget during the reading of any
20:38short story or any other text
20:40is that we have already read other
20:43literary works
20:45what he means here is that you when you
20:47start reading a literal work
20:49or a piece of a drama or whatever
20:52this doesn't mean that you are going to
20:54start from scratch
20:55the animal suffer but
20:59you have already read some earlier works
21:02which is stand as a background
21:04for you against which you are going to
21:06measure evaluate and describe what you
21:08are reading
21:09and this is what is usually called
21:14intertextuality by the way
21:16intertextuality
21:18is a critical term which means
21:22in english
21:27the meaning of a text cannot be
21:30determined solely or alone
21:33by the text itself because there are
21:37quite often certain illusions allusions
21:41to some other literary works
21:44some other literary works and this term
21:48is coined by a bulgarian
21:52a bergeron critic by the name of juliet
21:55christian i don't have the time no
21:59the interest you know to elaborate about
22:01the uh upon the term and textuality
22:03it's quite necessary to follow up the
22:06evolution of the term how it has
22:08migrated
22:09lesser fatherhood
22:16and this has been studied very carefully
22:18by edward said
22:20in his essay traveling theory
22:25this is not this is a very brief general
22:28information that i have given you i'm
22:31giving you
22:32while we are going through these handy
22:36pages intertextuality
22:40is a term that is also used in arabic
22:44culture it has been translated
22:46into what is called a tenors
22:50intertextuality arabic
22:58he is going to elaborate following our
23:00response to any text
23:02or the principles of a practical
23:04criticism we apply to it
23:06is largely a conditioned our socially
23:09constructed
23:10one that is how we arrived at meaning
23:13and fiction is in part determined by our
23:16experiences
23:18to understand a novel
23:22sometimes is highly essential
23:25to relate to some characters in it
23:29your relation to this character the term
23:32is determined by your individual
23:34experience and experiences
23:36differ from one person to another that
23:39is to say i'm going to give you an
23:40example as an iraqi
23:42reader reading mrs dalloway by virginia
23:45woolf
23:45you are going to relate to mrs ramsey in
23:49a way different from an africa
23:53and the exclusive factor that shapes and
23:56determines your response
23:58is your experience how well read
24:02are you if you are going to spy i mean
24:04if nobody could
24:05start from from scratch or nobody
24:09could start out of the blue as they say
24:13to sum it up or to put it
24:18in a nutshell as they say a human
24:22let us read the lines
24:25when we can clearly articulate our
24:27personal philosophical framework
24:29when reading a text and explain how this
24:33mindset directly influences our values
24:35and aesthetic judgments about the text
24:39the assumption oh we are well on our way
24:42to developing a coherent unified
24:45literary theory that's to say by reading
24:48against
24:49the background of our personal
24:51experiences
24:54infused with certain and infused
24:58with certain philosophical framework of
25:01philosophy so how could
25:02and this is the problem how are you
25:04going to respond to a literary text
25:06without having
25:07uh a philosophical background and
25:11unfortunately as i said philosophy here
25:15is virtually missing
25:18so to be clear
25:22let us read the lines which are supposed
25:24to be
25:25a definition or an explication
25:30an examination of what is meant by
25:33literary theory
25:36the assumptions conscious or what
25:38otherwise
25:40that undergird under good means and
25:43their line
25:44and their score our understanding and
25:47interpretation
25:48of language you can recognize
25:52that these lines are
25:56actually very explosive
26:00requires a lot of work and it takes a
26:02lot of time
26:03to explain uh them
26:06and as as i said sometime earlier that
26:10this language of literary criticism is
26:14right away different from the types of
26:16language that you
26:17are exposed to whether in linguistics in
26:19the novel or in the drama
26:22this is what is called in linguistics
26:24meta language
26:27meta language the ways
26:30we construct meaning and our
26:32understanding of art culture and
26:34aesthetics
26:34and ideology again
26:38since we have no background in
26:40philosophy so is the case it's true
26:43we have no background in aesthetics and
26:46the aesthetics is the chance that
26:47studies a beauty what makes
26:50the beautiful beautiful this is what
26:52this is one of the
26:53basic questions that aesthetics is
26:56supposed to answer
26:57and again we have no background and this
27:00is the problem
27:00and ideology this is a very important
27:04term which has developed across the
27:06years
27:08where the literary criticism involves
27:10our analysis of a text literary theory
27:12concerns itself
27:13with our understanding of the ideas
27:16concepts intellectual assumptions upon
27:18which
27:19rest our actual literary critique
27:25going back to literary criticism and its
27:28etimology
27:29and we said that it is equal or adequate
27:32to what is called criticals
27:34and in the final analysis a critical is
27:37supposed to be a judge of literature
27:39likewise is going to give us some ideas
27:42from where does
27:46or is the word theory derived
27:52to the bottom of the page
27:55never say in the bottom of the page this
27:57is arabic
28:00a better understanding of literary
28:01theory can be gained
28:05by investigating the etimology
28:08i've already define uh explain to you
28:10what's meant by etermology
28:11that is to say the science that studies
28:15the evolution and development of words
28:19the etymology of the word theory itself
28:22derived from the greek word
28:25theory the word theory means
28:28a view or perspective of the greek stage
29:00this is for your own general knowledge
29:02we go back to write from the greek word
29:04theory the word theory means a view or
29:07perspective
29:08of the greek stage literary theory then
29:12overstores the view of life
29:16and understanding of why we interpret
29:18text
29:20the way we do in temperature we've got
29:23exegesis
29:24exhibition
29:35and there is a science by the title
29:38or by the label of hermenotics
29:41italy and again we don't have
29:45a course in interpretation
29:48and you can recognize how problematic
29:53things are literary theory
29:57offers to us a view of life an
29:59understanding of why we interpret text
30:01the way we do
30:03consider the various places in the
30:05theater that we the audience may see it
30:07so that our perspective and our
30:10understanding
30:11or interpretation of things largely
30:14depends on the place
30:16we occupy if you are at the front
30:20your perspective your perspective will
30:24be
30:24radically different from someone who
30:26sits at the back
30:28if you are in the auditorium
30:34auditorium
30:38depending on our seats whether close
30:43to the stage far back to the far left
30:47to the far right or in the middle row
30:50our review and therefore our
30:51interpretation of the events taking
30:53place on the stage
30:55will alter will change literary theory
30:58figuratively and literally asks
31:00where we are sitting when we are reading
31:03a text
31:04this is a metaphorical understanding of
31:07what is meant by theory theory
31:10is determined by the place
31:14we occupy as he said at the front at the
31:18back
31:18and the middle and so on and so forth
31:21what exactly
31:22is influencing us during the reading
31:24process
31:25is it our culture that is to say how far
31:28influential our culture is supposed to
31:31be
31:32in shaping our response
31:35to literary works
31:38okay is it our understanding of the
31:42nature of literature itself
31:44is it our political religious or social
31:46abuse
31:48is it our family background these and
31:50similar questions
31:52and their answers will directly and
31:54indirectly unconsciously and
31:56unconsciously
31:57uh be affecting our interpretation and
32:00our
32:01enjoyment of luck or lack thereof of a
32:04text
32:06to give you an example if someone
32:12goes through a love experience and he
32:14fails
32:16certainly his reading of shakespeare's
32:18romeo and juliet
32:21will be very much different from someone
32:25who has got a successful relationship
32:29moreover a well-articulated theory
32:33literary theory also assumes that that
32:35an innocent
32:36and innocent reading of a text or
32:39sheerly emotional or spontaneous
32:40reaction to a work
32:42does not exist in other words there is
32:44no
32:45innocent reading
32:49because when we read we are influenced
32:51by so many factors ranging from
32:53our culture to our personal experiences
32:56and so is the casey true of language
32:59itself
33:00language is not innocent
33:05it may persuade you
33:10it may put you off and so on and so
33:13forth
33:14definitely or honestly speaking if you
33:17want me to elaborate on innocence
33:20of of reading and innocence of language
33:23it takes us
33:24more than six years sorry six months
33:28because these are very significant terms
33:32right i i have no idea as to how far
33:36how far familiar you are with the
33:39ramifications of ramifications
33:43of language functions and so on and so
33:45forth
33:46so to conclude
33:51as far as literary theory is concerned
33:53we have arrived at a major
33:55conclusion that is no innocent
33:58reading there is and as i said language
34:01itself
34:02is not
34:05innocent i
34:09well our understanding of reality and
34:12its nature
34:13differs again from someone to someone
34:15else
34:16and this theoretical framework is summed
34:20up
34:20in a term called world view
34:23which is available
34:26right after making meaning from text
34:31worldview is originally a german term
34:36it is equal to what is called welch in
34:39german
34:44and your world view as an iraqi living
34:48in this part of the world which
34:50again will be very much different to
34:51from someone else's
34:53living in some other part of the world
34:57and the world the term world of view is
35:01originally used in german sociology
35:04german sociology and it develops
35:07and it's set in the circulation
35:12and it is again transferred
35:15from sociology and to literary criticism
35:18to speak about world of view in detail
35:20takes a lot of time
35:22and there is no room for me here
35:25to speak about it and this is the
35:27problem again i repeat
35:29with literary criticism you are exposed
35:31to so many names and so many terms
35:36and that's why to understand the
35:39criticism requires a very solid
35:41background
35:42a background that touches on so many
35:45fields
35:46beginning with linguistics literature
35:49with and it's different genres
35:53and you know economics and so on and so
35:55forth one of the
35:56best exact most most illustrative
35:59example is the term
36:00world view
36:04and let us move on
36:08upon such a conceptual framework
36:11literally arrest literary theory that is
36:13to say
36:14literary theory is based on each
36:16individual's world
36:18view whether that framework is well
36:20reasoned or simply a matter of habit or
36:22best teaching
36:23reader readers respond to works of art
36:28why why means across or through
36:31their world of view that's to say
36:34world of view determines a lot and it
36:37plays
36:38a leading role
36:41in shaping a reader's response
36:45to a literary work
36:48and we are going to have some ideas
36:51about what is involved in the world of
36:52you
36:55given that giving that world view
36:58as i said is a sociological term
37:02okay right
37:05from this philosophical choral beliefs
37:08bring their evaluation of the goodness
37:11worthiness and value of art itself
37:14using the world of use either
37:16consciously or unconsciously as a
37:18artistic
37:19as a standard with the help of which we
37:21can measure things the other districts
37:23are by which to measure and value their
37:26experiences
37:27readers respond to individual works of
37:30literature ordering
37:31and valuing each separate or collective
37:35experience in each text based on the
37:36system of beliefs
37:38housed in their world of views by the
37:41way
37:42there is a school of criticism
37:47originated evolved and developed in
37:50germany
37:52by the title of reader response
37:56theory headed by a figure
38:03called wolfgang iser
38:07which touches on
38:12how readers respond
38:16to literary text
38:20but this is in germany the earlier
38:22attempts
38:23and this regard
38:27is also available in the states
38:30what i mean by states that is to say
38:32united states of america
38:36and there is a lady by by the name of
38:39louise
38:39m rosenblatt her book
38:44is called the reader the text and the
38:47poem
38:491978 this is the edition
38:52that the author is using and you you
38:55have to have
38:56an idea how to write
39:00a bibliographical item of a book because
39:02you are required to submit a piece of
39:05research this year
39:06this is the edition of 1978 the book was
39:09originally published in 1934.
39:14and her theory is is called the
39:16transactional
39:17theory that is to say how
39:23how the reader responds how responds to
39:25a literary
39:27text
39:30under the title i don't know i'm not you
39:33are not required to read the whole book
39:35by roshan again the book is not
39:37available here
39:39so now at least you've got
39:43some ideas to articulate
39:48as we go to as regards theory
39:52but there is another point which is
39:54closely related to theory
39:57where what is called meta theory
40:04and i suppose that you have already been
40:07familiarized
40:08with what is meant by meta this
40:11prefix in linguistics meta means across
40:15or beyond let us
40:19read the lines at the bottom of the page
40:23because no literal theory can account
40:27for all the various factors included in
40:29everyone's conceptual framework
40:32and because we as readers all have
40:34different literary experiences
40:37this is important there can exist no
40:40meta theory
40:44no single overarching literary theory
40:48overarching means dominating
40:52literary theory and encompasses all
40:55possible interpretations
40:56of the text suggested by readers
41:00as long as there is no innocent language
41:03and there is no innocent reading
41:07equally significant significant there is
41:10no
41:12meta theory a theory which can
41:15explain interpret all the factors
41:18involved in our response to literary
41:20texts
41:30and this is quite important to know
41:34no matter theory
41:39a possible interpretations of a text
41:42suggested by its readers
41:45there can be no single correct literary
41:47theory
41:48for in and of itself
41:52each literary work asks valid questions
41:55off
41:56and about the text so there are some as
41:59there are so many
42:00linguistic theories in studying or
42:02approaching language so is the case it's
42:04true
42:05there are no single theory that
42:08can interpret for us all literary
42:11works and as such there are so many
42:14theories and no one theory is capable of
42:17exhausting
42:18all legitimate questions i'd like to
42:21draw your attention
42:24to the terms valid and legitimate
42:55in other words what may be acceptable to
42:57you
42:58may not be acceptable to someone else
43:01but you have no right to embarrass
43:05your values on others and
43:08hence the significance
43:11of literary theory
43:14let us move on
43:19on page 12 at the top
43:22at almost on the top we read because the
43:25various schools of a criticism
43:31in the criticism there are so many
43:33schools
43:34beginning with the plato and aristotle
43:36and ending with the moulding age and to
43:40speak of
43:41of those schools even if we do it
43:44briefly it takes more than a year
43:48to come
43:52because the various schools of criticism
43:55and the theories on which they are based
43:58ask different questions about the same
44:00work in literature
44:02these theoretical schools provide
44:06an abundance of options so the
44:09significance of
44:11literary theories is that you are
44:13offered
44:14as many options as possible and by the
44:17way
44:18our life or the life we live and go
44:20through
44:22is an endless series of options
44:27beginning with your own morning meal
44:30and up to the very moment before you
44:32sleep
44:34and this is
44:37the good aspect of life we have got as
44:39many choices
44:40but sometimes we are forced to have
44:43a zero option
44:47that's to say we have no choices at all
44:50an abundance of options from which
44:52leaders can choose to broaden
44:54their understanding not only of texts
44:56but also of their society their culture
44:58and their own humanity
45:02the more options we have the more
45:07able we are to choose from the list
45:13by embracing a literary theory to
45:15embrace means to adopt
45:17embracing literary theory we learn about
45:20literature
45:21and more important we are also
45:24tolerant to we are
45:28also taught tolerance
45:34but in this context means
45:38we have to have tolerance in dealing
45:40with others
45:43we respect the point
45:49and this is the significant one of the
45:52important lessons we learn by studying
45:55literary theory
45:56we nurture the spirit of tolerance
46:01we are also taught tolerance for other
46:03people's beliefs
46:05by rejecting or ignoring theory
46:09we are in danger of canonizing ourselves
46:12as
46:42we said canonizing ourselves as literary
46:45sense who possess divine knowledge
46:48and who can therefore supply the one and
46:50only correct interpretation for a given
46:52text
46:53and canonization
47:22and i would like to refer you to a very
47:25famous poem by john dunn which i suppose
47:28that you have already studied in your
47:29second year by the name
47:31by the title of canonization
47:36i don't know whether you have studied it
47:38or not just
47:39these are some remarks that i would like
47:41to make as far as canonization is
47:43concerned
47:44as literally sent so possess divine
47:46knowledge
47:50and who can therefore supply the one and
47:52only correct interpretation for a given
47:54text
47:55when we suppose or when we oppose or
47:58rediscipline or
47:59non-literary theory we are in the
48:01general and the danger of
48:03blindly accepting our more frequently
48:06than not any questions prejudices and
48:08assumptions quite often
48:10we are influenced by our obligations
48:16so we have to be objective
48:20when dealing with literary texts we have
48:22to recognize and to
48:25evaluate what there is by embracing
48:28literary theory and literary criticism
48:30it's practical application
48:32we can willingly participate in that
48:34seemingly endless
48:35historical conversation about the nature
48:38of humanity and of the humanities
48:40concerned
48:41as expressed in literature we have to
48:44conduct conversation not only with
48:46ourselves
48:47with other people but with other texts
48:50with the text we have to and in the
48:53process we can begin to question our
48:55concepts of
48:56ourselves there is a very important
48:59activity which is
49:00largely missing to raise the right
49:02questions at the right time
49:05our society and our culture and how text
49:08themselves
49:09helped define and continually redefine
49:12these concepts
49:16let us stop at this particular point
49:20and we will have a meeting
49:24which is going to be mainly concerned
49:26with another question
49:28that is what is literature
49:32if you go back in your memory to the
49:33early days
49:35that is to say your primary primary
49:37school days
49:39out to northern upon uh up to the
49:43this time you are already being
49:46exposed to different types of work
49:48literally works
49:50but have you ever asked yourself a
49:52question what is literature
49:55literature is so familiar to the point
49:59that its familiarity has blinded our
50:02eyes
50:03or blinded us in the sense that we
50:06haven't
50:07asked a question as what is literature
50:11that's enough

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