LITERARY APPROACHES ENGLISH 10

• These recurring patterns are found across cultures

STRUCTURALIST APPROACH and time periods, showing that literature reflects
• a critical theory that analyzes a text by focusing universal human experiences.
on its underlying structures, systems, and patterns 5. The author’s intention is not the focus
rather than its surface-level details. It views a • Unlike biographical or historical approaches,
work of literature not as a reflection of reality, but structuralism does not focus on the author’s life
as a system of signs and conventions. or intention
• The goal of structuralist literary criticism is to • The text is treated as an independent system that
uncover the hidden meanings, structural can be analyzed objectively.
coherence, and cultural implications of a text by 6. All texts are interconnected
examining its underlying structures, • Every literary work is part of a larger network or
interrelationships between elements, and system of stories, myths, and cultural symbols.
symbolic representations. This idea is sometimes called intertextuality –
meaning that texts echo, reflect, or repeat
FOCUS OF STRUCTURALIST structures found in other works.
• It focuses on examining the underlying structures 7. Focus on language, symbols, and form
and systems that govern meaning and • Structuralist analyzes language, form, symbols,
communication. and syntax to find hidden meanings.
• It focuses on the underlying structures and • They believe that by studying how language
patterns within a literary work. works, we can uncover how meaning is created.
• It emphasizes the interrelationships between 8. Analysis should be objective and systematic
elements. • Structuralism aims to make literary study more
• It analyzes binary oppositions to understand their systematic and scientific – focusing on patterns,
influence on the narrative, themes, and structures, and rules rather than personal
characters. interpretation or emotion
TENETS OF STRUCTURALIST
1. Meaning comes from structure, not content PROPONENTS OF STRUCTURALIST APPROACH
• Structuralists believe that the meaning of a text is
created by the relationship and patterns among its 1. Ferdinand de Saussure (1857–1913) – The Father of
parts – not by the author’s emotions and personal Structuralism
background. • A Swiss linguist whose ideas laid the foundation
• In other words, we understand a story or poem by of structuralism.
seeing how its elements fit together in a system. • Introduced the concept of language as a system of
2. Language is a system of signs signs made up of: Signifier – the sound or written
• Based on Ferdinand de Saussure’s idea that form of a word. Signified – the concept or
language is made up of signs, each composed of: meaning behind it.
▪ Signifier – a word, sound, or • Argued that meaning arises from the relationship
symbol and differences among signs, not from direct
▪ Signified – the concept or reference to reality.
meaning it represents • His work “Course in General Linguistics” (1916)
• Meaning exists only because of the differences inspired structuralist thinkers in many fields.
and relationships among these signs (e.g., day has
meaning only in contrast to night) 2. Claude Lévi-Strauss (1908–2009) – Anthropologist
3. Binary oppositions shape meaning • Applied structuralist ideas to myth, kinship, and
• Many texts are built on opposing ideas such as culture.
life vs death, good vs evil, love vs hate, and rich • Believed that human cultures share universal
vs poor mental structures, and myths or customs can be
• These oppositions form deep structure of the analyzed like language systems.
story and help readers uncover its universal • Famous works: “Structural Anthropology” and
meaning. “The Raw and the Cooked.”
4. Texts follow universal pattern or codes • Introduced the use of binary oppositions (e.g.,
• Structuralists believe that all stories share nature vs. culture, good vs. evil) in understanding
common structures, such as: hero vs villain, how people organize meaning.
conflict and resolution, journey or transformation
LITERARY APPROACHES ENGLISH 10
3. Roland Barthes (1915–1980) – Literary Critic and
Semiotician • How do these signs (symbols, words, or actions)
• Extended structuralism into literature and relate to one another to build meaning?
popular culture.
• Treated texts as systems of signs and studied how • How does the text’s language system (choice of
meaning is created through language and words, tone, structure) affect the overall
symbols. interpretation?
• His early works, like “Mythologies” and
“Elements of Semiology”, explore how cultural • What opposing ideas or concepts appear in the
products (advertisements, stories, etc.) reflect text (e.g., life vs. death, love vs. hate, freedom vs.
deeper social structures. control)?
• Later, Barthes moved toward post-structuralism,
but his early work strongly shaped structuralist • How do these oppositions create tension and
literary criticism. meaning in the story?

4. Tzvetan Todorov (1939–2017) – Literary Theorist • Does the text reflect universal patterns or mythic
• Focused on narrative structures and how stories structures found in other stories or cultures?
are organized.
• Proposed that all narratives share common • What familiar archetypes or roles (hero, villain,
grammatical patterns — such as equilibrium, mentor, innocent, etc.) can you identify?
disruption, and restoration.
• Helped formalize structuralist narratology, or the • How do the characters, events, and settings relate
study of story structures. to one another within the system of the text?

5. Gérard Genette (1930–2018) – Narratologist • What rules or codes seem to govern the world of
• Expanded on Todorov’s ideas to study the the story?
structure of narrative discourse (how stories are
told). • How does the structure of the text (plot, rhythm,
• Introduced terms like story, narrative, and repetition, contrast) shape the reader’s
narration, distinguishing between what happens, understanding?
how it’s presented, and who tells it.
• His work “Narrative Discourse” is a key text in • How can this structure be compared to other
structuralist literary theory. literary works that use similar patterns?

6. Roman Jakobson (1896–1982) – Linguist and

Literary Theorist
• A Russian linguist who combined linguistics and
poetics.
• Developed models explaining how language
functions in communication.
• Influenced both Saussurean linguistics and
literary formalism, helping to bridge the two
fields.

GUIDE QUESTIONS

• What patterns, structures, or systems can you

identify in the text (e.g., repetitions, oppositions,
sequences)?

• Does the text follow a common narrative pattern

(such as hero’s journey, conflict-resolution, etc.)?

• What key words, symbols, or images are repeated

throughout the text?