STRUCTURALISM THEORY & CRITICISM

A STUDY GUIDE

CONTRIBUTORS :

JYOTI PANDEY (2263044) PRINCY GONSALVES (2263010) PURVA USGAONKAR (2263026) COURSE INSTRUCTOR: ASST. PROF. SHUBHAANGI THAKUR

A REQUIREMENT OF CA II OF LITERARY THEORY COURSE, MASTER OF ARTS IN ENGLISH LITERATURE

Content 1) Introduction to Structuralism Theory + Understanding

2) Theorist : Ferdinand De Saussure Arbitrary Meaning & Relational Meaning Signs & Signifier System Langue and Parole

3) Theorist : Roman Jakobson Metaphor Metonymy

4) Other Important Theorists and Works 5) Structuralism and Literature Guiding Questions

6) Other Keywords 7) Works Cited

Introduction Structuralism emerged in the 1950s. It was first seen in the work of

the anthropologist Claude Levi Strauss (1908) and the literary

critic Roland Barthes (1915-1980). He believed that things cannot

be understood in isolation, they have to be seen in context of the

largest structures they are part of and hence the term

“Structuralism”. According to Structuralists, meaning isn't a kind of

core or essence inside things, rather meaning is always outside.

Let me explain with an example... To understand the romance

play, Romeo and Juliet, we need to understand the genre of

Shakespearean Drama and the structure of the genre. You

cannot just analyze the inside of the text as the meaning lies

much ahead of it. Hence, the structuralist will focus more on

the genre than the text to help in deeper understanding.

Hence, one needs to looks at larger structures of the text while understanding its meaning and the smaller structure is just taken into consideration to analyze the text along with its genre. You may explore the plot, language, grammar, themes of many works in the same genre or you may draw parallels of a piece of literary work with other works in the large structure... but your goal should be to analyze the structure of the text and not its meaning.

You can examine the structure of a large number of short stories to discover the underlying principles that govern the composition like the plot or characters... you can take the text further and further away from the content of the book to larger and abstract questions of genre, history or philosophy.

How will we undertsand the meaning of the text if only the structure is taken into consideration and not the indepth analysis of the piece of work?

That is not our aim. We should look at the structure rather than the meaning of the text. Focus on how the text means what it means rather than just what it means. Do no take it closer and closer to the text to understand the meaning, because understanding the meaning is not the goal of the structuralist, understanding why the meaning is forced in such a way, is the goal. Hence, analyze the structure.

Now, let us understand the basics of structuralism and the role of critics in the theory and criticism. This will help us understand the concepts in simpler ways.

FERDINAND DE SAUSSURE He was the father of modern linguistics. He laid the groundwork for structuralism and poststructuralism. His work, "Course in General Linguistics'' was published in 1916.

He also spoke about language being arbitrary and relational to its meaning.

MEANINGS WE GIVE TO WORDS ARE PURELY

ARBITRARY, There is no inherent connection between a word and

what it designates. For instance, the word ‘Hut’ is not in

any way ‘appropriate’ to its meaning. It could be called

a bat or a couch if humankind named it so.

Language isn’t a reflection of the world and of experiences, but a system which stands quite separate from it, hence we can't solely analyze literature based on language. Structure helps us analyze it more scientifically.

MEANINGS OF WORDS ARE RELATIONAL. No word can be defined in isolation from other words. The definition of any given word depends upon its relationship with other adjoining words.



For example?

For example word ‘Hut’ depends for its precise meaning on its position in a ‘paradigmatic chain' that is, a chain of word related in function and the meaning each of the word could be substituted from any of the others in a given sentence.

Signs and Signifier System

You emphasized on the organized or structured set of signs

that carry cultural meanings. You also established the sign

and signifier system and said that words simply do not refer

to objects in the world for which they stand. It is a linguistic

sign with two sides of a coin, that is the signifier and the

Signified. What does that mean?

Yes... The signifier is the sound- image or the mental imprint of a linguistic sound and the signified is the concept to which the signifier refers to. Thus, a word is not merely a signifier or signified, it is both. For examples, when I say the word flower, flower is the signifier and the concept that appears to your mind after listening to the word is the signified. It could be a fake flower, a dead flower, a wildflower or a broken one. The relationship between the Signifier and the signified is arbitrary

How is that related to culture or literature?

You can look for an organized or a structured set

of signs that carry cultural meanings. Look for the

various tribal rituals or traditions of a particular

culture and draw parallels by analyzing what it

signifies. It is simple. You can do much more.

2) Langue and Parole To better understand the structure of the text, one can look at its langue and parole and analyze the relationship between the same. Hence, structuralists look at the langue and parole of the text.

What exactly is langue and parole?

Langue is the system or structure; and parole is the understanding or interpretation of the text.

For example, when you read a graphic novel, the elements

of the graphic novel like the color theory, the panel, time,

space and other structures that help you understand the

novel become the langue and the understanding of the

novel with the help of these elements becomes the parole.

Both co-exist together.

ROMAN JAKOBSON Jakobson was a pioneer of structural linguistics and influential linguists of the twentieth century. He coined the word structuralism in 1929. He is best known for his work in structural linguistics and his functional approach to the study of language.

In my 1956 essay, Two Aspects of Language and-Two

Types of Aphasic Disturbances, I proposed that

language revolves around the poles of metaphor and

metonymy. Through metaphor, one topic leads to

another through similarity or substitution. Through

metonymy, one topic suggests another via contiguity

(closeness in space, time and psychological

association).

Is Metonymy based on contiguity and is syntagmatic?

Is metaphor based on similarity and is paradigmatic?

Yes, all those words are important. Let us now try to make sense out of it.

Poetry is metaphoric as it focuses on science and the principle of similarity. Metaphor is widely used in literary romanticism and symbolism. It is paradigmatic or it serves as a typical example of something:

For example: You are a shining star. Or the teacher is a gem

Yes. Now let us look at metonymy Metonymy refers to the combination aspect of the

usage of words. It is the juxtaposition of one word with

another to present a sort of contiguity or syntagmatic

structure. Metonymy is mostly used in prose or novels

where the combination helps the readers to associate to

the theme. It is solely based on the functions of the

mind.

For example, the use of the synecdoche like the "crown" is angry, where crown refers to the king. The word crown automatically creates a mental inference that the king is angry because the crown resembles the king in a syntagmatic manner.

OTHER THEORISTS

Claud Levi- Strauss was best known as the founder of "Structural anthropology (1958)" and for his theory of structuralism. He was known as “the father of modern anthropology.

Roland Barthes was a French social and literary critic who was the leading structuralist thinker of the 20th Century. Barthes's "Introduction to the Structural Analysis of Narrative" was published in 1975.

Jonathan Culler wrote "Structuralist Poetics" in 1975. Terence Hawkes wrote "Structuralism and Semiotics" in 1977 David Lodge- wrote "Working with Structuralism" in 1980 A.J. Griemas wrote "Structural Semantics: An Attempt at a Method" in 1983



STRUCTURALISM AND LITERATURE What are the commonalities of plot or language of this particular genre/ poetry/ novel/ play? What are the conventions of the genre? How is it connected intertextually? Is there a model of the universal narrative? What are the recurrent patterns or motifs? How is the system of signs presented? What does it signify? Is it direct or indirect? Do the signs resemble some cultural/ political or philosophical idea? How is the text presented in contrast to the other texts? Is there a particular symmetry or parallels drawn? What is the relation of the text to its genre? What is the langue of the text? How does the langue relate to the parole? Is there a cultural phenomenon or non-verbal message sent through the text? What culturally defined images do you see at work in the text? (Flags, certain buildings, specific colors or locations etc) What is the poetic or narrative structure? Is it similar to other works in the genre? What are the primary binary oppositions in the text? Can you speculate about the relationship between the...[text]... and the culture from which the text emerged? In other words, what patterns exist within the text that make it a product of a larger culture? What patterns exist within the text that connect it to the larger "human" experience? In other words, can we connect patterns and elements within the text to other texts from other cultures to map similarities that tell us more about the common human experience? How has the text used metaphor or metonymy to infer to the cultures or human experience?

OTHER KEYWORDS FOR ADVANCE UNDERSTANDING

Binary Oppositions Surface Phenomenon Structural Anthropology Mythemes Morphemes Wholeness Transformation Self-Regulation Difference Semiotics Index Contractual Structures Performative Structures Disjunctive Structures Negation AND MANY MORE...



WORKS CITED

PRIMARY REFERENCES: Barry, Peter, and Reader in English Peter Barry. Beginning Theory: An Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory. Manchester University Press, 2002.

SECONDARY REFERENCES:

Eagleton, Terry. Literary Theory : An Introduction, Anniversary Ed. Blackwell, 2008. Lodge, David, and Nigel Wood, editors. Modern Criticism And Theory: A Reader, 2/E. Pearson Education, 2002. Waugh, Patricia. Literary Theory And Criticism. Oxford University Press, 2006.