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Home / Syllabus / Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) / TY BA / Semester 6 / English / Introduction to Literary Criticism

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) Introduction to Literary Criticism Syllabus - Mumbai University 2026

Syllabus for Introduction to Literary Criticism

Minor · English · Semester 6 · TY BA · 4 credits · 100 marks · 60 hours

The University sets this paper under Minor only, so your college may not run it.

Module 1: Basic Concepts

  • 1 Introducing Criticism: Definition and Features
  • 2 Aesthetics
  • 3 Literary Taste
  • 4 Base-Super Structure
  • 5 Defamiliarisation
  • 6 Objective Correlative

Module 2: Critical Perspectives

  • 1 Ion - Plato
  • 2 Poetics - Aristotle (Chapter 6)
  • 3 Rambler 4 - Samuel Johnson
  • 4 The Mirror and the Lamp (Chapter I) - M.H Abrams

Module 3: Theoretical Approaches

  • 1 Formalist (form, language, structure)
  • 2 Psychological (literature and the unconscious)
  • 3 Marxist (class, ideology, power)
  • 4 Feminist (gender, voice, representation)

Module 4: Illustrative Literary Criticism

  • 1 Rhetorical Devices:
  • Metaphor
  • Irony
  • Allusion
  • Symbolism
  • 2 Narrative Techniques:
  • Storytelling
  • Voice
  • Point of View
  • Direct address to the audience
  • This module shall be taught using an outcome-based, learner-centred pedagogical approach that emphasises critical thinking, close textual analysis, and contextual interpretation, in alignment with the objectives of NEP 2020. Instructors are encouraged to engage students in active reading practices that move beyond memorisation of critical terms to the practical application of rhetorical devices, discourse analysis, and narrative techniques in literary texts. Teaching should focus on how language functions persuasively, how discourse reflects and shapes social realities, and how narrative form influences meaning and reader response.

Reference Books

  • 1 Abrams, M. H., and Geoffrey Galt Harpham. A Glossary of Literary Terms. 11th ed., Cengage Learning, 2015.
  • 2 Barry, Peter. Beginning Theory: An Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory. 4th ed., Manchester University Press, 2017.
  • 3 Bennett, Andrew, and Nicholas Royle. An Introduction to Literature, Criticism and Theory. 5th ed., Routledge, 2016.
  • 4 Nagarajan, M. S. English Literary Criticism and Theory: An Introductory History. Orient BlackSwan, 2006.
  • 5 The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism. Edited by Vincent B. Leitch et al., 3rd ed., W. W. Norton & Company, 2018. 11 Recommender Further Reading:
  • 1 Culler, Jonathan. Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction. 2nd ed., Oxford University Press, 2011.
  • 2 Daiches, David. Critical Approaches to Literature. 2nd ed., Longman, 1984.
  • 3 Frye, Northrop. Anatomy of Criticism: Four Essays. Princeton University Press, 1957.
  • 4 Habib, M. A. R. A History of Literary Criticism: From Plato to the Present. Blackwell Publishing, 2005.
  • 5 Jefferson, Ann, and David Robey, editors. Modern Literary Theory: A Comparative Introduction. 2nd ed., Batsford Academic, 1986.
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