B.

Williams
Writing About Literature

Critical Theory Essay

The most important thing to remember about this assignment is that it is not an
essay about theory. It is a critical analysis of a work from a particular theoretical
perspective. You are not writing about a specific theory; you are, instead, applying that
theory to a poem or story. Consequently you do not have to explain or summarize the
theory you are using any more than you would summarize the plot of a story you are
writing about. You can assume I understand the theory you are applying. That said, if it is
helpful in your essay to quote from a particular theorist or to know how something in a
work is an example of this specific theoretical concept, by all means do so, just as you
would quote directly from a work or use an example to support your central focus.

In this assignment you should use a specific theoretical perspective to examine

and analyze a specific element or aspect of a work. Please note the use of the work
“specific”. You do not have to use all the variations of a theory in your work. You can
choose one form of Marxist Theory, for example, to work from and then not worry about
the other forms of Marxist Theory. Also, you do not need to apply a theory to the entire
work, though you can if you wish. You may be better off narrowing your focus, however,
so that you analyze one particular character, or relationship, or passage, or incident in
detail.

There are many ways to approach such an assignment. You might have a question
about a particular poem or story and wish to see if you can work that question out by
looking at the work through a particular theoretical lens. Or, you may prefer to think
about a specific theoretical concept and then re-read a work with that concept in mind.
The point of the assignment is for you to see a work in a new way using a theoretical
perspective different from the one you might ordinarily use. What do you see in this work
through this theoretical lens and, of course, why?

I understand this a different kind of essay for many of you. Please, please come
see me or email me at any time if you are running into problems, having questions, or
simply want to run your ideas past me. Have some fun with it.

A draft of this essay is due Monday, April 2