Tanmayee Yenumula Class Notes (9.13-9.17)

                                                                                                                             Critical Approaches                                                                                                  
Formalism: Focuses mainly on the text (this is what we are most familiar with)                          
New Historicism: Analyzes the historical and cultural time periods in regard to the text              
Psychoanalytical Criticism: Aims to uncover the workings of the human mind, especially the subconscious                                  
Archetypal and Mythological Criticism: Connects archetypes and myths to the texts                 
Feminist Criticism: Examines works by and about women                                             
Marxist Criticism: Analyzes the effects of Marxist ideas on a piece of literature                          
Post-colonial Criticism: Examines the effects of colonialism on a text                                
Check out this website for more information: http://www.cla.purdue.edu/blackmon/102cs2001/critical.html#psycho 
                                                                                                                                                   
What is Poetry?                                                                                                                   
Check out this neat video that talks about poetry: 
                       
The essence of literature is about deepening our experience of life (to quicken or to make alive) Literature arouses our curiosity and quickens our senses        
                                         
Poetry...                                                                                                                                     
1. Tends to be an area of weakness for many people                                                                  
2. Is a topic many people tend not to prefer or try to avoid                                                       
3. Is at the heart of literature (foundation; supernova of literature)                                            
  ... So what is poetry?                                                                                                                   
" If I read a book and it makes my heart so cold no fire can warm me, I know it is poetry"           - Emily Dickinson  
Poetry- language condensed to artistic effect (MEANING is condensed)                                    
- If it takes longer to understand the meaning than to read, it is poetry                                      
- If it takes longer to read than to understand the meaning, it is prose            
"There is no answer. There is no guide. We are lost in a world of ideas. All we can do is seek and be curious and try to find out"


Hidden Meanings Notes:                                                                                                                                   
 - Sexual Implications (Castration, incest, molestation, impotence, women are active agents)    
  - Looked at author's background and analyzed reasons for use of language                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
Poets tend to be most deliberate. They focus on words with laser-like precision.     
                  
Diction: Analyzing one word at a time. Why this word?                                                 
 For Example: Look at the word thin. It is a neutral word. If you say slender or svelte, both synonyms to thin, they are honorific words. However, if you say gaunt or skin, also synonyms to the word thin, they are more pejorative or negative. Context matters. Words matter.
                                                                                                                            
Techniques to analyze Diction                                                                                                   
- Connotation v. Denotation                                                                                      
Denotation: the dictionary definition of the word                                                       
Connotation: what the word implies of suggest; another meaning                                               
- Concreteness v. Abstraction (specificity of naming)                                        
Abstractness: More mythic-like                                                                                 
Concreteness: More personal                                                                                                  
 Ex: Clothes< Pants< Jeans< Levi's        increasing in concreteness                                           
- Precision (vague language v. specific language)                                                     
Questions to consider with precision: Multiple meanings? Mistake? Ambiguous? Etc.              
Here is a link that talks about more methods to analyze diction:                                           http://www2.cnr.edu/home/bmcmanus/med_style.html                                                                                                                            
Techniques to analyze Diction (continued...)                                                                             
 - Elevation v. Colloquialism (disorganized study of diction)                                   
 Elevation: think about continuum                                                                                     
Slang< Colloquial Language< Ordinary Speech< Elevated< Epic Diction                                 
- Regionalism v. Jargon v. Dialect (specialized words)                                              
 Dialect: spoken in large regions (Dialect regions)    
                                                
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eIARuH0-x4Y/SjAa43ceLeI/AAAAAAAAAzw/ZIdbJE3a1aU/s1600-h/dialect.gif
Regionalism: Spoken in a dialect region (smaller subsections)                                       
Jargon: Specialized language of a profession (technical language)