, ENG3703 Assignment 3 (COMPLETE ANSWERS)
Semester 2 2025 - DUE September 2025; 100%
TRUSTED Complete, trusted solutions and
explanations.
Intrinsic and Extrinsic Approaches to the Study of Literature: A
Critical Comparison
Introduction
The study of literature has long been shaped by two broad orientations:
approaches that focus primarily on the text itself, understood as an
autonomous aesthetic object, and approaches that emphasise the social,
cultural, and political contexts within which literary works are produced
and received. The former, often referred to as ―intrinsic‖ approaches,
direct attention to elements internal to the text—form, structure, style,
imagery, and language—treating literature as a self-contained system of
meaning. The latter, ―extrinsic‖ approaches, situate literature within
wider frameworks of history, ideology, and culture, arguing that texts
cannot be fully understood apart from the conditions that shape their
production and reception.
This essay critically examines these two orientations. First, it explores
the theoretical arguments underpinning intrinsic approaches, including
the rise of formalism, New Criticism, and structuralist perspectives.
Next, it considers extrinsic approaches, such as Marxist, feminist,
postcolonial, and cultural studies-informed criticism, which foreground
literature’s embeddedness in social power structures. It then analyses the
critical practices that emerge from each perspective, assessing their
respective strengths and weaknesses. Finally, the essay reflects on the
extent to which either orientation might be more persuasive or useful for
contemporary literary study.
Semester 2 2025 - DUE September 2025; 100%
TRUSTED Complete, trusted solutions and
explanations.
Intrinsic and Extrinsic Approaches to the Study of Literature: A
Critical Comparison
Introduction
The study of literature has long been shaped by two broad orientations:
approaches that focus primarily on the text itself, understood as an
autonomous aesthetic object, and approaches that emphasise the social,
cultural, and political contexts within which literary works are produced
and received. The former, often referred to as ―intrinsic‖ approaches,
direct attention to elements internal to the text—form, structure, style,
imagery, and language—treating literature as a self-contained system of
meaning. The latter, ―extrinsic‖ approaches, situate literature within
wider frameworks of history, ideology, and culture, arguing that texts
cannot be fully understood apart from the conditions that shape their
production and reception.
This essay critically examines these two orientations. First, it explores
the theoretical arguments underpinning intrinsic approaches, including
the rise of formalism, New Criticism, and structuralist perspectives.
Next, it considers extrinsic approaches, such as Marxist, feminist,
postcolonial, and cultural studies-informed criticism, which foreground
literature’s embeddedness in social power structures. It then analyses the
critical practices that emerge from each perspective, assessing their
respective strengths and weaknesses. Finally, the essay reflects on the
extent to which either orientation might be more persuasive or useful for
contemporary literary study.
