structuralism

[davver]

what is structuralism? in a nutshell please! or post-structuralism, or formalism, historicism, or any of those literary theory terms which all need to be explained to me! Thank you so much if you can help.

[Hippy]

Structuralism is the theory of literature, languages and social systems that says that meaning and intent are contained in the organisation of the system, the whole. Each element has meaning only when considered as supporting the whole.

Post-Structuralism is the belief that all that was a load of tosh and the new generation has thought up another method of the naming of parts.

Historicism propounds that meaning is only possible when the work, language or social system is considered within a historical timeline. For example (trivial) the 1996 advertising campaign for strangely shaped tea-bags exclaimed the obvious virtues of "pyramid" bags. The goodness being clearly evident and bestowed by the greatness and splendour that was ancient Egypt. The fact that the bags are actually tetrahedron in shape having four triangular faces was a mere annoying fact to be ignored and lied about in the marketing. Pyramids have five faces, a square and four triangles. Other copied tea-bag designs are twisted square bags with two parallel seams and the other two seams at 90 degrees from each other.

Formalism in art literature and music is an excessive concern with the rules and outward form rather than the content or emotions evoked in the viewer, reader, or listener.

[violaine]

The Penguin Dictionary of Critical Theory is an excellent reference book for definitions of critical and literary theories.