AN INTRODUCTION TO LITERARY THEORY: What is Literary Theory?

Unlock the secrets of literary analysis with our video, "An Introduction to Literary Theory." Whether you're a student, teacher, or book lover, this guide will help you explore the ideasa of literary theory and how they apply to your favorite texts. We dive into essential literary theories like Formalism, Psychoanalytic Theory, Marxist Theory, Feminist Theory, and reader-response theory, using Jane Austen's classic novel "Pride and Prejudice" as our primary example.
Learn how to analyze literature from different perspectives, understand the complexities of characters, and discover how social, historical, and psychological factors shape storytelling. Perfect for those preparing for exams, writing essays, or simply looking to enhance their reading experience. Join us and start seeing literature in a whole new light!
#LiteraryTheory #LiteratureAnalysis #PrideAndPrejudice #EnglishLiterature #Formalism #Psychoanalysis #MarxistTheory #FeministTheory #BookAnalysis #ReadingTips

[@Kemo___]

Please make a series of literary theory videos ❤

[@pazley612]

That would be fabulous!

[@a_bookish_gemini]

THIS!!!!

[@gommine]

I second that!

[@elisabasta]

I support this idea!

[@dqan7372]

Well done. Already looking forward to the follow up!

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

Thanks, dqan.

[@Kemo___]

I have always found the psychoanalytical theory to be the most intriguing.

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

Psychology is always fun and fascinating. 😀

[@ct8764]

Hi Tristan, I always enjoy your talks not only because I get more interesting but your cheerful attitude brightens my day. Also, I wonder if Jane Austin meant to put all these things in her writing or did it just happen?

[@andreeablaj3414]

Yes, please do a follow-up! 😊

[@spbausch]

Thanks, Tristan. I majored in English lit 50 years ago in college and I still love to think about the underlying meanings and patterns of great books. But you are right that picking a book apart can sometimes ruin the fun or the beauty of it.

[@gommine]

I would love a Part 2!

[@DefaultName-nt7tk]

You made those literary theories so interesting and exciting. I love your videos 😊 thank you

[@thistle3]

I think this was a brilliant video, and I'm intrigued as to what you consider to be the pitfalls of theory. A follow up would be really cool.

[@WordsCanBeLikeXRays]

Love the beard!

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

Thank you 😀

[@jallen418]

Was going to post these exact words. It looks great!​@tristanandtheclassics6538

[@gangoffour1]

Yes, do a follow up. 😊

[@delwynjeffs6267]

I would love to see a video on the weaknesses of Literary theory.

[@bradchristy5002]

Tristan - You are a Master! You are a God Send to me and the reading public. Thank you so very much……you have a very deep reservoir of knowledge.

[@Ozgipsy]

Another outstanding and informative video. Thanks Tristan.

[@jimmccleery9394]

Awesome stuff please keep videos like this coming!!

[@saysdw2450]

Very helpful, thank you

[@maryfilippou6667]

This is so perfect! I began my Collectors Library edition of P & P which was a miracle I got with delightful & delicate Hugh Thomson illustrations at Zero minute from my local Library. ( My British copy being tucked away now). This is such synchronicity! Yours is a very sympatico BookTube!

[@DefaultName-nt7tk]

I am looking forward to the next segment ❤

[@gangoffour1]

Love this.

[@gerardcharleswilson9954]

Excellent explanation.

[@tlam3309]

A primer on language features would be great, too.

[@pdcasablanca]

What an interesting and informative video,Tristan. Thank you very much, and hats off to you, my good sir!🎩

[@carolnash5617]

I had never heard of literary theory before today... i would welcome a follow up video regarding the weaknesses. Thank you!

[@teakara]

Yes please, we would like to hear about the weaknesses of literary criticism. I wish I had a professor like yourself. Greetings from the Balkans

[@machanrahan9591]

First vidéo I've Seen of yours. Loved it! Subscribed before half way through. Yes please, I'd love a follow up vidéo

[@alilatifshushtari]

Brilliant as always. Very much looking forward to the follow up! I wish to see more examples too.

[@lenoraberendt750]

Wonderful introduction to literary theory. Thank you so much, Tristan! 👍

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@Tolstoy111]

I highly recommend Terry Eagleton’s Introduction to Literary Theory. It’s short and easy to read.

[@dagmoon]

Thank you for this recommendation. I've begun reading it now. So far, I can follow it :)

[@StephG26]

Charlotte didn't just accept Mr. Collins' proposal, she manufactured it. I realize this isn't the point of the video, but I would hope this would be an important point for anyone looking at the book from a feminist theory perspective. Really interesting video, well done. I would look forward to the follow up.

[@hpfanify]

Hey could you explain more? Why do you think that way...

[@margaretinsydney3856]

A great video, and yes please to the follow-up. I once took a course in Marxist theory in literature. It was interesting, partly because it attracted a different type of student. It wasn't the usual Eng Lit crowd but rather bearded young socialists who were studying to become union organisers. It was fun watching them grappling with Henry James.😊

[@dagmoon]

I'm very excited by this subject and sorely needed this primer. Thank you Tristan!

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

Pleased you enjoyed it, dagmoon. It's a curious subject.

[@xaviercrain7336]

Brilliant. But I would venture to say that thinking about these filters discreetly prevents us from thinking how they can act collaboratively. But to introduce you strategy is best

[@a_bookish_gemini]

Loving the beard, Tristan! Suits you so well!

[@vehement-critic_q8957]

Literary theory is a combination of theories that is apploed to scrutinise literatures

[@ChrisHunt4497]

Please make the follow up. ❤❤❤

[@juneclifford8377]

I really enjoyed this.

[@thistle3]

Your analysis of Darcy's proposal is hilarious. I definitely agree!

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

It's such a good scene. 😂

[@A4000]

The bearded bard returns! I’m glad you’re still sporting the suede. This is a fantastic topic and I sincerely hope you do more videos such as this one.

[@a.r.tnormes3372]

Hey Tristan since discovering your channel I’ve since reignited my love for reading and have been reading continuously for nearly 4 months now. I just finished Carmilla and was hoping to hear your thoughts on it.

[@donovanmedieval]

Yes. I would like to hear you talk about the weaknesses of literary theory.

[@artemlitvinov3536]

A wonderful video! Formalist theory seems to me as the most objective and in a good way scientific-ish) It would be great to hear more on this topic!

[@ozgurelbasaran4338]

Defining Marxist theory only relating to “economic struggles” can be misleading. Class struggle is more broad, it is about ideologies, culture, world views and ways of life. In the book Pride and Prejudice, one source of the conflict between the main characters is class discrimination in their society. Darcy has a world view that is compatible with the ideology of the upper class he belongs to, that’s why he thinks everyone who is a member of the lower class is inferior to people who belong to the upper class. Darcy did not take the characters of the individuals belonging to a lower class into account because of this ideological prejudice. This ideology creates a whole culture in which class discrimination is central.

[@nedludd7622]

How did I read a hundred plus novels and enjoy(almost all of them) before I ever heard a about literary theory? Even after hearing about it, I did not feel the need to "consult" it, though I did occasionally read some such reviews which I found uninteresting. One except was Freud who told Austrian writer Arthur Schnitzler that he had stopper reading his work because he feared being influenced too much by the psychology in them. All one may need is an annotated version which can clarify historical and cultural references.

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

I have very similar sentiments. You may like my follow up video.😀❤️

[@siobhancondon8109]

Thank you. I enjoyed listening to your easy to understand explanation of literary theory.😀

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

Glad it was helpful!

[@NigelFryatt]

Another excellent talk. I would very much like to hear you give a talk on the weakness in literary theory. Many thanks

[@mnk.7310]

Thank you for posting this video! I definitely want to hear your opinion about the weaknesses of LT.

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

Will do!

[@eldarchabanov4951]

Dreams come to pass) Thank you!)

[@bethhardwicknemcek3597]

Another great video. Thank you!

[@silviafrassineti5214]

Please publish another video or more about literary studies.📚💙

[@mandyc1280]

Hello Captain! Hope you are well? I enjoyed this video. My son is currently reading P&P and this might come in handy for him to watch. By the way, you sport a beard very well my friend.

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

Glad it was helpful! Great to hear from you Mandy. Hope you are well.

[@HeyAllyHey]

Can you please do a follow up? Also, Where does literary theory end and a person’s dogma/fan fiction begin? It can be a challenge to participate in a book discussion and just not understand where another reader is drawing from.

[@nandhiniarumugam6477]

Please make a series of this..pls

[@noodleperson17]

“Much more deep”?You mean “deeper”, thank you very much.

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

Do you know, I commit this error all of the time. It's infuriating because it is so deeply ingrained 😂❤️

[@denisadellinger]

I do not like the term Marxist theory, Marx was an awful man who led millions of people to their deaths by hia communism. I would like to call it financial theory. That speaks of money and how money was used to separate us into classes. Haves and have nots. I've always wanted to go into literary theory and learn about it. Thank you for doing that. Please continue with paart two.

[@kdj3000]

Bravo! I am anticipating the follow up on the weaknesses of literary theory. I do have one question. Why Marxist Theory and not a general Economic Theory? I'm wondering if Marxism is the only economic theory that lends itself to literary theory.

[@marcsmirnoff936]

Maybe that has something to do with the impression that so many literary theorists seem to be Marxists. Question: Since literary theorists scrutinize others, why aren't the literary theorists themselves (their biases, their weaknesses, their agendas, etc.) being scrutinized?

[@kdj3000]

@@marcsmirnoff936 That sounds reasonable.

[@marcsmirnoff936]

@@kdj3000 After leaving my comment, I regretted that I failed to compliment your question. The very fact that you notice an imbalance in this aspect of critical theory, when so many others don't, is unmistakably a good sign.

[@thistle3]

Hey, headphone users! There's a loud noise at 8:36. (And Tristan, if this happens in the future, it would be nice if you could put a warning on the screen starting around 10-15 seconds ahead of the noise.)

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

Good suggestion, thank you.😀👍

[@vanessasperling]

Oh, come now, you can't be Tristan and NOT do a follow-up that presents the other side! If you could, I'd also love to hear suggestions for further reading, including some well-known theorists who specialize in the different approaches. I had never heard of studying a reader's interpretation and would love to hear more about how that works.

[@brontef.4820]

Please do follow up😊

[@mesamies123]

Will you discuss postcolonialisms, decolonalisms, ecocritisms, and/or internationality and/ or critical race theories? Thank you.

[@marcsmirnoff936]

Sorry but that clump of theory sounds not only boring but preposterous. In any case, I pity the person who would accept your assignment.

[@ayisha9710]

A

[@marcsmirnoff936]

"Literary theory gives you different ways to look at any text and draw out different aspects of it." That's part of the problem. Sometimes these "different ways" ignore the challenging core of a book in order to get lost in a flimsy tangent. An author, for example, may be grappling mightily with the issue of truth or hypocrisy-something that touches all human beings regardless of background or gender-but the theorist opts, instead, to shift the focus to colonialism or sexuality or whatever. If these theorists wrote as sweetly & insightfully as the authors they make a living off, I"d be more inclined to read them. But in my experience too many (I'm sure there are exceptions) traffic in turgid, pretentious, academic mush & I prefer to expend my limited reading time on the many reputed classics I haven't read. Sorry.

[@tristanandtheclassics6538]

I heartily agree with what you say. My follow up video will speak to this issue.😀

[@marcsmirnoff936]

@@tristanandtheclassics6538 I appreciate your open-mindedness & look forward to the followup video. Peace.

[@kimberlyhornikel771]

I wonder at literary theory as a way to read. I'll speak of Toliken (because I'm familliar with it). There are many theories looking at his story as an allegory for the world wars. Tolkien viehmently disregarded this theory during his lifetime both in person an in his writing. Yet, theorists will insist on seeing an allegory where none was created. There is also a view of his works (LGBTQ) that were superimposed unpon his works but were not in the origional. Example: The relationship of Sam and Frodo was that of an officer and his batman. By failing to see the culture and era in which a book was written a theorist can say that that relationship of thise characters (or any other in the book) doesn't mean what the book says. Instead it means but says what the theorist wants it to say. So, how can a reader look at literary theory and not simply superimpose their personal theory upon a work that the work never supported?

[@Actaeon-l6d]

"All art is at once surface and symbol. Those who go beneath the surface do so at their peril. Those who read the symbol do so at their peril. It is the spectator, and not life, that art really mirrors." - Wilde

[@mnk.7310]

​@@Actaeon-l6d Thank you for posting this quote.

[@A4000]

There is also the possibility Tolkien was not aware of how much he was subconsciously influenced by these events. The problem with taking the Artist’s word for it is the assumption that they have an appropriate understanding of themselves. If this was the case for most people, therapy and psychology would not be needed, addictions and self destruction would be less prevalent, and fewer authors would meet such tragic ends. I agree that art mirrors the spectator, referring to that fantastic quote posted, and would also add -we underestimate how much of a spectator the conscious mind of the artist is to subconscious creativity. The so called “in the zone” feeling that any artist has experienced.

[@Actaeon-l6d]

@@A4000 Yea I always like to speak of it as we are all swimming in the ocean of culture without even realizing it. The subtle effects our culture has on our world view is inexorably linked to how we tell stories.

[@A4000]

@@Actaeon-l6d that is a fantastic way of putting it. Sorry, but I will be stealing that phrase. It's always interesting to think about just how in control we are of those moments of creativity. It's no wonder ancient civilizations viewed them as supernatural or divine influences. I enjoyed musing over this question. Cheers.