Feminist Literary Criticism As a pragmatic critical endeavor, most forms of Feminist literary criticism share a fundamental assumption that the historical subjugation of women has definite and deleterious effects upon both women and men. The critical project of Feminist critics is thus concerned with "uncovering the contingencies of gender" as a cultural, social, and political construct and instrument of domination (Jehlen 265). Whether by focusing on the evolution of literature written by women or by reevaluating or reinterpreting previous works by men, Feminist critics challenge the "eternal opposition of biological and aesthetic creativity" which past and present notions of gender promote (Showalter 1105). The first step in attempting to change such deep seeded cultural assumptions is to acknowledge and identify their existence and impact. "One has to read for gender; unless it figures explicitly in story or poem, it will seldom read for itself" (Jehlen 273). Feminist literary criticism is not exclusionary, however. Gender is one of a number of salient critical terms long neglected, "an additional lens, or a way of lifting the curtain to an unseen recess of the self and society" (Jehlen 265). By allowing Feminist critics to see " both deeper and more broadly" into a text, investigations into gender aspire to produce more meaningful interpretations and a more demanding generation of interpreters (Jehlen 272). Works Cited Jehlen, Myra. "Gender" Critical Terms for Literary Study. Ed. Frank Lentricchia and Thomas McLaughlin. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1995.
The Charge of the Light Brigade and Dulce et Decorum Est The two poems we have been studying are "The Charge of the Light Brigade" and "Dulce et Decorum est" These two poems come from totally different historical periods. "The Charge of the Light Brigade" about the Crimean War which took place in the 19th century and Dulce et Decorum est being about the First World War which took place in 1914-18 in the 20th century. The difference between these two historical times are that "The Charge of the Light Brigade" , written by Alfred, Lord Tennyson was set in a time where their arms weren't very advanced, they mostly used weapons such as horses for defense and swords and some guns.
This is because the Old English that the poem is written in is very difficult and
In the mornings, my cat often takes up a post on my chest. His presence is heralded by a chirpy meow and four quarter-sized points of pressure where his feet make contact; as he relaxes, he settles into a loud, rhythmic purr, and the pressure of his 16 pounds is more evenly distributed across my ventral torso. If I'm slow to open my eyes, he reaches out a paw and gently pricks my face with his claws ‹ enough to make an impression but not do real damage. When I do open my eyes, I see the triangles of his ears, the dense, velvety blackness of his fur and the sheen of his nose; his yellow irises are thin rings around his dilated pupils in the dim, early light.
“The Lady of Shalott” is one of Alfred Lord Tennyson’s more famous ballads. An English poet, his work generally consisted of Arthurian subject matter based on medieval stories. With an 1833 and an 1842 version, the second is most commonly known. “The Lady of Shalott” is by far my favorite of Tennyson’s poems. Through its use of an intriguing conflict, imagery, unusual vocabulary, and rhyme and repetition, “The Lady of Shalott” is both entertaining and memorable for the reader.
The feminist perspective of looking at a work of literature includes examining how both sexes are portrayed
...present powerful characters, while females represent unimportant characters. Unaware of the influence of society’s perception of the importance of sexes, literature and culture go unchanged. Although fairytales such as Sleeping Beauty produce charming entertainment for children, their remains a didactic message that lays hidden beneath the surface; teaching future generations to be submissive to the inequalities of their gender. Feminist critic the works of former literature, highlighting sexual discriminations, and broadcasting their own versions of former works, that paints a composite image of women’s oppression (Feminist Theory and Criticism). Women of the twenty-first century serge forward investigating, and highlighting the inequalities of their race in effort to organize a better social life for women of the future (Feminist Theory and Criticism).
Time and time again, women have consistently been cheated when it comes to being represented fairly in literature. Throughout countless literary works, many female characters are portrayed in stereotypical and submissive roles. Three literary works that break from this trend are Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome, Oscar Wilde’s An Ideal Husband, and George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion. These works examine themes of beauty and marriage, and feature female characters in prominent roles. But what influenced how male and female characters are portrayed in these pieces of literature? Examining Wharton’s Ethan Frome, Wilde’s An Ideal Husband, and Shaw’s Pygmalion from a feminist perspective reveals how gender characterization, author perspectives, and gender
Moglen, Helene. The Trauma of Gender: A Feminist Theory of the English Novel. Los Angeles, CA: U of California P, 2001.
However, as time has progressed literature has finally come to terms with the feminism theory within literature and its ideologies. In this specific story, we are able to identify the traits of feminism theory with ease; Hurston allowed the world to finally accept the new dominant roles of women, while also allowing the female character to simultaneously possess every innate feminine trait along with those usually associated with the male
It does this by viewing oppression in multiple aspects of society concerning women. The theory questions the audience in order to have the readers ponder the relationships of men and women, and the positions they each hold in society. Feminist Criticism analyzes language and symbols in the literature and look at how certain parts of the language and symbols are relating to a specific gender; a social construction of what masculinity and femininity is. This is believed to have influence on the audience and how they as individuals view and regard women based on the stereotypes that are fed to them. Feminist critics propose that male authors address the audience as if they were all males and exclude women. When using Feminist Criticism as a literary device, readers can find sexist assumptions of the inferiority of women compared to men made in male authored literature. The literary theory is also in consideration of the exclusion of women writers from conventional literary canon, which is a body of readings considered to be influential to a certain time period. In women's writing, the theory believes, a woman will still have to write like a man in order to be acknowledged. The point of the theory is to come question the connotations that come with being a woman versus being a man. The theory wishes to deconstruct what society has constructed to be
In the Chimney Sweeper, William Blake portrays the lack of innocence in these young boys lives since they are expected to have attained the experience to preform such unjust actions. The speaker of the poem begins it by letting us know that after his mother passed away his father gave him up to be a chimneysweeper so he could obtain money. These two figures, his mother and father are whom kids are supposed to depend on and look up for guidance. He feels abandoned because his mother is gone and his father gave him up for money, this show just how poor his family was and how his father would do anything for a chance at a better living, whether it included his son or not. The speaker also says that he became a sweeper when he had hardly learned to talk, we know this because of lines two and three. He then learned to sweep chimney and to live with being unsanitary (covered in soot). He even mentions that he sweeps the soot and also sleeps in it; this is metaphorical because the job has them covered in soot everyday and he is around chimneys so much that he literally sleeps in the soot....
Peterson, Linda H. "What Is Feminist Criticism?" Wuthering Heights. Ed. Linda H. Peterson. Boston: Bedford Books, 1992. 330-337.
Habib, M. A. R. "Feminist Criticism." A History of Literary Criticism: Fron Plato to the Present. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2005. 667-707.
The Indestructible Women in Faulker, Hemingway, and more. Steinbeck. Eds. A. Walton Litz, Thomas C. Moser, and Linda Wagner. Studies In Modern Literature, No. 78.
The two poems “The Chimney Sweeper” and “London” by William Blake, and the two poems “Tich Miller” and “Timothy Winters” are all on a theme of childhood, however, they are set in different eras and so childhood should be very different. Discuss this, comparing and contrasting the poems. As a child, William Blake was a loner. He never socialised with other children and sat by himself reading the Bible. His family were very religious, but did not agree with organised religion.