Theory Trivia Quiz

Answer: Feminist criticism

Feminist criticism looks at gender roles and gender identities in literature. Some critics focus on characters and experiences within the text itself. Other critics look at male and female writers, and their roles in literature and society as a whole.

In Kate Chopin's 'The Awakening', Edna went against the social norms of the time. She abandoned her responsibilities as a wife and mother, and tried to forge her own happiness. Dr Rita Lot can look through Edna's eyes and evaluate women's role in 19th century America. She can also consider the impact that the novel had on Chopin's life. When it was first published, 'The Awakening' was heavily criticised. As a writer, Chopin was ostracised and she struggled to get her work published again.

Answer: Sigmund Freud

Even though Sigmund Freud's ideas have largely been discredited, some literary critics use psychoanalysis to explore the 'true' meaning behind actions and symbols within a text. Psychoanalytic criticism can try to uncover repressed ideas in either the writer or the characters.

This kind of criticism has been used to explain Hamlet's actions. He knew that he needed to kill his uncle, and he had the means to do so. So why did he hesitate for most of the play? Some critics thought his hesitation linked to Freud's Oedipus complex. He wanted to punish his uncle for taking his mother, but he couldn't because he was guilty of the same desire.

Answer: Postmodernism

Modernism dominated the arts in the first half of the twentieth century. Writers moved away from realism and omniscient narrators, and experimented more in their work. Postmodernist writers used experimentation, too. They blurred the lines between 'high' and 'low' art by incorporating elements of both in their work. They mixed different genres and styles, and celebrated earlier literary styles by creating pastiches.

Angela Carter's short stories were arguably pastiches of the fairy tales that inspired them. In her introduction to 'The Bloody Chamber', Helen Simpson explained how Carter was also inspired by speculative thinking in science fiction, and the signs and symbols used by nineteenth century symbolist poets. The way different genres were blended in 'The Bloody Chamber' is what Dr Rita is going to explore through a postmodernist lens.

Answer: Tensions between social class

Marxist criticism in literature was inspired by the work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Like feminist criticism, Marxism can be applied to the characters in the text, as well as the writer and their own historical context.

In 'A Streetcar Named Desire', Blanche was a bankrupt Southern belle who had no choice but to move in with her sister, Stella. The two sisters grew up in a relatively wealthy family, but the money had dwindled down to nothing, and when Blanche lost her job as a teacher, that was the last straw.

When Blanche arrived in the New Orleans French Quarter, she was yet to meet Stella's husband, Stanley. Their social backgrounds were worlds apart: Blanche came from a sprawling plantation home, but Stanley lived in a two-room flat. He was rude and violent, and there was clear tension between the two of them.

Answer: Structuralism

Structuralism considers a narrative in the context of other narratives that are similar to it. Dr Rita Lot finds it especially useful when she is trying to work out if a story subverts a genre convention. Take 'Twilight', for example. The vampires in that series glittered in the sun.

The reader has to be familiar with other vampire stories to realise that glittering vampires are unique to 'Twilight'.

Answer: Pro-war propaganda posters from 1914

New historicists use non-literary texts from the same historical period as the literature they are looking at. The events in Wilfred Owen's poetry could be compared to the events recorded in the diary of a WW1 soldier. The tone of his poems could be looked at in contrast to pro-war propaganda posters encouraging young men to enlist.

All of the options could be used as a co-text, as long as they were from the same period as the literary text a critic was looking at. A portrait of Henry VIII might be important in relation to one of his poems, for example. A newspaper article about an event in the Vietnam War might be significant to a novel written in the same period, even if it was only loosely based on the war.

Answer: Ecocriticism

Ecocritics look at the representation of nature and environmental concerns in literature. Romantic poets like William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge produced work that focused on natural beauty in the face of increased industrialisation. They captured idyllic country life in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Ecocriticism can be applied to 21st century texts, too. Margaret Atwood's 'Oryx and Crake' (and its sequels) dealt with a post-apocalyptic world, and the consequences of various scientific advancements.

Answer: Postcolonial criticism

Postcolonial criticism rejects the idea that a literary text can be universal. They explore the representation of other cultures within a text, and they celebrate cultural differences.

Postcolonialism can be applied to work produced after the collapse of European empires in the twentieth century. Zephaniah's poem 'Knowing Me' was published in 2001, but it still explores the idea of racial identity. Postcolonial criticism can also be used to examine attitudes to race during the time of the British Empire. Novels like Joseph Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness' and 'She' by H. Rider Haggard are examples of texts that can be read through a postcolonial lens. How were the African natives portrayed in those stories?

Answer: The hero is saved from a chase.

In the Grimm story, the sorceress (the villain) did not chase the prince (the hero). He jumped from the tower to escape the sorceress and that was the last mention of her. When the prince jumped from the tower, he was blinded by thorns on his landing. That was his distinctive mark. His blindness was later cured by Rapunzel's tears, and that was his change of appearance. At the end of the story, the two of them marry and return to the prince's homeland.

Propp created the 31 functions in response to Russian fairy tales, but they can be applied to other stories, too. Not all 31 will be present in a single story. In 'Rapunzel' there was no chase, and the villain was not punished.

Answer: Stylistics

When using a stylistic method, Dr Rita will analyse the linguistic features of a text. Then, she will use the objective data to interpret what has been written. If you have ever read a novel or short story by Ernest Hemingway, you may have noticed that his work is quite plain.

He doesn't go overboard with long words and elaborate metaphors. As a stylistician, Rita would be more specific than just stating a 'feeling' she had. She would find the percentage of nouns that are not accompanied by an adjective, and then compare that number to the nouns and adjectives in another text.