Practice question · Multiple choice
Literary theory and literary criticism are both concerned with interpretation, but they have distinct criteria for being wrong. What follows from this distinction when a scholar's claim is challenged?
Hints
- What kind of evidence is each discipline answerable to when making a claim?
- Does a general claim about how literature functions depend on only one specific book?
Show the answer
D. A theoretical claim can be undermined by an anomaly in any literary tradition
Why
Confusing the two confuses their scopes: criticism answers strictly to a specific text, whereas theory makes general claims answerable to counter-examples anywhere. Textual errors refute editorial choices, not theoretical models.
Practise Five Disciplines and Their Questions
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