Literary theory – Key concepts

Literary theory: Dimension of literary studies when the discipline bends upon itself to
reflect upon its fundamental questions.

Literary history: Study of literary phenomena as belonging to a diachronic series.

Comparative literature: Study of literature in a cross-cultural perspective.

Criticism / literary criticism: Any form of metaliterary discourse (implying the study of
individual texts).

Metatext: Text referring to another text with chronological and logical relations.
Metadiscourse is thus discourse about literary discourse.

Inspiration: Creative force that initiates and sustains the production of new ideas, texts,
works of art…

Mimesis: imitative relationship between text and reality.

Catharsis: Effect in the theatre by which the spectator is relived of unwanted strong
emotions.

Rhetoric: Discipline which concerns itself with the art of elegant and persuasive
communication.

Hermeneutics: Science, theory and technique of art interpretation.

Base & Superstructure: Concepts in Marxism. Base is the type of economy as well as the
type of relationships it creates and it determines the Superstructure which is the social
consciousness (ideology).

Reflection theory: Theory created by Lukács. It is a mimetic literary theory according to

which art should always reflect reality.

Ideology: Term from the early 19th century: worldview, especially that part of your
worldview that you take for granted.

Liberal humanism: General philosophy of life which places individual at the centre of
reality.

Philology: Love of language: discipline interested in the history and comparison of

languages.

Nation: Distinct race or people, characterised by common descent language, or history,

usually organised as a separate state and occupying a definite territory.

Nationalism: Devotion to one’s nation, policy of national independence.

Archetypes: Universal themes and symbols.

Polyphonic novel: Novel which does not submit individual characters to the controlling
dominance of a single authorial voice.

Intentional fallacy: Concept from New criticism: It is a mistake to interpret the text in
function of the pseudo author’s intentions.

Affective fallacy: Concept from New criticism: the reader has not to be taken into account
for the interpretation of a text.
Heresy of paraphrase: Form and content in a literary work form a organic unity whose
unity is lost when you paraphrase it.

Semiotics: Theory or science of signs and sign systems.