Literary Criticism (Theory)

Paper Code: 
25DENG711
Credits: 
6
Periods/week: 
6
Max. Marks: 
100
Objective: 

The Course will enable the students to follow the historical development of literary criticism and its role in English studies, explore the work of selected literary critics and acquire skills for the textual application of such criticism.

 
Course Outcomes: 

The students will:

CO85. Infer the meaning of primary critical texts with attention to historical and social contexts.

CO86. Deduce the literary argument as presented by writers belonging to various schools of criticism 

CO87. Examine key concepts and ideas to cultivate critical thinking 

CO88. Explore ways for the textual application of various literary theories to literary texts 

CO89. Develop the ability to critically

understand the biographical, historical and/ or psychological implications of literary criticism

CO90.Contribute effectively in course-specific interaction

19.00
Unit I: 

Aristotle 

Poetics 

Chapters1-5

 

Phillip Sydney

Introduction, Proposition, Conclusion

 
19.00
Unit II: 

William Wordsworth

Preface to the Lyrical Ballads

 

S.T. Coleridge

Biographia Literaria (Chapters IV, XIII and XIV)

 
16.00
Unit III: 

I.A Richards

Principles of Literary Criticism (Chapters 1, 2 & 34)

 
19.00
Unit IV: 

Virginia Woolf

Modern Fiction

 

T.S. Eliot

Tradition and the Individual Talent 

The Function of Criticism

 
17.00
Unit V: 

Cleanth Brooks

The Heresy of Paraphrase, and The Language of Paradox in

The Well-Wrought Urn: Studies in the Structure of Poetry

 
SUGGESTED READINGS: 

Suggested Reference Books:

Bloom, Harold. Leo Tolstoy: Modern Critical Views. Chelsea Publishers, 2003. 

Conn, Peter. Pearl S. Buck: A Cultural Biography. CUP, 2009.

Iyaser, Solomon O. Understanding Things Fall Apart: Selected Essays and Criticism. Whitston, 1998.

Jason, Wilson. A Companion to Pablo Neruda: Evaluating Neruda’s Poetry. Tamesis, 2008. 

Lal, P. “Premchand: An Appreciation.” IIC Quarterly. Vol. 7, No. 1, IIC Publications, 1980. 15-24.

Stavans, IIan. The Poetry of Pablo Neruda. Farrar, 2005.

 

E-Resources including links: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fff0zkAg9FU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsXnC1oQUx4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgTTH_Bd2-I https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/tradition-and-individual-talent-by-t-s-eliot  https://cec.nic.in/webpath/podcast/audios/LITARARY_CRITICISM/m25.pdf

 

Reference Journals: https://www.jstor.org/stable/27703524 https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3366/j.ctt14brwk4

 
Academic Year: 
2025-2026