Can somebody PLEASE explain to me the relevance/importance of literary theory?
I love literature. But in all my classes they're expecting us to apply literary theory/criticism to the literary works. Other than teaching "critical thinking" I really don't see what the point is. Why can't we just read literature for its own sake and expalin what we think it means? Why do HAVE to put on Marxist glasses or Feminist glasses and see the works through those lenses? If anyone can make a case for this, I'd be interested in your answers.
Ahh, the righteous indignation of learning literary theory. I think it is part of the whole coming-of-age thing now.
You CAN read literature for its own sake and explain what you think it means. That is actually a theory! It is called "Reader Response Theory" and it is my personal favorite.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reader_response_theory
Marxist, Feminist and other kinds of theories all basically came from this kind of research into literature. It was, at one point, someone's personal opinion to look at a work like a feminist and say "this means this." However, it is up to each person to say to his or herself if the theory as applied to the work makes sense.
Someone once told me that we have to learn literary theory so that we can throw it out and make up our own. That is how I look at things. Also, it gives focus to discussions (aka arguments) in literature classes.
If you're not going to be an English major, I wouldn't worry about theory too much. Learn as much as you need to get through your classes right now, and don't let it ruin reading for you. But there's also the possibility that it will lead to a new level of thinking for you, and you might find you like it. Either way, I hope this helped!
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