Transcript Slide 1

Feminism
• In what way is Feminism similar to New
Criticism?
• Feminism is interested not only in the behavior
of male and female characters, but also what?
• According to Susan Bordo in the article
“Unbearable Weight,” typically “female” diseases
reflect what about culture?
• She says that anorexia reflects a “double bind”:
females are asked to portray what kind of
contradictory characteristics?
Literary Criticism
• Write a brief piece of literary criticism over each of the
following music videos, using the literary criticism
specified. Be sure to include adequate support.
– New Criticism
• “Her Morning Elegance” by Oren Lavie
– Reader Response
• “Her Morning Elegance” by Oren Lavie
– Deconstruction
• “Dancing Crazy” by Miranda Cosgrove
– Psychological
• “Sweet About Me” by Gabriella Cilmi
– Historicism
• “People Got a Lotta Nerve” by Neko Case
– Feminism
• “Little Toy Gun” by Honey Honey
Motif (Poss 3-4)
• A Motif is a recurring image or object within a piece of
literature. It usually has symbolic or thematic
significance. What motif seems most significant to
chapter 4? What symbolic or thematic significance does
it carry?
• Make a list of possible motifs in the book so far. List any
recurring images or objects and the circumstances in
which we’ve seen them. We’ll shortly use this list to start
a motif page in our notes.
• What might be the purpose of using a motif? Why not
something more obvious, like a narrative
explanation? Why do you think this book is particularly
thick with motifs?​
Sir George’s Literary Criticism
• Look at pages 88-89, in which Sir George comments
upon literature.
• What criteria does Sir George use to critique literature?
What makes a piece good to him? What makes a piece
bad to him?
• How does Sir George’s method of interpretation provide
characterization for him?
• How does it provide obstacles for our heroes? What are
the challenges they will face with Sir George? What are
the benefits of Sir George’s personality to Maud and
Roland?
The Woman in the Room
• What does Beatrice intuit about Ellen?
How does she respond?
• How does Ellen feel about Christabel?
How does Ellen feel about herself?
• What links does this chapter draw
between Beatrice, Ellen, and Val? How
are they similar? What can we learn about
their characters by the way they are
treated in this chapter?