Skip to main content

Structuralism and Literary Criticism

What is structuralism? 



 It is a approach to analysing the narrative Material by examining the underlying invariant structure. This is in fact exactly what structuralism is about structuralist theorist are interested in identifying and analysing the structure that underlie all the cultural phenomenon. 


There are many Structuralist critics like Ferdinand Saussure, Gerard Genette , Roland Barthes, Claude Levi-Strauss etc. Structuralist critics found basic common structure in every work. As all the human beings  have a same structure from inside, similarly literature has basic structure and it is same everywhere whether it movies, TV serials or advertisement etc.

 We find basic common structure in every work. And literary work has also common structure like… Starting , Climax and End.. To understand structuralism , we must understand the three word Sign, Signifier, and Signified.

Sign – Sound, word
signifier– through sign meaning comes & image pop up in mind
Signified – Something already there. Signifier stands for.

  So, we find thee fundamental assumptions  are:

1. Arbitrary
2. Relational
3. Convectional

What is Narratology ? 

In order to understand narratology’s contribution to semiotics, it is important to grasp the distinction between its three fundamental entities: story, narrative, and narration.

Important concepts in Genette's narratology.

Below are the five main concepts used by Genette in Narratology.
Order
Frequency
Duration
Voice
Mood

Here as per instruction rather than writing about structuralism I would  try to analyze like structuralist critic.
For example every literary text has a Beginning, Middle ( Climax) and End.
Movie like P.K. RANGRASIA, OH MY GOD  has a same structure- anti religion or challenges this ideas. If we take structuralist approach then OMG IS better than PK. Structure of both is same.

For example T.V. serial  CID  helps us to understand NARRATOLOGY.  Structure is same for example murder occurs, detection and murderer found by detective. This structure is same in every episode since 17 years. But they make changes in presenting it.
Most of hindi movies  or literature are same. For example  boy+ girl love each other but family is against it or vice versa family ready to marriage but children do not like each other.
We also find binary opposition every where. Good-evil, male-female, god- Satan, white-black.

This and other many common things are found everywhere. This are the few examples .

Significance of ' FIRE ' and ' ICE ' in the both poems : 1) Fire and Ice by Robert Frost and 2) Ice and Fire by Edmund Spenser.



1. Ice and Fire by Edmund Spenser 


2.Fire and Ice by Robert Frost

In this both of poem their are common thing told which is Fire and Ice and we can see this thing as many ways like fire is a symbol of passion, fire, Desire, expectation and Ice is a symbol of careless.thus Both the poems have different meaning and represents the symbol and sign. One poem shows us the capacity of disaster and second was the different one which shows the possibilities between fire and ice. Poem represents the desire and hate. We can also see the paradox between the fire and ice, and the for destruction both are the sufficient.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Uncle Podger hangs a Picture :- Short story :- by Jerome K. Jerome

  Introduction   In Uncle Podger Hangs a Picture by Jerome K. Jerome we have the theme of gender roles, responsibility, inequality, control, ignorance and independence. Taken from his Three Men in a Boat collection the reader realises after reading the story that Jerome may be exploring the theme of gender roles.  The story is an example of the underestimation which the women and the other member of the family face. This story is a satire for the assumption of society towards women. About writer Jerome K. Jerome was an English writer. He wrote many humourous stories. Jerome lived his early life with immense difficulty. In 1888 hei married Georgina and they spent some time after their wedding, rowing on the Thames. Their trip inspired his most successful book, Three Men in a Boat. Royalties from the book helped to improve his financial condition and since then Jerome devoted his life to writing. Summary of the Story. The story “Uncle Podger Hangs a Picture” is about the whole descriptio

Worksheet Screening Movie: Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein  is a 1994  horror drama film  directed by  Kenneth Branagh  and starring  Robert De Niro , Kenneth Branagh,  Tom Hulce ,  Helena Bonham Carter ,  Ian Holm ,  John Cleese , and  Aidan Quinn . The picture was produced on a budget of $45 million and is considered the most faithful  film adaptation  of  Mary Shelley 's novel  Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus , despite several differences and additions in plot from the novel. (Q.1)-What are some major differences between movie and the novel Frankenstein ? MARY SHELLEY’S NOVEL / KENNET BRAHNAG’S FILM NOVEL ➡ Through his own studies and experiments, Victor Frankenstein develops a secret way of artificial   creating life. MOVIE ➨  Victor discovers the secret to creating life after examining the deceased Professor Waldman's research. NOVEL ➡   The details as to how Victor creates the creature's body parts are left unknown. MOVIE ➨ Victor uses Professor Wald

Wordsworth's Preface to Lyrical Ballads

Thinking activity on   Wordsworth's Preface to Lyrical Ballads. About William Wordsworth :      William Wordsworth was a major English Romantic poet and he was born : 7th April, 1770 and Died: 23ed April, 1850.  Wordsworth called his poem "Experimental". Wordsworth gives his famous definition of Poetry as.. " Spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings,  emotions recollected in tranquility. " A fourth and final edition of Lyrical  Ballads was published in 1805.  Wordsworth is a prominent one in English literature. In Preface to Lyrical Ballads Wordsworth expresses his opinion about the function of a poet and the subject matter of poetry. He rejects the classical concept in his attitude towards poet and poetry. He holds a romantic view in both the cases. Q.1-What is the basic difference between the poetic creed of 'Classicism' and ' Romanticism' ? What is Classicism and Romanticism Definiti