LITERARY THEORY INFORMING MY WRITING (ARCHIVED POSTS FROM JULY-OCTOBER 2009)

As a writer, I subscribe to a theory of literature that informs my praxis. To accommodate requests for an accessible and relatively comprehensive view of these, I am posting the dates and titles of discussions posted in this literary blog which I have culled from a book I wrote earlier for my students of Literary Theory, Literary Criticism, and Creative Writing. 

Writing seminar directors are welcome to use these materials as they see fit. A number of seminars in the Philippines, Canada, and the United States have been announced lately, and I hope these notes will be useful to participants.  All I require is that their use be acknowledged as teaching materials derived from this literary blog. http://ambitsgambit.blogspot.com/

These posts (according to dates) may be accessed as stand-alone articles in the 2009 archives of my literary blog. They may be used in seminars on a per-day/per-session basis. 

July 1, 2009 LANGUAGE OF POETRY: IS POETRY FOR EVERYONE?

July 3, 2009 PART 1: A LITERARY THEORY FOR TEACHING LITERATURE AS A HUMANISTIC DISCIPLINE 

July 5, 2009 PART 2: A LITERARY THEORY FOR TEACHING LITERATURE AS A HUMANISTIC DISCIPLINE. What is literary appreciation? 

July 6, 2009 PART 3: A LITERARY THEORY FOR TEACHING LITERATURE AS A HUMANISTIC DISCIPLINE: APPROACHES TO LITERARY APPRECIATION  

July 7, 2009 PART 4: AN AESTHETIC THEORY FOR TEACHING LITERATURE AS A HUMANISTIC DISCIPLINE  

July 8, 2009 PART 5. LITERARY THEORY: GUIDE QUESTIONS IN THE APPRECIATION OF FICTION (SHORT STORY, NOVEL, DRAMA)  

July 9, 2009 PART 6: APPRECIATION OF POETRY – A SUMMARY **(See July 1 entry on Language of Poetry for details.)  

July 10, 2009 A THEORY OF ANALYSIS IN LITERARY APPRECIATION: PART 1

July 11, 2009 PART 2: LITERARY (POETRY) ANALYSIS; THE SENSORY-IMPRESSIONISTIC LEVEL (POETRY ANALYSIS: THE SENSORY-IMPRESSIONISTIC LEVEL)  

July 13, 2009 PART 3: LITERARY (POETRY) ANALYSIS: THE COGNITIVE LEVEL  

July 14, 2009 Part 4: LITERARY ANALYSIS (POETRY) THE COGNITIVE LEVEL --- Meaning in the Poem  

July 15, 2009 PART 5: ASSOCIATIVE LEVEL OF LITERARY (POETRY) ANALYSIS APPLIED --- Desert Places: Meaning Analyzed  

July 16, 2009 PART 6: HOW TO ANAYZE A DIFFICULT POEM --- Analyzing A Theory of Echoes: A Practicum  

September 10, 2009 A THEORY OF LITERARY CRITICISM IN AN EMPIRICALLY-BASED APPRECIATION OF LITERATURE: PART I, SECTION 1: CRITICIZING FICTION  

September 11, 2009 PART 2 LITERARY CRITICISM: DISCOVERING THE ARTISTIC PURPOSE AS A BASIS FOR CRITICISM  

September 13, 2009 PART 3 LITERARY CRITICISM: CRITICIZING STYLE IN FICTION  

September 14, 2009 PART 4 LITERARY CRITICISM: FOCUSING ON THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE  

September 15, 2009 PART 5 LITERARY CRITICISM: CRITICIZING TECHNIQUE IN FICTION (What is Technique? What are the Elements of Technique?)  

September 16, 2009 PART 6 LITERARY CRITICISM: CRITICIZING TECHNIQUE (FICTION) --- THE EFFECTIVE POINT OF VIEW  

September 17, 2009 PART 7 LITERARY CRITICISM: CRITICIZING TECHNIQUE (FICTION) --- WHAT IS AN EFFECTIVE PLOT?  

Friday, September 18, 2009 PART 8 LITERARY CRITICISM: CRITICIZING TECHNIQUE IN FICTION --- EFFECTIVE CHARACTERIZATION  

September 19, 2009 PART 9 LITERARY CRITICISM: CRITICIZING TECHNIQUE IN FICTION --- THE EFFECTIVE SCALE AND OTHER TECHNIQUES  

September 21, 2009 LITERARY CRITICISM: A PRACTICUM --- APPLYING THE NORMS --- LITERARY CRITICISM PRACTICUM: A CRITICISM OF E. A. POE'S

"THE CASK OF AMONTILLADO" (PART 1) 

September 22, 2009 PRACTICUM PART 2: CRITICIZING POE'S STYLE IN "AMONTILLADO" (The Plot, Characters, Setting, Language, Symbols) 

September 23, 2009 PRACTICUM 3: CRITICIZING POE'S TECHNIQUE IN "AMONTILLADO" (Point of View, Order of Actions, Characterization, Scale) 

September 24, 2009 PART 1: CRITICIZING POETRY --- THE ARTISTIC PURPOSE AS A BASIS FOR LITERARY CRITICISM 

September 25, 2009 PART 2: CRITICIZING THE STYLE OF POETRY  

September 26, 2009 PART 3: CRITICIZING THE STYLE OF POETRY --- LINGUISTIC DEVICES (VERBAL ENERGIES)  

September 27, 2009 PART 4: CRITICIZING THE STYLE OF POETRY --- LINGUISTIC DEVICES: Part 4: Criticizing the Style of Poetry --- LITERARY DEVICES (Words Have It)  

September 29, 2009 PART 5: CRITICIZING THE TECHNIQUE OF POETRY  

September 29, 2009 PART 6: CRITICIZING THE TECHNIQUE OF POETRY -- THE ORDER OF STRUCTURAL PARTS  

September 30, 2009 PART 7: MAJOR ART MOVEMENTS THAT INFLUENCED LITERARY STYLE AND TECHNIQUE (Major Art Movements Which Have Influenced Literary Style and Technique : Realism, Naturalism, Impressionism, Surrealism, and Stream-of-Consciousness)  

October 1, 2009 PART 1: A THEORY OF EVALUATION IN THE APPRECIATION OF LITERATURE. HOW VALUABLE IS THE PIECE OF LITERATURE TO THE READER? 

October 2, 2009 PART 2: EVALUATION OF LITERATURE --- UNIVERSAL APPROACHES AND VALUES  

October 3, 2009 PART 3: EVALUATION OF LITERATURE --- FORMAL VALUES AND VALUES FROM THE PERSONAL APPROACH 

(See 2009 Archives http://ambitsgambit.blogspot.com/) 

It is expected that seminar participants involve themselves in subsequent creative writing to apply these theories. Writing, of course, is the most eloquent manifestation of informed literary appreciation.