Idealism * Has to do with the nature of reality * Origins: Greek philosopher: Plato * Physical world isn’t real—constantly changing * George Berkeley proposed belief that nothing exists outside of the mind * Metaphysical and Epistemological are two main branches * Metaphysical: Everything in the universe is dependent on the mind * Ideal way of thinking
Old and Middle English * 3 periods of the English language * Old English * Brought poetic models * Old English syntax * Doesn’t follow modern English in the form of a subject, verb, then object * Middle English * Syntax made use of the perfect tense (have + past participle) * 425 until 1066 (Battle of Hastings—when English were conquered—1066) * Poetry didn’t rhyme—poems relied on rhythm * Literary techniques used * Caesura * Alliteration * Kenning
The Renaissance * 14-1600’s * Humanism was the main objective of the renaissance * Many religious quarrels between Protestants and Catholics * Time of transition between the middle ages and dark ages
Neo Classism * Divided into 3 different time periods * Restoration age * More renaissance influence * Augustan Age * Prime age for neo-classism * Age of Johnson * A movement of the arts inspired by Ancient Rome and Greek culture * Neo classists believe humans are evil and they need laws and rules to control themselves
Romantic Period * Late 18th to mid 19th century * Artistic, literary, intellectual movement * Opportunity to break away from rigid, neo classical rules * Believed that human beings were good * Children represent innocence and knowledge * Listen to creative senses as opposed to logic
Victorian Period * 1837-1901 * Literature concerned with social reform * Early Victorian period had a lot of poetry—had a lot in common with the Romantics in the sense of idealism and larger than life ideals * Late Victorian period reflected more of a sense of doubt and pessimism

Edwardian Period * 1901-1919 * Same ideals of Victorian Period concerning literature * Works reflected disillusionment with their society
Gothic Novel * Barbaric * Novels were in 1790-1830 and they took place mostly in England * Castles, sinister, dungeons, shadows, labyrinths, supernatural, horrifying events * Examples include Salem’s Lot, Dracula, and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow * These novels often had more than one hero * The gothic hero is usually a dark and mysterious loner with an unknown past * Hinted that he used to be a bad guy * Usually has outward deformities like scars, an eye patch, walk with a limp—hint that something was wrong with him
Modernism
* Lasted mainly from the 1890’s to the 1940’s * Includes futurism and surrealism * Modernist writers believed that the way to make something new was to experiment with new styles and structures * Characteristics include * Experimenting with different forms and styles of writing * Concentration on inner self and consciousness * Open-ended or ambiguous endings * Possibly unreliable events presented from the point of view of a narrator In the story
Nihilism
* Philosophy that nothing exists and life has no meaning * Epistemological nihilism is an extreme form of skepticism * Political nihilism believes things must be destroyed to be rebuilt * Ethical nihilism rejects the possibility of any absolute moral or ethical values * Existential nihilism says that life has no meaning but we assign meaning to it, however in reality, there really is no meaning
Post-Modernism
* A reaction to modernism: the belief that there is a concrete truth that can explain everything * Instead it is believed that truth is more relative * Denies the existence of absolute truisms * The rise of individuality * Created abstract and different architecture—sense of fun
Marxism
* Economic theory that capitalism will fail in any society * The lower and middle class will rise up and overthrow the system * Based on making money, producing, and putting money back into a company * Karl Marx had the theory that overproduction would occur and less demand and prices would drop, and all companies would fail until there was only one * Scattering social structure * Published in 1948 by Fredrick Angles and Karl Marx * Themes of Marxism is literature would be exemplified in social classes rising up (Of Mice and Men and Fahrenheit 451) * Assimilating into a whole different class (Lord of the Flies) * A critic would ask “In what way does the literary work act as propaganda for social wars?” * Explains how characters overcome oppression (usually social class but now always)
Expressionism
* Artistic movement that flourished in Europe, particularly Germany, in 1924 * A style in literature and theater depicting the subjective aspect of experience by using symbolism and non-naturalistic settings * Stress of human value * Main focus is within character and the happenings external to the character is secondary * Connection with Romanticism * Both have a sense of transcendental reality * The dominant theme inn late nineteenth century in European literature and drama was the emergence of naturalism and romanticism * Influences in expressionism * Led by Marx and Freud * Reaction against realism—distortion of outer surfaces in order to convey an inner truth * Over-simplification—emphasis on the character (Naming character “man”) * Sense of alienation from society * Can be confused easily and mixed up with surrealism
Post-Colonialism
* Reaction to colonialism * Thoughts of being superior to another race * One country seeks control of another * 1870-914 was the main time of seeking imperialism * When a critic looks at this type of work? * How does a character overcome oppression? * Do characters fight against the status quo? * Is the author addressing these issues consciously or subconsciously?
Absurdism
* Coined by Albert Kanus in 1942 * Life has no meaning, and we continue to do the same meaningless tasks * Apparent in literature when a character is forced to do the same thing over and over again * Theater of the absurd * Samuel Beckett * Waiting for Gadeau * Ender’s Game * No plot, showing characters doing normal life—tragic comedy * A lot of linguistic tricks—does language have meaning?
Surrealism
* Cultural movement beginning in 1940s in Paris * Salvador Dali is a main contributor * Psychoanalytic works of Sigmund Freud influenced surrealism heavily * His book about dreams interested many surrealists * Heavy emphasis on bringing dreams and the unconscious to the surface * Brought on by a need to bring imagination to the surface through art * Focusing on connotation rather than denotation
Magical Realism * Incorporates magical elements into everyday occurrences * Has a magical element in everyday life and no one really questions it * Examples are * Time Traveler’s Wife * Practical Magic * There is a difference between fantasy and magical realism * Fantasy occurs where characters acknowledge their life is different, and it is explained * In magical realism, characters just accept the unnatural, and some things are never fully explained * A work in which the author takes the extraordinary and treats it in an ordinary fashion or vice versa * Characteristics * Fantastical elements that are never explained * Distortion of time * Circular, absent, condensed, collapsed (non-linear) * Cause and effect may be inverted * Presented often from multiple view points
Feminist Criticism * An examination of literature and other cultural representations marginalize and oppress women * Different approaches * Oppression of women * Patriarchy is superior and women is second * Three waves * First wave feminism (late 1700’s to early 1900’s) * Based on suffrage * Led to 19th amendment * Literary: A Vindication of the Rights of Women * Second (early 1960’s to late 1970’s) * Based on equality under law * Equal working conditions * Literary: The Second Sex * “When women try to act like a human being, she is accused of trying to act like a man.” * Third (1990’s to today) * Based on receiving social equality * Literary: Alice Walker