ENG3703
ASSIGNMENT 3 2025
UNIQUE NO.
DUE DATE: SEPTEMBER 2025
, Theoretical Approaches to English Language and Literature
Intrinsic and Extrinsic Approaches to the Study of Literature
Introduction
The study of literature has long been shaped by debates concerning the appropriate
objects of critical inquiry. On one side are approaches that treat the literary text as an
autonomous aesthetic object, focusing on its form, language, and internal coherence.
On the other are approaches that regard literature as inextricably linked to broader
social, cultural, and political contexts, seeing texts as products of history and ideology
rather than timeless works of art. This essay critically compares these two broad
approaches: intrinsic criticism, which prioritises the internal features of texts, and
extrinsic criticism, which foregrounds the conditions of production and reception. After
outlining the theoretical assumptions that underpin both traditions, the essay evaluates
the strengths and weaknesses of their respective critical practices. The conclusion
reflects on whether one approach may be more useful for contemporary literary study,
or whether a synthesis of both perspectives is desirable.
Intrinsic Approaches: The Text as an Aesthetic Object
Intrinsic approaches emerged in the early twentieth century as a reaction against
biographical and historical criticism. The central claim is that literature should be studied
on its own terms, rather than as a reflection of an author’s life or a historical moment.
The best-known examples of intrinsic criticism include Russian Formalism and Anglo-
American New Criticism.
Russian Formalists such as Viktor Shklovsky and Roman Jakobson emphasised the
literary devices that distinguish literature from other forms of discourse. For Shklovsky
(1917/1990), “defamiliarization” was the key function of literature, forcing readers to
perceive the world anew by disrupting habitual perception. Similarly, Jakobson (1960)
ASSIGNMENT 3 2025
UNIQUE NO.
DUE DATE: SEPTEMBER 2025
, Theoretical Approaches to English Language and Literature
Intrinsic and Extrinsic Approaches to the Study of Literature
Introduction
The study of literature has long been shaped by debates concerning the appropriate
objects of critical inquiry. On one side are approaches that treat the literary text as an
autonomous aesthetic object, focusing on its form, language, and internal coherence.
On the other are approaches that regard literature as inextricably linked to broader
social, cultural, and political contexts, seeing texts as products of history and ideology
rather than timeless works of art. This essay critically compares these two broad
approaches: intrinsic criticism, which prioritises the internal features of texts, and
extrinsic criticism, which foregrounds the conditions of production and reception. After
outlining the theoretical assumptions that underpin both traditions, the essay evaluates
the strengths and weaknesses of their respective critical practices. The conclusion
reflects on whether one approach may be more useful for contemporary literary study,
or whether a synthesis of both perspectives is desirable.
Intrinsic Approaches: The Text as an Aesthetic Object
Intrinsic approaches emerged in the early twentieth century as a reaction against
biographical and historical criticism. The central claim is that literature should be studied
on its own terms, rather than as a reflection of an author’s life or a historical moment.
The best-known examples of intrinsic criticism include Russian Formalism and Anglo-
American New Criticism.
Russian Formalists such as Viktor Shklovsky and Roman Jakobson emphasised the
literary devices that distinguish literature from other forms of discourse. For Shklovsky
(1917/1990), “defamiliarization” was the key function of literature, forcing readers to
perceive the world anew by disrupting habitual perception. Similarly, Jakobson (1960)
