3. Theory of Approaches
According to Marry Rohrberger and Samuel H. Woods, Jr. 6 -15 there are five approaches that are used in analyzing a literary work. They
are the formalist approach, the sociocultural – historical approach, the mythopoeic approach, and the psychological approach. The description of
each approach will be stated as follows; a.
The Formalist Approach This approach tries to examine the literary work about the
reference to the fact of the author’s life without reference to the genre of the work or its place in the development of the genre or in
literary history, or without reference to its social milieu. The formalist approach concerns demonstrating the harmonious
involvement of all the parts to the whole and with the pointing out how meaning derived from structure and how matters of technique
determine structure 6 – 7. b.
The Biographical Approach This approach takes us to the necessity for an appreciation of
the ideas and the personality of the author to an understanding of the literary object. The proponents of the biographical approach
insist that a work of art is a reflection of a personality that is the aesthetic experience the reader shares the author’s consciousness.
And that at least part of the reader’s response is to the author personality. The readers try to learn as much as they can about
their life and development of the author and to apply this knowledge in their attempt to understand his writing 8.
c. The Sociocultural – Historical Approach
The sociocultural – historical approach leads the readers to analyze a novel in reference to the civilization that produces the
novel. Civilization is defined as the attitudes and actions of a specific group of people. Meanwhile, it is necessary to investigate
the social milieu, the cultural and the historical background in which a novel is created 9
d. The Mythopoeic Approach
Using the mythopoeic approach, the readers analyze the novel by trying to discover certain universally recurrent patterns or
a human thought. The universally recurrent patterns are those that found first expression in ancient myth or folk rites and are also
basic to human thought that they have meaning for all man 11. e.
The Psychological Approach This approach brings us to analyze a novel from point of
view of human beings. Freud’s exploration of unconscious area of the human mind led him to the conclusion that it was the area of
the wellspring of man’s rich imagination, his capacity for creation, and the complexity of his thought and behaviour, and that the
contents of this region of mind found expression in symbolic words, thoughts, and actions. Through the analysis of the structure
and content of the dreams, he was led to believe that there exists a set of symbols which are common to all men and which can be
interpreted in light of the individual’s experience 13.
B. Theory of Psychology
Kategori