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Literary theory is the systematic inquiry into the nature, function, and interpretation of literature. Its history is a sequence of distinct frameworks, each proposing different methods and answers. This overview follows the major frameworks in their chronological order, explaining how they reacted to, extended, or replaced one another.
The modern discipline began with a turn toward the text itself. Russian Formalism (1915-1930) established a scientific approach, focusing on literary devices like ostranenie (defamiliarization) and the mechanics of narrative (distinguishing story from plot). It sought to isolate literature's unique artistic properties.
New Criticism (1940-1965) emerged as a direct reaction against Russian Formalism's focus on technical devices. While both schools emphasized the text, New Criticism shifted focus to the internal unity and complex ambiguity of the individual work, treating it as an autonomous, self-contained object to be analyzed through close reading, free from authorial intention or reader emotion.
A major shift began in the 1960s, importing ideas from linguistics and philosophy. Structuralism (1960-1975) explicitly superseded New Criticism's focus on single texts. It sought to uncover the universal, deep structures—codes, binary oppositions, and narrative grammars—that govern all cultural production, treating individual works as instances of a larger system.
This synchronic, systematic approach was quickly challenged. Deconstruction (1970-1995) and the broader Post-Structuralism (1970-1995) reacted against Structuralism's faith in stable, coherent systems. Deconstruction, particularly, argued that texts inevitably undermine their own logical structures and that meaning is unstable, deferred, and contested.
During this same period, other frameworks developed alongside structuralist debates. Psychoanalytic Criticism (1920-1975) analyzed literature through the lens of the unconscious, desire, and the formation of the psyche. Marxist Criticism (1960-1990) provided a sustained analysis of literature as a product of economic conditions and class ideology. Narratology (1969-2026) emerged from Structuralism's interest in narrative codes but evolved into a more specialized and enduring study of narrative structures, devices, and logic.
From the 1970s onward, theory increasingly engaged with identity, power, and history. Feminist Criticism (1970-2026) arose to critique patriarchal structures and the representation of gender. It often competed with Marxist Criticism, debating whether gender or class was the primary site of oppression and analysis.
Reader-Response Criticism (1975-1995) also developed in this period, directly competing with New Criticism's text-centric model by arguing that meaning is constituted by the reader's interpretive activities and experiences.
The 1980s saw a further historicist and political refinement. New Historicism (1980-2000) reacted against Post-Structuralism's abstract textual play by insisting on the embeddedness of texts within specific historical networks of power and cultural circulation. Its British counterpart, Cultural Materialism (1980-2000) , shared this historicist focus with a stronger Marxist orientation.
Postcolonial Criticism (1980-2026) derived from Post-Structuralism's insights into power and discourse but applied them to the analysis of colonialism, empire, and their aftermaths, focusing on hybridity, mimicry, and subaltern voices. It subsequently influenced Feminist Criticism, expanding feminist thought to consider imperialism and race.
Critical Theory (1965-1995) , drawing from the Frankfurt School, provided a distinct framework analyzing culture's role in ideology, domination, and potential emancipation.
The late 20th and early 21st centuries have seen the rise of frameworks addressing new domains and identities. Queer Literary Theory (1990-2026) extends and critiques Feminist Criticism by focusing on the instability of sexual and gender identities, norms, and representations.
Ecocriticism (1990-2026) applies an environmental lens to literature, examining representations of nature, ecology, and human-environment relationships.
Digital Humanities (2000-2026) introduces computational and quantitative methods to literary study, analyzing large corpora, digital archives, and new media forms.
Several frameworks from the timeline remain actively leading today: Narratology, Feminist Criticism, Postcolonial Criticism, Ecocriticism, Queer Literary Theory, and Digital Humanities. They broadly agree on a few core principles: that literature must be understood in relation to its contexts (historical, social, environmental, or technological); that power dynamics (of gender, race, empire, sexuality) are central to analysis; and that the field is inherently pluralistic, with no single master method. Their primary disagreements lie in their central objects of analysis. Narratology focuses on narrative form and structure. Feminist, Postcolonial, and Queer theories prioritize identity, power, and representation. Ecocriticism centers the non-human environment. Digital Humanities prioritizes method, using computational tools to ask new questions. While they often intersect, their foundational commitments pull attention toward different aspects of the literary field.
The history of literary theory is thus a story of successive challenges and expansions. Each framework sought to correct a blind spot in its predecessors, leading to today's diverse, contested, and vibrant landscape of inquiry.