Literary Criticism - Structuralism

Front 1

Langue versus Parole

Back 1

Langue refers to the system of language which governs communication, whereas parole refers to the actual instantiation of a communicative act using a system of language. The langue is relatively homogeneous, though it does change slowly over time, while the parole is heterogeneous and unique to each circumstance.

Front 2

Diachronic versus Synchronic

Back 2

The diachronic study of language concerns itself with the study of the history and progression of a given language. The synchronic study of language concerns itself with the contemporary study of a language as it manifests itself at a given moment in time.

Front 3

Binary opposition

Back 3

Binary oppositions are the natural tensions which present themselves throughout any system of language. According to Saussure, we only know the meaning of hot because of its opposition to cold; we only know death becomes of its opposition to life; and so on. It is the task of the structuralist critic to discern the represented binary oppositions in a given text and to determine which side of the opposition the text favours.

Front 4

Sign (Saussure)

Back 4

A single word constituted by an inseparable union of signifier and signified. The signifier is the speech sound or written marks, while the signified is the real world object which the signifier refers to.

Front 5

Arbitrary nature of language

Back 5

Language is arbitrary in that there is no direct causal relationship between the signifier and the signified. There is no particular connection between the word “tree” and the object to which it refers. Language use is governed by convention.

Front 6

Meaning based on Difference

Back 6

The meaning and possible range of use of any particular sign (e.g., house) is delimited by its difference from other signs in the system (e.g. cabin, shed, mansion; mouse, louse). The meaning of any particular sign becomes more precise the greater the range of comparable signs.

Front 7

Ideal Reader (Culler)

Back 7

The ideal reader is a theoretical construct which embodies the notion of literary competence. Attaining the understanding of the ideal reader is not an attainable goal, but an ideal which every reader strives towards by actively engaging in the process of discerning the deep structures behind literature.

Front 8

Literary Competence (Culler)

Back 8

A set of conventions, rules or questions for reading that govern our understanding of literature. Literary competence is not intuitive; we gain literary competence through the process of reading a wide range of literature.

Front 9

Homo Significans (Culler)

Back 9

The ‘homo significans’ is a word Culler uses to refer to human beings as the “maker[s] and reader[s] of signs.” By actively improving upon our literary competence, we are gaining a deeper understanding of ourselves as the “homo significans.”