The Correct Answer and Explanation is:
Here are the correct answers to the provided questions:
- Question 25: A. “Feminist criticism is about the power of female authors as producers of literary meaning.”
- Question 26: B. “Implicit and explicit expression of same-sex desire”
- Question 28: A. True
- Question 29: A. “Birth of the Reader”
- Question 30: A. True
These questions explore fundamental concepts in 20th century literary theory, focusing on how meaning is constructed and analyzed.
Feminist criticism (Question 25) is a diverse field, but a specific and influential conceptualization within it is the focus on female authors as powerful producers of literary meaning. This approach, often associated with gynocriticism, seeks to establish and analyze a distinct female literary tradition, moving beyond simply critiquing the portrayal of women in texts written by men. Similarly, when examining homosexuality in literature (Question 26), the principal consideration is the implicit and explicit expression of same sex desire. While factors like gender roles or cross dressing are relevant, the core of such a critical analysis lies in identifying and interpreting how desire between people of the same sex is represented within the text.
The theories of structuralism and formalism are correctly defined in questions 28 and 30. The statement that human actions should be understood through their underlying, impersonal structures is a foundational principle of structuralism, making the assertion true. This theory analyzes the systems that govern language and culture. Likewise, the statement in question 30 provides an accurate definition of formalism or New Criticism. This approach concentrates exclusively on the formal elements of a literary work, such as its language and structure, to understand how meaning is created internally, deliberately setting aside external context like history or the author’s biography.
Finally, question 29 addresses a key post structuralist idea from Roland Barthes. In his essay “The Death of the Author,” Barthes argues that to free a text from the limitation of a single, author intended meaning, the critical focus must shift. Once the author is displaced as the ultimate authority, the text opens up to a multitude of interpretations. This liberation culminates in what Barthes famously called the “birth of the reader,” making the reader the active agent where the text’s multiple meanings are realized.
