College of Education
ENG119- Literary Theory Criticism
1st Semester, AY 2023-2024
Emmanuel D. Dayalo, EdD, Course Facilitator
MODULE 3
Name: DANICA FAYE S. TAMAGOS
Course/Year/Section: BSED ENGLISH 3-B
Self-Assessment (Journal Entry #1)
What is the position of Marxists in relation to the economic base of any society?
The Marxists believe that the social status of a person matters in society, and how you
will be treated is based on your social status. That’s why in Marxists, the division
between the poor and the rich is very critical when it comes to distributing the roles in the
community. The rich or the people who have a higher status will receive special treatment
while the people who belong to low social status must work hard to fit in to society. To
Marxists, understanding a society’s economic foundation is important to understand its
essence and develop plans for social change.
Self-Assessment (Journal Entry #2)
Explain why the message is more important than the form or the device in Marxist
criticism in the light of “commodification.”
Marxists emphasizes the importance of the item over its meaning and value because of
the idea of commodification. Commodification is the act of putting financial gain over
quality and intellectual value which leads to the creation of items or products which are
below standard. By doing so, the Marxists can now put an ideology and manipulate the
people into believing that it’s marketed for a good purpose. Commodification now is used
by the Marxists to challenge ideologies and prioritize the content while the method of
doing it may become profitable to them or aids to their advantage.
Self-Assessment (Journal Entry #3)
Marxism is rooted in dialectic materialism; how does this relate to the literary text?
Marxism is rooted in dialectic materialism because it claims that literature is the
reflection and embodies the societal condition which contributes to social change by
exploring the tensions and contradictions of society such as questioning a certain literary
piece for its stand on societal issues, how it was written based on the societal norms
which people value and gives the ideologies that are present to be questioned and re-
evaluated in order to contribute to social change.
Self-Assessment (Journal Entry #6)
What is the relationship of history to a literary text according to historical critics? Who
are the philosophers that influenced this critical canon?
Historians believe that knowledge of the past is important in understanding literary
works. They claim that the historical and cultural context of a literary piece and
interpretation influences its meaning. Their critical canon is highly influenced by Auguste
Comte and Hippolyte Taine.
Self-Assessment (Journal Entry #7)
Accredited: Accrediting Agency of Chartered Colleges and Universities of the Philippines (AACCUP)
Member: Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges (PASUC)
Agricultural Colleges Association of the Philippines (ACAP)
Explain why psychoanalytic critics would regard a literary text as recant of its author’s
dream.
For psychoanalytic critics, they view a literary piece as a reflection of the author’s dream
because they think that the unconscious mind of the author is the main source of
inspiration for creative writing. In psychoanalytic theory, the unconscious mind is the
main source of the author’s hidden desires, emotions, and memories. That’s why
psychoanalytic critics believe that the author’s dream is the representation of an author’s
desire.
