literary theory
Analyzing written works
Literary theory is the systematic study of how literature works and how we interpret it.
Rather than analyzing individual texts, literary theory examines the principles underlying reading itself—what meaning is, how texts produce it, and what role readers, authors, and culture play.
Major schools include structuralism, post-structuralism, feminist theory, and psychoanalytic criticism.
Her literary theory seminar changed how she approached every novel afterward.
Detailed textual analysis
- exegesisCritical textual interpretation
- textual analysisSystematic examination of writing
- deconstructionAnalysis exposing self-contradiction
- hermeneuticsStudy of interpretation methods
meaning · signifier · signified · intertextuality · allegory · symbolism · irony · ambiguity
Analysis through underlying systems
- poststructuralismPhilosophy questioning stable meaning
- deconstructionAnalysis exposing self-contradiction
- formalismPrivileging structure over substance
- postcolonialismStudy of imperial aftermath
feminism · Marxism · psychoanalysis · reader-response · phenomenology · hermeneutics · semiotics · existentialism
Aesthetic excellence
- sublimeAwe-inspiring greatness
- formShape or document
- styleDistinctive way of expression
- artistryExceptional creative skill
taste · expression · sensibility · imagination · creativity · harmony · unity · defamiliarization
Accepted authoritative works
- discourseFormal communication on subjects
- ideologyStructured belief framework
- representationDepiction or likeness
- subjectivityPersonal viewpoint coloring perception
otherness · hegemony · agency · gender · race · class · power · identity
Storyline or land parcel
- narratorOne who tells events
- point of viewOne's particular outlook
- focalizationNarrative point of view
- characterizationDescribing distinctive qualities
protagonist · antagonist · foreshadowing · climax · denouement · stream of consciousness · unreliable narrator · mimesis
Detailed evaluative analysis
- analysisMethodical study of parts
- evaluationDetermining worth or quality
- close readingDetailed textual analysis
- rhetorical analysisExamining persuasive methods used
close reading
Detailed textual analysis
- exegesisCritical textual interpretation
- textual analysisSystematic examination of writing
- deconstructionAnalysis exposing self-contradiction
hermeneutics · meaning · signifier · signified · intertextuality · allegory · symbolism · irony · ambiguity · subtext
structuralism
Analysis through underlying systems
- poststructuralismPhilosophy questioning stable meaning
- deconstructionAnalysis exposing self-contradiction
- formalismPrivileging structure over substance
postcolonialism · feminism · Marxism · psychoanalysis · reader-response · phenomenology · hermeneutics · semiotics · existentialism · pragmatism
beauty
Aesthetic excellence
artistry · taste · expression · sensibility · imagination · creativity · harmony · unity · defamiliarization · poetics
canon
Accepted authoritative works
- discourseFormal communication on subjects
- ideologyStructured belief framework
- representationDepiction or likeness
subjectivity · otherness · hegemony · agency · gender · race · class · power · identity · marginality
plot
Storyline or land parcel
- narratorOne who tells events
- point of viewOne's particular outlook
- focalizationNarrative point of view
characterization · protagonist · antagonist · foreshadowing · climax · denouement · stream of consciousness · unreliable narrator · mimesis · narrative arc
critique
Detailed evaluative analysis
- analysisMethodical study of parts
- evaluationDetermining worth or quality
- close readingDetailed textual analysis
- literaturebooks, book, fiction, poetry, stories
- academic fieldsmathematics, biology, chemistry, physics, history
- humanitiesphilosophy, history, philosophy class, novels, humanities
- college coursesbiology, calculus, chemistry, physics, quantum physics
- English litpoetry analysis, English authors, war poets
- English StudiesShakespeare, Milton, Chaucer, Old English, Middle English
literary theorycreative writing
Original literary expression
fiction writing · novel writing · storytelling · authorship · close reading
literary theoryrecreational reading
Books read for enjoyment
leisure reading · beach reading · gut reaction · visceral response
literary theoryhard science
Empirically rigorous research field
natural science · scientific method · data science · physics · biology
theory, literature, literary, literate, illiterate, transliterate, nonliterate, preliterate