If you were to choose one of the three theories that we worked with today to use on a daily basis (because you're cool and run around analyzing literature all the time) what theory would you use?
I haven't taught you this theory, but I prefer Performance Theory. Performance theory is simply the study of how life and human interaction is basically the action of portraying societal roles - and how these roles are different depending upon which setting a person is in. There is much more to it than that, but that's the theory in short. If you would ever like to geek out and learn about it, hit me up.
So, long story short....which theory provided you with a more rewarding understanding of the story? Did it matter at all?
I would have to say new criticism. We can experience something new everyday and see it different as well with everything evolving and what other peoples perspectives may be.
ReplyDeleteI would say that i like New historian. I like knowing the back round of the book i am reading, it helps me take more from the book and i like knowing the little details on why the author chose to use some of the things they did.
ReplyDeleteBut what if you do not like the author for his stance on an issue or something they said and thus you never read their book because you don't want to touch that persons work thus you may miss out on a really good book.
DeleteKimber, I'm a fan of New Historicism too. I really like to know how literature applies to society, because I think that society affects everything we do/write.
DeleteIt was a new perspective for me to read the story after having some back ground knowledge. But, it really made me understand in a different way what exactly was going on in the story.
DeleteI enjoy being a new historian cause it gets me more involved in the voice of the book. It makes the book come more alive too me.
ReplyDeleteI never cared about this viewpoint but it does help the story being itself out to the reader and helps me understand what the Hell is ping on sometimes.
DeleteNew Critic is the way to go! I don't need to know about the author because that may taint the book for me if I dislike the authors view on something and I might end up subconsciously disliking the book even before I start reading out of spite. Plus this way I can judge the book on its own merit the best storys are ones that you don't need to know the back story of the author for the book to make an impact on me I want a book where I can make connections to the charecter and enjoy the story based on what is in the story not the sad life story of the author or something personal storys are not what makes a good book rather its whats in the book that matters.
ReplyDeleteGarett,
DeleteYou make an interesting point about not liking an author...and then not reading their work.
When I read for enjoyment I typically don't apply any kind of a theory. I take the New Critic approach. But when I'm reading for academic purposes I always use a theoretical lens in order to form a greater understanding of a literary work. :)
What if you didn't look up info about the author? What if you just looked up what was going on in the world at the time the book was written? I think that it can be very helpful to do so when reading for academic purposes.
DeleteNormally I go for New Criticism when it comes to reading stories because I could give two shits less about the author and history behind the story. But after looking at the story in both points of view, I do think that, depending on the story, New Historian could help in understanding the story in more depth. I do however find that this is only important to me when I'm reading a story and absolutely have to use that information to understand the story.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Jennifer. New criticism is more enjoyable when you are just reading for pleasure and don't care too much about the overall message, but when you really want to understand a story and the meaning behind it, it is helpful to take the new historian point of view.
DeleteTo be honest I think I would prefer more of a blend of both New Criticism and New Historicism. It would just depend on what genre I was reading in at the time, or if I am reading for pleasure, or some other purpose.
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree with you Annie I will probably continue to use new criticism for most of my reading but if I have to read something for class I will attempt to use new historicism just to help me get more from the story.
DeleteI really prefer new historicism. I feel that the more information that you have, the better understanding you will have of the message that the author was trying to get across. I feel that if you look at a story through the new criticism point of view, you are likely to take away a message, but it might not be the message that the author wanted to send.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you Levi, I think that you can get way more out of a book if you know the background. I think that knowing the author helps you understand better
DeleteI would have to say that I perfer new critic out of the ones we learned about but I am going to try to apply some new historicism to my reading because I think it would help with my history because I am awful with history I just never really got into it but I love to read so my line of thought is maybe by reading and applying this theory I might be able to retain history better.
ReplyDeletethat would be a great way to learn history.
DeleteNew Historicism might be the new way I read. Before, I would just read for pleasure and not mind about who wrote it and why. But, having back ground knowledge really lead me in another direction and I was able to relate more to the story.
ReplyDeletei like new historian, because it can tell you why the author wrote the story. knowing why the author wrote the story adds a whole nother perspective to the story.
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