Thursday 17 October 2019

What is the importance of studying literary theories?

Importance of literary theories -- John Eilermann St. Louis

When studying literature, whether it be fiction, poetry, or even essays, it is not enough to simply look at the work alone. In certain classes like comparative literature, knowledge in literary theories can make readings and discussions a lot more interesting. Literary theories provide a conceptual framework to view certain pieces of literature.

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John Eilermann St. Louis. One good example of literary theory is formalism for poetry. Formalism reviews the structural purpose of texts as separate entities apart from the writer who made the text. This literary theory is most known for championing the objective correlative. Objective correlative can be deduced as the author’s intention of creating emotions through imagery, linked together to form a central metaphor or image.

John Eilermann St. Louis. There are dozens of literary theories in the world of literature with even more interpretations from critics and writers. With the framework they provide, readers and other authors can read pieces of literature differently. For example, a reader can employ formalism and Russian formalism to a specific poem and have widely different interpretations for each run.

While literary theories can help readers interpret and better understand pieces of literature, it also gives incredible amounts of insight when it comes to the form and function of literature. Readers are often surprised how schools of thought like romanticism still resonate in today’s works, as well as how today’s literary masterpieces can still be read through the literary framework of theories created decades ago. John Eilermann St. Louis.

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