, ENG3703 Assignment 3
Semester 2 2025
DUE September 2025
Use this document as a guide and for references to answer your assignment
Essay: Intrinsic and Extrinsic Approaches to the Study of Literature
The two major approaches to literary criticism often distinguished in theoretical
discourse are those that privilege the ―intrinsic‖ features of texts—their language,
form, style, structure, and aesthetic qualities—and those that prioritise ―extrinsic‖
factors—social, cultural, historical, and political contexts. Both traditions have
generated significant schools of thought and corresponding critical practices. This
essay critically examines these two broad orientations, analysing their theoretical
underpinnings, the practices they encourage, and their respective strengths and
weaknesses.
Stage 1: Intrinsic Approaches
1. Theoretical Foundations
Intrinsic approaches gained prominence in the early to mid-twentieth century,
particularly through Russian Formalism and New Criticism. Russian
Formalists such as Viktor Shklovsky emphasised literariness—the distinctive
features that separate literary language from everyday language. Shklovsky’s
notion of ostranenie (defamiliarisation) posited that literature’s primary
function was to renew perception by making the familiar strange.
In the Anglo-American context, New Criticism (exemplified by critics like
Cleanth Brooks, John Crowe Ransom, and W.K. Wimsatt) emphasised close
reading. This approach rejected historical and biographical criticism, instead
advocating for the analysis of imagery, irony, ambiguity, and tension within
the text. Wimsatt and Beardsley’s influential essays ―The Intentional Fallacy‖
and ―The Affective Fallacy‖ argued against grounding interpretation in
authorial intent or reader response, insisting instead on the text as an
autonomous object of meaning.
Semester 2 2025
DUE September 2025
Use this document as a guide and for references to answer your assignment
Essay: Intrinsic and Extrinsic Approaches to the Study of Literature
The two major approaches to literary criticism often distinguished in theoretical
discourse are those that privilege the ―intrinsic‖ features of texts—their language,
form, style, structure, and aesthetic qualities—and those that prioritise ―extrinsic‖
factors—social, cultural, historical, and political contexts. Both traditions have
generated significant schools of thought and corresponding critical practices. This
essay critically examines these two broad orientations, analysing their theoretical
underpinnings, the practices they encourage, and their respective strengths and
weaknesses.
Stage 1: Intrinsic Approaches
1. Theoretical Foundations
Intrinsic approaches gained prominence in the early to mid-twentieth century,
particularly through Russian Formalism and New Criticism. Russian
Formalists such as Viktor Shklovsky emphasised literariness—the distinctive
features that separate literary language from everyday language. Shklovsky’s
notion of ostranenie (defamiliarisation) posited that literature’s primary
function was to renew perception by making the familiar strange.
In the Anglo-American context, New Criticism (exemplified by critics like
Cleanth Brooks, John Crowe Ransom, and W.K. Wimsatt) emphasised close
reading. This approach rejected historical and biographical criticism, instead
advocating for the analysis of imagery, irony, ambiguity, and tension within
the text. Wimsatt and Beardsley’s influential essays ―The Intentional Fallacy‖
and ―The Affective Fallacy‖ argued against grounding interpretation in
authorial intent or reader response, insisting instead on the text as an
autonomous object of meaning.
