39quotes

Quotes about literary-theory

Literary theory is a fascinating and multifaceted field that delves into the intricate ways we interpret, analyze, and understand literature. It serves as a lens through which we can explore the depths of written works, uncovering layers of meaning and insight that might otherwise remain hidden. This discipline encompasses a wide range of approaches, from structuralism and post-structuralism to feminism and psychoanalysis, each offering unique perspectives on how texts communicate with readers and reflect the world around us.

People are drawn to quotes about literary theory because they encapsulate complex ideas in succinct, thought-provoking ways. These quotes often challenge our perceptions, encouraging us to think critically about the narratives we consume and the cultural contexts in which they exist. They inspire curiosity and intellectual engagement, inviting readers to question and explore the myriad interpretations that literature can offer. Whether you're a seasoned scholar or a curious newcomer, the world of literary theory provides a rich tapestry of ideas that can deepen your appreciation for the written word and its power to shape our understanding of human experience.

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Literary theory has become a parody of science, generating its own arcane jargon. In the process, tragically, it discourages love of literature for its own sake.
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I am someone who values truth - actual truth as opposed to "truthiness." I am also someone who has been trained in deconstruction in the literary theory department of Yale University, so I am someone who is tempted to believe that no absolute truth is possible.
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What was needed was a literary theory which, while preserving the formalist bent of New Criticism, its dogged attention to literature as aesthetic object rather than social practice, would make something a good deal more systematic and 'scientific' out of all this. The answer arrived in 1957, in the shape of the Canadian Northrop Fryes mighty 'totalization' of all literary genres, Anatomy of Criticism .
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Any attempt to define literary theory in terms of a distinctive method is doomed to failure.
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If the masses are not thrown a few novels , they may react by throwing up a few barricades.
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I do not know whether to be delighted or outraged by the fact that Literary Theory: An Introduction was the subject of a study by a well known U.S. business school, which was intrigued to discover how an academic text could become a best-seller.
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First literature came to refer only to itself, the literary theory.
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He [Aristotle] pointed out that people who had become initiates in the various mystery religions were not required to learn any facts 'but to experience certain emotions and to be put in a certain disposition.' Hence his famous literary theory that tragedy effected a purification (katharsis) of the emotions of terror and pity that amounted to an experience of rebirth.
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Among both the learned and the not so learned it is accepted that poetry can be the language of the emotions; what does not gain such ready acceptance is that poetry is a living language whose syllables fall naturally into verse. And yet both these effects may be illustrated simultaneously by the easy experiment of dropping a weight on your toe. Any really prolonged and heartfelt profanity may lack originality but its imagery is elaborately fantastic; and it invariably scans.
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Literature is like phosphorus: it shines with its maximum brilliance and the moment when it attempts to die.
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