Wow!!!

So far, I am impressed by your well articulated reviews. Must say well done to all who have posted their book reviews. Ekene Nwachukwu, that was a creative way to start a book review. Well done to every one. Please endeavor to post the remaining reviews accordingly before resumption.

ART WORK TO BE REVIEWED

Using the taught arts review method, review the above art work by Leonid Afremov

NOTES ON APPROACHES TO ANALYSIS AND CRITICISM (WK 12)

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Learning Outcome

At the end of the lecture, you should be able to identify, describe and give clear explanation of the various approaches to critical analysis.

APPROACHES TO ANALYSIS AND CRITICISM

There are so many schools and approaches to literary criticism that a classification seems presumptions. However, if the various approaches are not put together, two major approaches will emerge. These approaches are:

The Intrinsic Approach

The Extrinsic Approach

INTRINSIC APPROACH

This treats a work of art as complete in itself. Here, the work is autonomous and self-adequate. Critics examine the internal relations within the text. They ask such questions as what is the relationship between the plot in the novel and the narrative technique and how far has the writer succeeded in developing his message through his plot and technique of narration. This approach is also known as the autelic approach.

The Intrinsic or Autelic approach in criticism is mostly dominant in English-speaking nations. It can be seen to operate on several levels. The first level is the level of the “UNSEEN”- which is the level of literary appreciation. The second level is that of practical and textual analysis. This level has two divisions.

(A.) The first subdivision deals with the theory of forms and genres in literature. This theory states that literature has certain genetic forms e.g. drama, poetry and the novel. This division describes (i) the characteristics of the form. (ii) The different basic types within the form e.g. in poetry there the epic, lyric, dirge, ballad, sonnet e.t.c. There is also the development of the novel into individual heroes e.g. Okonkwo in Things Fall Apart, Henchand in The Mayor of Casterbridge and Ihuoma in The Concubine. Modernists’ novels succeeded the novel of individualism. Unlike the earlier novels where there is a solid, well-ordered reality, everything follows the stream of consciousness here. The notion of plot and characterization breaks down.

The second level is the level of practical criticism, which deals with the language of the text. Here, one is engaged with such things as figures of sounds e.g. alliteration, assonance and figures of meaning e.g. metaphor, simile e.t.c. These are figures peculiar to literature itself. Intrinsic criticism is also known as formalistic approach because there, the emphasis is on the form (style) rather than the content of the said work of art.

EXTRINSIC CRITICISM

In extrinsic criticism, literature is seen as a feature of life- a reflection of life concerned with the Socio/Cultural/Economic life of a group of people. Because the writer is a member of a society, several factors which include sociology, history, and philosophy e.t.c. affect his writings. In order words, writers draw from philosophy, sociology, history among others. An extrinsic attempt from the viewpoint of history will see it, for instance, as a fictional recreation of history and will proceed to show the aspects of history that were recreated. An extrinsic approach will ask such questions as “what is the relationship between literature and society? What is the writer’s vision of man, human?”

OTHER APPROACHES OF CRITICISM

SEMANTIC CRITICISM AND ANALYSIS

This is one type of critical analysis that must accompany every interpretative writing. In its simplest sense, semantic criticism means understanding and knowledge of each and every word so as to avoid ambiguity in the writing. Whether the work is poetry, prose or drama, the reviewer must know the meaning and relationships of every word contained within the piece. Occasionally, good critics let a word slide by without full knowledge of it, and that mistake can make a great difference in the evaluation. The dictionary is therefore important to semantic criticism but sometimes such criticism must extend beyond the dictionary and examine words in different contexts. Although, semantic criticism or analysis seems obvious and fairly easy, it is not always so. It must, however, always be the first step in the analysis of a literature and the foundation of the critical process

HISTORICAL CRITICISM AND ANALYSIS

This is one of the most overly used and often least helpful forms of criticism. It makes use of historical and biological data that is, searching into the author’s life or historical period for clues to the work itself. A search into the life of the author can finish some valuable information, but remember the critic is evaluating the poem, story, book, film, etc, not the author’s life. If information about the author aids in the understanding of the printed material, of course it should be utilized. A Knowledge of Shakespeare’s life and times (era) may be interesting and even add color for one studying his works, but Merchant of Venice for instance is a great play with or without Shakespeare’s biography. Consequently, the rule of thumb must be that at least a superficial investigation of the author’s life should be undertaken when possible. If there to be some reasons to investigate the life more thoroughly, then do so, and always remember that in the find analysis the interpretation must arise from what appears on the printed pages and must be in consonant with the work in order to be valid. Biography may be interesting and informative, but it is not criticism, analysis, or interpretation of the work itself.

PSYCHOLOGICAL CRITCISM AND ANALYSIS

By it very name, psychological criticism implies a study of the workings of the human mind. In order to suggest a human mind at work, the literature must depict strong characterization and personalities that readers and listeners can easily accept as real people. Psychological criticism examines the way in which those characters within the story develop. Because drama tells its story through actual characters on stage, psychological criticism is of importance to the analysis of theoretical works. Of course the more serious with the drama and the more intense the characterization, the more value will be attained by psychological examination. This type of criticism is also essentially valuable in the analysis of modern prose fiction, a form in which the characters have time to develop fully. In psychological criticism the analyst delves into the mind of the characters to find out what makes them function as they do and to determine whether their actions are constant with their personalities. By understanding why a character speaks or acts in particular way or manner, the interpreter is able to suggest a person with more nuances, subtleties, and motivation, and thus can establish the character in a work. The critic’s inability to do an in depth psychological studies should not be used as an excuse to neglect psychological criticism. The critic who analyzes Things Fall Apart and fails to question and ascertain the reason(s) why Okonkwo killed Ikemefuna-a boy who calls him father and a boy he admits secretly that he admires-then that critic is not worth his salt.

SOCIOLOGICAL CRITICISM AND ANALYSIS

Criticism is closely related to historical criticism and in some respects inseparable from it. The primary difference is that historical criticism deals with the events and people who shape the history of an era, while sociological criticism delves into the milieu of a particular place. Sometimes analyzing a literary work of socially oriented and socially inspired work must do well to become familiar with the work and the cause upon which it expounds.

AESTHETIC CRITISM AND ANALYSIS

Every literary critic is an artist and engages to some degree in a form of aesthetics. A literary work has an aesthetic quality and appeals to us and to an audience. In all probability, however, we have not yet made a formal aesthetic enquiry into the work but are responding impressionistically. This impressionistic criticism is probably the most common form of criticism. We all indulge in it every time we try to establish the relative beauty or appeal of an object, be it a member of the opposite sex, a sunset, a TV show, a work of literary art.

Impressionistic judgment is entirely not open to contradictions. True aesthetic criticism establishes criteria as universal standards. The most famous set of criteria for judging literature are those proposed by Aristotle in his “Poetics” in the fourth century BC. For centuries, people involved in literature criticized and created according to the “rules” set down by Aristotle. Aristotle’s works has inspired most aesthetic philosophy over the subsequent centuries either by expanding upon the contradictions

Many modern philosophers have tried to establish an aesthetic for the arts, so far none has been completely successfully or satisfactory. The wide varieties of art and the approaches to the arts complicate and compound the problem facing the aesthetician. For instance, what works for classical painting may not work Romantic literature or contemporary music? Using a specific set of criteria, however, can help the reviewer choose and interpret literary works, because the interpreter will find that a systematic approach to evaluating the beauty of literature enhances his or her understanding for a particular work and of the field in general.

MORAL CRITICISMS AND ANALYSIS

Closely allied with sociological and aesthetic criticism is the attempt to criticize a work morally. A common type of moral criticism seen in modern times is the rating established by motion picture industry. An ‘R’ or ‘X’ rating proclaims that certain scenes may be morally offensive to some people. The most difficult problem with moral criticism, of course, rests with the phrase “to some people.” What is morally offensive to one person may not be to another. Establishing and promulgating moral criteria can lead to censorship and control of literature.

Moral criticism analysis literature in terms of values and truth. Moral criticism adheres to the basic tenets that the purpose of literature is to teach morality, whether or not religiously oriented. The interpreter may wish to provide a specific audience with specific moral or philosophical point of view. The interpreter may also find some values in examining the relative worth of a selection to himself, as well as an audience. The critic/interpreter should beware, however, of moralizing or forcing captive audience to listen to views they should ordinarily not wish to hear. One pitfall in moral criticism lies in the ephemeral quality of some of our moral standards. A casual glance at the popular art of motion, TV and magazines illustrate the major differences in public attitude towards morality that developed during the 1960s.

ARCHETYPAL CRITICISM

The theory of archetypical is derived from the school of comparative anthropology at Cambridge University. This is the use of myth and ritual, which recur in the legend, and ceremony of most diverse culture. They are expressed in myth-tortoise; Moremi in Yoruba land; and Queen Amina; religion, dreams, and private fantasies, as well as in the works of literature. Negritude for instance is analysed in terms of the large scale of collective experience of the people. i.e. as basic to the reaction of the modern literature of the black man. This attitude of celebration of values, authentic to a group comes under this type of criticism.

Carltung insists that “true poet” select their characters, images, patterns, (archetypes) from a deep unconscious realm, a primordial world, where racial experience of our ancestors are stored, i.e. a store where the trials, triumphs, failures and aspirations of these are preserved. The true artist selects from this primordial world and when they do this, their works and voices stir in us a feeling that is at once familiar because these experiences belonged to our root; strange, because these goes deep into a distant “primordial world in primordial times” of our lives. This feeling, he explains, is our response to “great art”

Critical and review writing notes on the theories and History of critisicm

Note : Read up before lecture time in class and respond to the questions following this lecture note. I have also posted the lecture notes on ARTS review as well as the art work to be reviewed. I am also expecting every one to turn in all reviews (music, literature, art, book)Well Done

THEORIES AND HISTORY OF CRITICISM

CLASSICISM

The history of criticism is closely related to the development of classicism and Romanticism. Classicism established the nature of epic poetry and drama. Such work must adhere to “nature” by aspiring to order and regularity and strictly observe the unities of time, place and action in dramatic composition. Such work must be complete and has an aristocrat as a protagonist, must be serious in content (tragedy), purgation of emotion, pity and fear (catharsis). The classical writers based many of their theories on Aristotle’s Poetics. They tried to portray the world objectively. English critics who contributed to classicism include in chronological order: Sir Philip Sidney, Ben Johnson, John Dryden and Samuel Johnson.

ROMANTICISM

Romanticism developed during the last of 1700s as a reaction against classicism. Romantic writers tried to portray their personal views of the world. Unlike the Greek plays, Romanticists mixed comic matters with serious matters, sub plots followed the main plots and lowborn characters sometimes had prominent roles. Romanticism had an especially strong influence in England and Germany. English romantic critics include in a chronological order: Samuel Taylor, Coleridge, William Wordsworth, William Hazlitt e.t.c.

19^th CENTURY REALISM

During the second half of the 19^th century, realism rose to a dominant position in criticism and literature. Realism is used in two ways:

1. To identify a literary movement of the 19^th century, especially in prose fiction

2. To designate a recurrent way, in this was typified by writers of this historical movement.

Realistic fiction is often opposed to romantic fiction. Romantic is said to present life as we would have it; while realism presents an accurate imitation of life as it is. The subject is represented in such a way to give the reader the illusion of actual experience. Daniel Defoe, Henrick Iban were some of such writers on realism.

NATURALISM

This is a product of post-Darwinism biology in the mid 19^th century. It believes that man belongs entirely to the order of nature and does not have a soul or any other connection with a religious or spiritual world beyond nature. They believed that man is therefore, merely a higher order animal whose character and fortunes are determined by two kinds of natural forces- heredity and environment. Work on naturalism portrays the setting, characters, situations, and incidences e.t.c exactly the way they are in life. By the end of the 19^th century, Realism was evolving into Naturalism as exemplified by the novels of Emile Zola, Frank Norris, and Stephen Crane.

20^TH CENTURY CRITICAL MOVEMENT

The chief opposition of naturalism came from a group of American professors. The central figures of the Neo-human movement as it was called were Paul Elmer Moore (1864-1937), Iruing Babbitt e.t.c. It is an attack on Naturalism and called for reaffirmation of human institutions and recognition of human beings as moral, responsible individuals. The theories of Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud have also had enormous impact on 20^th century criticism and writing. This is a socialist realism, which views that the struggle between two classes is the essential dynamics of society. Since 1930, “Socialist Realism” has been the official doctrine directing the work of authors.

NEW CRITICISM

No movement has had so re sounding an impact on 20^th century criticism as the New Criticism, which was greatly influenced by T.S Elliot. The new critics differ from one another in many ways but the following points of view and procedures are common to many of them.

A poem should be treated as primarily as poetry and not other thing- and should be regarded as independent and self-sufficient object.

The distinctive procedure of the new critic is close reading and subtle analysis of the complex interpretation and ambiguities (multiple meaning) of the component elements with a work.

The principles of the new criticism are basically verbal. That is, literature is conceived to be a special kind of language whose attributes are defined by systematic opposition to the language of science and logical discourse, the meaning and interactions of language and words, figures of speech, and symbols.

The distinction between literary genres, although casually recognized, is not essential in New Criticism. The basic components of any work of literature whether lyric, narrative, or dramatic are conceived to be words, images and symbols rather than character, thought and plot.

The New Critics were not concerned with the historical context in which a work was written or with biographical details about the author or with the author’s purpose. Rather, the technique was to discover by close analysis of structure and imagery, precisely those technical devices capable of expressing the particular concrete meaning that the literary work possesses.

LATER 20^TH CENTURY TRENDS

EXISTENTIALISM:

This is based on Kierkegaard doctrine, a Danish philosopher. Existentialism states that man is a unique and isolated individual in an indifferent or hostile universe, responsible for his own actions and free to close his destiny.

STRUCTURALISM:

This emerged in France during the 1960s and 70s. Structuralism criticism views literature as a second order system which uses language, the first order, as its medium and is itself to be analyzed on the model of linguistic theory. Most structuralist critics concern themselves with single work of literature, or else with a limited group of related works which they analyze by applying linguistic concepts such as the distinction between phonemic and morphemic, paradigmatic and syntagmatic e.t.c.

SUMMARY:

In the light of the above, perceptions, feelings and attitude towards arts has not been static. It reflects prescribed principles for the culture of a people at a point in time. It is this transition that evolved what could be called “periods” or history of arts. This also gave rise to theories of each period and its attendant criticism. Each period can be classified with distinctive features but posses a little of its parent movement. This is how literature developed along with criticism from classical Greek period to the 20^th century.

HOW TO REVIEW AN ART WORK/ FILM STUDY GUIDE

What is Art?

It is on the walls, the clothes you are wearing; it affects every aspect of your life. It is sometimes over looked.

Note.

Not everything applies to every book of art, nor is it useful to consider things in the order given. In any analysis, keep in mind the following: HOW and WHY is this a significant work of art?

A. General Information.

This may be found on a label or in a gallery guidebook. If so indicate in your work, where you got information.

1) Subject Matter (Who or what is represented).

2) Artist or Architect (What group or person made it? Often this is not known. Refer to this person as the artist or architect, not author. Refer to them by their last name.

3) Date (When was it made? Is a copy of sitting older? Was it made before or after other similar works?)

4) Provenance (Where was it made? For whom? Is it typical of the art of a geographical area? Source and Ownership.

5) Location (Where and the work of art now? Where was it originally located?).

6) Technique and Medium (What material is it made of? How was it executed? How big or small is it)

Part II.

B. Brief Description.

In a few sentences, describe the work. What does it look like? Is it an abstraction of something? Tell what the subject is and what aspect is emphasized.

Note that it is not the analysis of work yet!

This section is primarily a few sentences to give the reader of a sense of what the work looks like.

C. Part III. Form.

This is the key part of your paper. It should the longest section of the paper.

Be sure to know whether the work of art selected is a 2 or 3 dimensional work.

2: Is a work of art that exists on a flat surface.

3: Art forms such as sculpture that has depth or creating illusion of depth behind a flat surface.

Art Elements. Path of movement, bold-delicate, active-passive, broken-continuous.

1) Line (Straight, Curved, Angular, Flowing, Horizontal, Vertical, Diagonal, Contour, Thick, Thin, Implied, Actual e.t.c)

2) Shape (What Shapes are created and how)

3) Light and Value (Source, Flat, Strong, Contrasting, Even, Values, Emphasis, Tint, Shade, and Chiaroscuro Intensity: bright-dull.

4) Colour (Primary, Secondary, Mixed Complimentary, Warm, Cool, Decorative, Values)

5) Texture and Pattern (real, implied repeating)

6) Space (depth, overlapping, kinds of perspective)

7) Time and Motion.

Principles of Design.

1) Unity and variety

2) Balance (Symmetry, Asymmetric)

3) Emphasis and Subordination

4) Scale and Proportion (Weight, how objects or figures relate to each other and the setting)

5) Mass/Volume/3-D art

6) Rhythm

7) Setting (architecture)

8) Interior/Exterior (Relationship)

Part IV.

Opinions and Conclusions.

This is the part where you go beyond description and offer a conclusion and your own information opinion about the work. Any statement you make about the work should be based on the analysis in Part II above.

General Rules.

Italicize or underline titles of works of art.

Use the present tense in

www://web.ubc.ca/okanajan/creative/links/arthistory.html.

Interpreting Poetry Tips.

1) Read the title

2) Read the poem. Look for the setting, topic and voice.

3) Divide the poem into parts: Intro, Rising Action, Climax, Declining Action, and Conclusion.

4) What tone does the poem have? Pay attention to intonation, nuance and words used.

Now that the general structures and relationship of the poem is revealed, it is time to look at the elements of analysis: Genre, Voice, Thesis, Structure, Setting, Imagery, Key Statements, Sound, Language Use, and Allusion, Qualities that evoke the reader, historical and Cultural Ideology.

Genre: What type of poem is it: Cinquain, Hai ku, Lyric, Narrative, Elegy, Sonnet, Epic, and Epistle? Different Genres have separate attribute, purposes and emphases.

Voice: Who is the speaker? What print of vision is the speaker? Is the speaker involved in the action or reflection of the poem?

(Examples of Poems include)

Title: Resume

Poem by Dorothy Parker.

Razors pain you

Rivers are damp

Acids stain you

And drugs cause cramp

Gun aren’t lawful

Nooses give;

Gas smells awful

You might as well live.

Gary R.Hess

I hate the world we live in

Nothing seemed so true

The culture differences, The religions

Beliefs, The murders, rape, and beatings

Nothing good came to this nor will

It ever The Tyranny of This world

Is great, and hurtful to every neutral

What perspective (Social, intellectual, political) does the speaker show? What world is the poem in?

Themes: What is the poem about?

Structure: What is the poems formal structure (number of Stanza, Meters, and Rhyme Scheme)?

Setting: What type of world is the poem set in? The time place- is it connotative, allegorical, symbolic, and concrete.

Imagery: What images does the poem use: The physical setting or metaphors used?

Key statements: Repetition actions, alliteration? What direct or indirect statements are made?

Key Use: What kinds of words are used? Do the words have double meaning? What about ambiguities?

Qualities that evoke the reader: What are the values and bank ideals of the world that are expressed?

Ideology: What are the values and basic ideals of the world that are expressed?

www.poemofquotes.com/articles/analyzing-poetry-tips.php

Film Criticism.

When we watch movies, we tend to concentrate on the actors and the story. It is useful to make of the film “arts” and consider the role each plays in what we are considering.

Film Study Guide.

Before students can begin to study film, they must be provided with a focus.

LITERARY ASPECTS	DRAMATIC ASPECTS	CINEMATIC ASPECTS	LANGUAGE WORK
Narrative	Acting	Camera Works/Angles
Characters	Costumes	Sound and Vision
Setting	Make-up	Lighting
Theme
Signs
Genre

Narrative: (the story, story line, what the story is based on; binary oppositions; description of equilibrium and how a new equilibrium sets in).

Characters: (heroes, villains, helpers, main characters, supporting characters and how characters function and contribute to our understanding of the story)

Setting: (physical environment in which occurs, indoor and outdoor setting, its significance)

Theme: (General statement about the subject)

Signs: (Anything perceptible that has significance beyond its usual function or meaning; an object, a sound, a person, an act, a color)

Genre: (Comedy, Romance, Suspense, a combination of different Genres.

Costumes: (Formal clothes, informal clothes, their color and their contributions to the film).

Make-up: (Style, color, who then it is exaggerated or planning, the effects it creates, colors.

Camera Angles: Movements and position. (Low Camera Angle, High Camera Angle, Close-Up, Extreme Close-Up, Tilted Camera and how this affects our understanding).

Sound and Vision: (Sound effects, Soundtrack Music, Visual effects lighting (illumination in each scene)

(www.frankwbaker.com/filmframework.html)