Lecture: The New Criticism and Other Western Formalisms

Description

Lecture Description

In this second lecture on formalism, Professor Paul Fry begins by exploring the implications of Wimsatt and Beardsley's theory of literary interpretation by applying them to Yeats's "Lapis Lazuli." He then maps the development of Anglo-American formalism from Modernist literature to the American and British academies. some time is spent examining the similarities and differences between the works of I. A. Richards and his protegé, William Empson. The lecture turns finally to a discussion Cleanth Brooks's conception of unity.

Course Description

(ENGL 300) This is a survey of the main trends in twentieth-century literary theory. Lectures will provide background for the readings and explicate them where appropriate, while attempting to develop a coherent overall context that incorporates philosophical and social perspectives on the recurrent questions: what is literature, how is it produced, how can it be understood, and what is its purpose?

from course: Introduction to Theory of Literature