Volume 17, Issue 68 (2025)
LCQ 2025, 17(68): 83-125 |
Back to browse issues page
Download citation:
BibTeX | RIS | EndNote | Medlars | ProCite | Reference Manager | RefWorks
Send citation to:
BibTeX | RIS | EndNote | Medlars | ProCite | Reference Manager | RefWorks
Send citation to:
zarei M. Literary Perspective is not a Literary Theory. LCQ 2025; 17 (68) :83-125
URL: http://lcq.modares.ac.ir/article-29-77323-en.html
URL: http://lcq.modares.ac.ir/article-29-77323-en.html
University of Kharazmi , mehrdadzarei990@yahoo.com
Abstract: (325 Views)
Literary theory is a systematic study of the essence of literature and a way to analyze literary phenomena. Although the literary theory has been widely used in Persian literature research in recent years, it seems that its semantic and empirical realm has not been well established; because in some research conducted in the field of Persian literature, individuals’ literary opinions have been mistakenly read as literary theory. In the following article, to show the difference between literary theory and literary perspective, five specific characteristics of literary theory have been explained and described; which includes these items: “Arising from a philosophical mindset”, “Systematic and coherent”, “The result of reflection on the text”, “Providing a new perspective” and “Using in criticism”. In the following, the extreme point of view that believes in the similarity between some opinions in Persian classical texts and Western theories on the existence and even the precedence of theories in its past has been criticized. And it is clear that basically the discovery of these views in past scientific and literary texts was due to familiarity with western ideas. In the end, the result shows that because of the inefficiency of the literary opinions collected by the researchers from the characteristics of a theory, the term “literary theory” is not correct and accurate for their opinions and literary opinions. It is better to use the term “literary perspective” to make the field of knowledge of Persian literature more precise about such opinions and theories, so that this term has its own specific definition and examples.
Keywords: Literary theory, literary perspective, characteristics of literary theory, theory and criticism, theory and philosophy.
Introduction
The history of the emergence of “literary theory” in the West dates back to the ancient Greek period; however, the majority of literary theories in the West have emerged since the late 19th century. In Iran, the history of literary theory dates back to the time of familiarization with Western theories. In previous decades, Iranian critics and writers paid more attention to literary theories in order to use them for the criticism and analysis of various texts and had a purely practical approach, but in recent years, literary theories themselves have become the subject of discussion. In the field of modern theoretical sciences, some researchers are still not sufficiently familiar with the foundations of that science; for this reason, they sometimes make fundamental mistakes in their research. Such mistakes are also seen in the discussion of literary theories; including in the nature of literary theory and its examples.
Results and Discussion
Literary theory is a way of thinking about literary works in a way that helps us understand how to create a work, its content, and its form and format. The goal of theorizing is to access convincing methods by which literature can be understood, interpreted, described, and analyzed, and to propose criteria and standards for understanding the form and meaning of literature. It can be said that the word “theory” is an inclusive term for all scientific approaches to reading texts. When theories are removed from their transcendental-abstract state and placed at the service of reading texts, they lead to “literary criticism” and in this case take on a more practical form.
Beyond its definition and function, literary theory is distinguished by five key characteristics that “literary perspectives” lack:
Theory, whether literary or non-literary, is the result of a philosophical mindset. Theory is the result of continuous thinking, and although poets’ literary perspectives are the product of their thought and poetic thinking, they lack the rational-philosophical support of theory, and for this reason, it can be said that they lack its richness, structure, stability, and inclusiveness.
Theory is inherently coherent, methodical, and it has a formulation. Although a framework and rules can be considered for it by analyzing tradition, the sum of these rules can be called “literary tradition,” not theory. Also, due to the lack of the condition of “unity of time” in these views, after collecting and organizing the scattered opinions of poets, there is a possibility of contradictions emerging, which logically any theory should lack.
One of the characteristics of literary theorizing is to emerge from the literary text by thinking about its various aspects and its formulation. Literary texts are a rich source of ideas for theorizing. Although the perspectives of the poets may be the result of their literary experiences and thoughts about poetry; however, the views they express are mainly about aesthetic issues or the mission of poetry and art that originate from their taste and are not a coherent theory that has emerged from reflection on the text and has become a way of looking at texts in a new way.
Theories are inherently informative and new knowledge is formed in their light. Literary theory seeks to understand a text from a specific angle and to create a new impression of the text. Literary perspectives lack this feature and mainly deal with the nature of poetry and aesthetic issues, and in this respect are closer to the poetics, which is the systematic aesthetic study of literary works.
The capacity of theories to illuminate the hidden aspects of literary works has led literary criticism to rely mainly on them, with researchers applying theories in the criticism of texts. If criticism is not based on theory, it will be weak, scattered, subjective, and fragile. Unlike theory, what some researchers have gathered from the perspective of poets under the title of “theory” does not provide a specific framework and model with which to criticize a text. From them, we can only understand the aesthetic views of individuals, which are mainly formed on the basis of tradition.
In the field of theory and theorizing, there is another view among a number of researchers that can be criticized. Some researchers who are often fascinated by nationality and national identity, by comparing some of the opinions and views expressed in the books of their the ancients with the theories of the modern era of the West, conclude that such theories were expressed centuries ago by our own thinkers and poets, but since these comments have not been paid attention to, historical gaps have eliminated them. These people are oblivious to that thought and opinion do not arise in a vacuum and that their creation and growth require a favorable context and space. With this assumption, we can no longer expect theory to emerge in the absence of that context and space. Another noteworthy point is that ideas and perspectives in the works of our ancestors, which resemble those of later Western theorists, often become apparent only when the reader is already familiar with Western examples. Basically, our understanding and perception of theory is “Eurocentric.”
Conclusion
Theory has a philosophical foundation and its source should be considered a philosophical system; a system that, due to its formation within the framework of rational and logical rules, gives coherence and order to thought. Theorizing requires a problem-solving mindset that, when reading texts, can discover another layer of the text or look at the text from a new angle. If this mind benefits from philosophical training, it can, by utilizing previous theories, present this discovered layer or new perspective by explaining and formulating it in the form of a coherent literary theory, with which to criticize texts from that perspective. Since the literary views of poets collected by researchers lack the characteristics outlined in this article, it is neither correct nor accurate to label their opinions as “literary theory”. It is better to use the term “literary perspectives” for such opinions and theories so that the term “literary theory” has its own specific definition and application.
Keywords: Literary theory, literary perspective, characteristics of literary theory, theory and criticism, theory and philosophy.
Introduction
The history of the emergence of “literary theory” in the West dates back to the ancient Greek period; however, the majority of literary theories in the West have emerged since the late 19th century. In Iran, the history of literary theory dates back to the time of familiarization with Western theories. In previous decades, Iranian critics and writers paid more attention to literary theories in order to use them for the criticism and analysis of various texts and had a purely practical approach, but in recent years, literary theories themselves have become the subject of discussion. In the field of modern theoretical sciences, some researchers are still not sufficiently familiar with the foundations of that science; for this reason, they sometimes make fundamental mistakes in their research. Such mistakes are also seen in the discussion of literary theories; including in the nature of literary theory and its examples.
Results and Discussion
Literary theory is a way of thinking about literary works in a way that helps us understand how to create a work, its content, and its form and format. The goal of theorizing is to access convincing methods by which literature can be understood, interpreted, described, and analyzed, and to propose criteria and standards for understanding the form and meaning of literature. It can be said that the word “theory” is an inclusive term for all scientific approaches to reading texts. When theories are removed from their transcendental-abstract state and placed at the service of reading texts, they lead to “literary criticism” and in this case take on a more practical form.
Beyond its definition and function, literary theory is distinguished by five key characteristics that “literary perspectives” lack:
Theory, whether literary or non-literary, is the result of a philosophical mindset. Theory is the result of continuous thinking, and although poets’ literary perspectives are the product of their thought and poetic thinking, they lack the rational-philosophical support of theory, and for this reason, it can be said that they lack its richness, structure, stability, and inclusiveness.
Theory is inherently coherent, methodical, and it has a formulation. Although a framework and rules can be considered for it by analyzing tradition, the sum of these rules can be called “literary tradition,” not theory. Also, due to the lack of the condition of “unity of time” in these views, after collecting and organizing the scattered opinions of poets, there is a possibility of contradictions emerging, which logically any theory should lack.
One of the characteristics of literary theorizing is to emerge from the literary text by thinking about its various aspects and its formulation. Literary texts are a rich source of ideas for theorizing. Although the perspectives of the poets may be the result of their literary experiences and thoughts about poetry; however, the views they express are mainly about aesthetic issues or the mission of poetry and art that originate from their taste and are not a coherent theory that has emerged from reflection on the text and has become a way of looking at texts in a new way.
Theories are inherently informative and new knowledge is formed in their light. Literary theory seeks to understand a text from a specific angle and to create a new impression of the text. Literary perspectives lack this feature and mainly deal with the nature of poetry and aesthetic issues, and in this respect are closer to the poetics, which is the systematic aesthetic study of literary works.
The capacity of theories to illuminate the hidden aspects of literary works has led literary criticism to rely mainly on them, with researchers applying theories in the criticism of texts. If criticism is not based on theory, it will be weak, scattered, subjective, and fragile. Unlike theory, what some researchers have gathered from the perspective of poets under the title of “theory” does not provide a specific framework and model with which to criticize a text. From them, we can only understand the aesthetic views of individuals, which are mainly formed on the basis of tradition.
In the field of theory and theorizing, there is another view among a number of researchers that can be criticized. Some researchers who are often fascinated by nationality and national identity, by comparing some of the opinions and views expressed in the books of their the ancients with the theories of the modern era of the West, conclude that such theories were expressed centuries ago by our own thinkers and poets, but since these comments have not been paid attention to, historical gaps have eliminated them. These people are oblivious to that thought and opinion do not arise in a vacuum and that their creation and growth require a favorable context and space. With this assumption, we can no longer expect theory to emerge in the absence of that context and space. Another noteworthy point is that ideas and perspectives in the works of our ancestors, which resemble those of later Western theorists, often become apparent only when the reader is already familiar with Western examples. Basically, our understanding and perception of theory is “Eurocentric.”
Conclusion
Theory has a philosophical foundation and its source should be considered a philosophical system; a system that, due to its formation within the framework of rational and logical rules, gives coherence and order to thought. Theorizing requires a problem-solving mindset that, when reading texts, can discover another layer of the text or look at the text from a new angle. If this mind benefits from philosophical training, it can, by utilizing previous theories, present this discovered layer or new perspective by explaining and formulating it in the form of a coherent literary theory, with which to criticize texts from that perspective. Since the literary views of poets collected by researchers lack the characteristics outlined in this article, it is neither correct nor accurate to label their opinions as “literary theory”. It is better to use the term “literary perspectives” for such opinions and theories so that the term “literary theory” has its own specific definition and application.
Keywords: literary theory, literary perspective, characteristics of literary theory, theory and criticism, theory and philosophy
Article Type: Original Research |
Subject:
Literary theory
Received: 2024/10/3 | Accepted: 2025/02/1 | Published: 2025/02/28
Received: 2024/10/3 | Accepted: 2025/02/1 | Published: 2025/02/28
Send email to the article author
| Rights and permissions | |
 |
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. |