Re: Literary criticism

Seems to me like New Historicist criticism was the dominant mode of the
90s. Gay and lesbian crit seems to be getting more attention these days
too, and I keep coming across articles employing Chaos theory (mostly silly
ones). I think most people tend to see the different theoretical positions
out there like different tools in a box...and use the tools they feel are
most appropriate.

Jim

Lucy Pearson wrote:

> Dear All,
>
> I've been reading the posts on the value or otherwise of literary theory
> with great interest. I get the sense that this discussion is dividing
> into academics vs. non-academics, so would like to add my two pennorth.
>
> It seems to me that the writer of the original article, although he
> obviously lays it on a bit too thick, has some valid points to make. It
> is true that there is an awful lot of deconstructivist nonsense out there
> and there are plenty of second-rate academics out there who embrace the
> jargon and complexity of deconstructivism because it _does_ allow them to
> appear clever. There are also some very good deconstructivist critics who
> employ some of the core concepts developed by this line of theory to make
> some valid an interesting points. Although Jim is right to say that there
> are not really a great many deconstructivist critics producing any
> current work, I would argue that literary criticism has yet to establish
> anything to replace the post-modern criticism of the sixties and
> seventies. I don't mean that there are not coherent and modern critics
> producing excellent work, but my own experience was that a satisfactory
> synthesis of different types of criticism has yet to emerge in academia
> as a whole. My BA course started with a (very useful) critical theory
> course which provided a very broad overview of different schools of
> critical theory. The course was not nearly as comprehensive as it could
> have been, but BA courses never are because time is in such short supply.
> We were then expected to enter into the course proper with a reasonable
> sense of theory which would would be able to apply and develop as we saw
> fit. The reality, however, was that tutors tended to be divided into two
> camps.There were those who saw critical _theory_ as a vital part of
> literary criticism and expected us to back up our statement not only with
> textual evidence but also with particular theoretical theories. On the
> other hand, some tutors (mainly those working in medieval and
> renaissance) were not particulalry interested in theory per se and placed
> much more value on textual evidence. Some of these tutors were slightly
> contemptuous of the first group. It is clear t hat some compromise needs
> to be reached between these two camps. In many cases this compromise had
> already been reached, but I don't think it has filtered down to
> undergraduate level in every university. Going by my own experience, I
> can well imagine that there are sufficient overblown critics to fill a
> conference of the kind Mr. Morningstar criticises.
>
> The question of how post modernist critical theory should be absorbed
> into the older styles of critcism is of vital importance to me, because I
> am trying to find my own critical voice. I personally have more sympathy
> with critics like Anthony Nuttall or the 'classic' critics such as
> Hazlitt. I am most interested in how literature interacts with the reader
> and I want my criticism to be more generally accessible than the
> jargon-heavy deconstructivist stuff often is. Having said that, I am very
> grateful for the work of critics like Foucault, Derrida and Said because
> they have established some very important concepts upon which I wish to
> draw in my own work. These ideas cannot be ignored even by those of us
> who just want to read the story, dammit!
>
> A friend of mine - a respected critic in his own right who I hold in
> very high esteem told me that Valentine Cunningham has produced some very
> valuable work on the place of criticism in the modern age. I haven't yet
> managed to acquire it, but I pass on the recommendation and would enjoy
> hearing anyone else's thoughts on the subject.
>
> Love, Lucy-Ruth
>
> PS I forget whoever started this strand, but thank you very much. I have
> had an awful day including a run-in with my manager in the boring job I'm
> stuck in while I sort out my life, and I needed a good long ramble on
> something interesting. I feel much better and am reminded of why I want
> to go back and do postgraduate work. I've by no means fully worked out my
> ideas on this topic, but I intend to enjoy the next twenty years of
> trying! L-R xxx
>
>
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Received on Fri Oct 25 11:19:00 2002