What is literary theory? While the While term may seem unfamiliar, you’ve likely employed its use without knowing it. If you’ve ever read a poem and sought out the context of the time period or author, you used literary theory to deepen your understanding of the text.
The angle in which you view a piece of literature drastically influences how you interpret the writing itself.
From a writer’s perspective, literary theory is what influences how a writer portrays the story. For instance, in marketing, knowing your target audience is often stressed. Why is it so vital to understand who you write to?
Knowing your target audience is a small way of using literary theory to influence the angle in which you write. For instance, if you write a young adult, coming-of-age novel, knowing who you are writing to will influence the plot points and characters you include.
To aid you in understanding that literary theory is what impacts your readers, it’s crucial to start with a definition of the term.
Key Takeaways:
Why Use Literary Theory?
- Enhanced Reading Comprehension: Applying different theoretical lenses allows readers to uncover layers of meaning in texts that might otherwise go unnoticed.
- Improved Writing Skills: Writers can use literary theory to refine their craft, ensuring their work resonates with readers on multiple levels.
Three Literary Theories to Explore
- Formalism: Focuses on the text’s structure, language, and form, independent of external factors like author intent or historical context.
- Structuralism: Analyzes underlying structures in literature, such as narrative patterns and linguistic systems, to understand how meaning is constructed.
- Reader-Response Criticism: Emphasizes the reader’s role in interpreting a text, suggesting that meaning is co-created between the reader and the text.
Applying Literary Theory in Writing
- Prewriting Phase: Study literary theories to inform the development of themes, characters, and narrative structures.
- Revision Stage: Use theoretical perspectives to refine and enhance the manuscript, adding layers of meaning and nuance.
What is literary theory?
What is literary theory? According to the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, “Literary theory is the body of ideas and methods we use in the practical reading of literature. By literary theory we refer not to the meaning of a work of literature but to the theories that reveal what literature can mean.”
But that definition is a bit wordy. So let’s break down what literary theory is into simpler terms. Imagine you’re looking at your favorite book. You know the characters and the plot already. But did you know that there are different ways to think about that story? That’s what literary theory is — it’s like wearing different pairs of glasses to see a story in new ways!
Here are a few fun “glasses” you can try on:
Reader Glasses (Reader-Response Theory):
You ask, What do I think about this story? How does it make me feel? Because your opinion matters too!
Character Glasses (Psychology Theory):
You ask, Why did this character act that way? What are they feeling inside? It’s like being a detective for emotions.
History Glasses (Historical Theory):
You ask, When was this story written? What was the world like back then? It’s like time-traveling into the past to understand the story better.
Fairness Glasses (Feminist Theory):
You ask, Are boys and girls treated the same in this story? It’s about seeing if everyone is being treated fairly.
Money Glasses (Marxist Theory):
You ask, Who is rich or poor in this story? Does that change how they act? It’s about noticing how money and power affect people.
To dive deeper, it’s important to understand the difference between literary theory and literary criticism. Literary theory acts as a type of guide, based on ideas, and employed with the purpose of deepening understanding.
On the other hand, literary criticism focuses on studying. This type of criticism takes a look at literature through a theoretical lens, with a focus on interpretation.
A simple way to distinguish the two is that while literary criticism is practical, literary theory is, surprise, theoretical. So why use this type of theory when writing your next manuscript or reading your current-reads list?
3 types of literary theory
Employing literary theory can help you in a plethora of ways, two of which are below:
- Understand literature at a deeper level
- Take a more in-depth look at your own writing
Whether you want to learn about literary theory to improve your understanding of your current read or take a more theory-based approach to your work-in-progress understanding some of the theories out there can equip you for both.
Formalism
If you’ve ever been to a writing conference and sat down one-on-one with an editor, you may have experienced the literary theory of Formalism in real time. This type of literary theory focuses on the text’s key features, without considering context.
When you use Formalism, you look for grammar, syntax, plot, tropes, etc. Some would argue that a piece of writing cannot be differentiated from the context surrounding it: The author, the intent of the writing, or the time period in which it was written. Regardless, this type of literary theory takes an unapologetic, face-value view at writing.
Structuralism
Structuralism is a highly debated literary theory that focuses on relating literature to the broader structures it may associate with, such as:
- Its genre
- Story structure
- Recurring topics
If you want to plunge into the deep end with Structuralism, consider studying up on this literary theory further and then watching the 2017 film, Dunkirk. This film is notorious for not following traditional storytelling structure.
Reader-Response
Toward the opposite side of the literary theory spectrum lies Reader-Response theory. This theory focuses on the audience, or the reader, and their particular response to the writing, rather than the writing itself.
It may be helpful to approach a text with this literary theory for your own work, after you publish. In this way, you can collect important data on how your readers reacted to your writing and what they took away from the story. This can set you up for future success in coming books.
Literary theory timeline
1. Classical Antiquity (c. 400 BCE – 300 CE)
- Plato (c. 427–347 BCE) – Suspicious of poetry; viewed it as imitation (mimesis) far removed from truth.
- Aristotle (384–322 BCE) – Poetics defined tragedy, catharsis, and mimesis as central literary concepts.
- Horace (65–8 BCE) – Advocated for literature’s dual purpose: to “instruct and delight.”
2. Medieval Period (500–1500)
- Focused on allegory and moral interpretation; literature served religious and didactic purposes.
- St. Augustine – Emphasized interpretation of scripture; influenced symbolic reading.
3. Renaissance to Enlightenment (1500–1800)
- Humanism promoted a return to classical texts and values.
- Neoclassicism – Emphasized order, decorum, and reason; literature modeled on classical forms.
- Samuel Johnson – Criticism rooted in moral and aesthetic judgment.
4. Romanticism (late 1700s–mid 1800s)
- Valued emotion, individualism, and the sublime.
- Wordsworth, Coleridge – Poetry as the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings.
- Shelley – The poet as an unacknowledged legislator of the world.
5. 19th Century Criticism
- Realism/Naturalism – Literature reflects social reality and deterministic forces (e.g., Zola, Tolstoy).
- Matthew Arnold – Literature as a moral force and high culture.
- Formalist roots began in Russia (late 1800s–early 1900s).
6. Early 20th Century
- Russian Formalism (1910s–1930s) – Focused on the literariness of texts; foregrounding form over content.
- New Criticism (1930s–1960s) – Close reading; text as autonomous object (e.g., Cleanth Brooks, T.S. Eliot).
7. Structuralism & Semiotics (1950s–1970s)
- Ferdinand de Saussure – Language as a system of signs.
- Roland Barthes, Claude Lévi-Strauss – Literature as structured like language; myth as system.
8. Post-Structuralism & Deconstruction (1960s–1980s)
- Jacques Derrida – Deconstruction; language is unstable, meaning is deferred.
- Michel Foucault – Power/knowledge; discourse shapes subjectivity.
- Barthes (later) – “The Death of the Author.”
9. Marxist Theory (throughout 20th Century)
- Karl Marx – Base/superstructure model of ideology.
- Georg Lukács, Antonio Gramsci, Terry Eagleton – Class struggle in literature; ideology critique.
10. Psychoanalytic Theory
- Freud – Unconscious desires manifest in literature.
- Lacan – Language and the symbolic order shape the subject.
- Kristeva – Intertextuality and abjection.
11. Feminist & Gender Theory (1970s–present)
- Simone de Beauvoir, Elaine Showalter, Judith Butler – Gender as performance; critique of patriarchy and representation of women.
12. Postcolonial Theory (1980s–present)
- Edward Said – Orientalism; literature and imperial discourse.
- Homi Bhabha, Gayatri Spivak – Hybridity, subalternity, and resistance.
13. Ecocriticism (1990s–present)
- Literature in relation to the environment; critiques anthropocentrism.
14. Queer Theory (1990s–present)
- Challenges heteronormativity; draws from Butler, Foucault, and psychoanalysis.
15. Contemporary Trends (2000s–present)
- Affect theory, cognitive literary studies, digital humanities, posthumanism, critical race theory, world literature.
What is the purpose of literary theory?
Using literary theory adds a new facet to the understanding of literature. While reading Moby Dick or To Kill A Mockingbird can be entertaining, taking a deeper look at the ideas of the time period in which each book was written helps provide more context, and therefore, deeper understanding.
To use an example to briefly demonstrate, literary theory is a diamond and the different schools of thought within the diamond each represent one facet of the diamond. Literary theory is the rock on which various thoughts lay.
There are many ways to interpret literature, and the school of thought, or specific literary theory you use, impacts how you view the text.
Every reader views stories through their own lens. This is part of the magic of writing. When an author writes a novel, they tie in how they see the world into every page. While sometimes this is done consciously, often this is unconscious as well.
Literary theory is a way to choose which lens to look through when viewing a piece of literature. While there are many forms of literary theory, I briefly discuss two below.
Use literary theory as a reader
So what does literary theory have to do with us today? Understanding the literature we read from various viewpoints not only provides a greater depth of understanding of the story itself but can also:
- Grow our use of empathy
- Broaden our view of the world
- Deepen our understanding of culture
Familiarizing ourselves with various literary theories can add an entirely new dimension to our most-loved stories.
Use literary theory as a writer
With several types of literary theory in mind, the next question to consider is when should you use this?
This type of theory is not just for readers but something writers can use to better their characters, plots, and stories overall. When writing a character, consider the viewpoint in which they see the world.
To take it a step further, employ literary theory as a means to write from a deep point-of-view. Additionally, depending on the setting, era, and country where your story takes place, you may want to study a specific facet of literary theory prior to writing.
The deeper your understanding of your characters, readership, and their mindset, the better your writing will be.
If you’re writing a book, you might not be thinking much about the theory (especially if it’s nonfiction), but there are two times where it can help to get more intellectual with your process.
Prewriting
Thorough research is one of the prewriting strategies we always recommend here at selfpublishing.com, and it’s during this time that you can examine the literary theory used in other books in your genre.
While not all of your future readers will delve into the theories appearing in their favorite novel, as an author, it’s beneficial to equip yourself with a deeper understanding of popular works. Not only will taking time to notice particular literary theories help you understand a book or given genre more deeply, but it can also help you write a rough draft that is layered with meaning from the very beginning.
Adding nuance
There are three types of authors:
- Authors who plot, their story prior to writing (Plotters). These people usually have very comprehensive book outlines and pre-defined plot points, and use character profile templates.
- Authors who write as Pansters, which means they say “no thanks” to preconceived structure and simply let the story take shape as they write. Some Pansters say they let the characters write the story!
- Authors who are a mix of both (Hybrids). Maybe they start with a general book template but they don’t fully outline and plan.
No matter what type of writer you are, paying attention to literary theory can level up your writing – it will just change at which point in the writing process you incorporate more or less literary theory.
Whether you add layers of theory in your first draft or layer one in on your seventh round of edits, considering writing with a theory in mind adds nuance to your project. Readers love looking for Easter eggs – just think about the TSwift fandom and how crazy they would go over a Taylor Swift book, pouring over the hidden meaning in each line and word for hours and days on end.
Literary theory can help provide a similar type of meaning in your upcoming book or novel.
Meet your readers where they are
While it may feel desirable to show off your new understanding of literature, the different literary theories and writing rules are used to help our readers.
When we learn a big new word or first immerse ourselves in literary theory, it’s important to keep in mind that we do so for our readers and not for our egos.
The more we learn about writing and the various ways to write well, the easier it can be to want to implement everything into our manuscripts. While this may seem like the best idea, it’s crucial to always think reader first.
Learning to look through different lenses at writing, both as a reader and a writer, will help you accept criticism of your own work.
The best writers are always learning. Whether you take a few weeks to study literary theory, write an entire protagonist with archetypal criticism in mind, or collect reader-response criticism for future books, never give up the power of growth. It will take you places you never dreamed of!