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Coming into this class, I had some semblance of different literary approaches with limited information about how to use them or what they encompassed. I have since learned about the scholars from which the theories spawned and their intended use. Knowing more about the critical approaches will assist me in creating meaningful analyses and looking at texts from multiple angles. I plan to use my newfound understanding to benefit my students and the text I provide them in my future classroom. My past teachers taught me critical approaches and theories without using terminology or getting into the more nuanced information. This semester has provided me with a set of tools for not only becoming a better reader but has also helped me with my writing. After learning all theories, one worry is I will become too focused on which theory I am using in my analysis, which will detract from my overall analysis. Just in the time of this course, I have lost some of my ability to read and analyze freely, but I guess this means criticism has succeeded in becoming more scientific and systematized.

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What I have learned about theory from this semester is that there are several different theories.  Theory is analyzing a text through a lens.  Theory is used to see the elements of a story. Women characters through Feminism Theory is an example.  Theory is valuable because it broadens your perspective of how a text is approached.  Theory allows for a deeper understanding of a text.  Although theory is limiting because particular texts can be approached through a few theories.

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When starting this class I did not have knowledge of all of the critical theories. Throughout this semester I have come to understand how close reading and applying a critical theory lens can help me better understand the text I am reading and the deeper meaning of the text. Theory is an act of close reading that allows a reader to evaluate the message of a text. Using various critical theory lenses to analyze a text helps the reader to understand the author’s aim and can include examinations of social, political, and ethical issues, it can also allow the reader to understand the history of a text, and the cultural impact of a text just to list a few. I find it very valuable as it has changed my perspective of books and texts I have read in the past as well as changed the way I read everyday text that I come upon, allowing me to better understand text on a deeper level.

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to me, the theory is how we look at texts and everyday experiences through a critical lens. I think theory allows us to look at media through different lenses and find several meanings. before this class, I had some experience with theory but was unaware of the names and smaller details. through this class, I have learned how to more effectively use theory to analyze texts and media as well as some real-world applications. I think we often view these criticisms as purely for written text however this class has shown me it has several real-world applications and can be used in all sorts of different situations.

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I've learned that literary theory can help scholars and readers alike gain new/deeper understandings of texts, which is why they are valuable. For example, I might never have considered the conflicting messages of one of my favorite stories, "A Rose for Emily", had I not learned about poststructualism. The theories and critical perspectives we studied can be limiting, though, when it comes to viewing texts in terms of their simplest meanings. Formalism is the only theory we learned about that takes the text for what is in essence. I'm not saying that the other, more recent theories we learned about are invalid, but I do think they take some of the beauty of literature away when they call for the investigation of every little detail.

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I've learned a lot about theory this semester. Before I didn't really know much about it at all.
I've learned that these theories are ways that people can approach a text to inform their interpretations of the meaning behind that text. Different periods of thinkers brought on different kinds of theories.

I think it is very valuable as it helps define lenses that you can analyze a text from instead of being overwhelmed with all of the different approaches you can take.

It can be limiting sometimes when you stick to only one theory and that theory advises against reading into other aspects of the text like New Criticism and a little bit structuralism.

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Walking into this class, I had a fundamental understanding of theory. We apply theories based on socially constructed ideas to texts, media, etc. Theories allow us to question or justify the ideas, thoughts, or writings of others. It is valuable to express our own ideas and see the bigger picture. Some theories are limited based on what you are looking at. An example is New Criticism, which is close reading to find the self-contained meaning. Applying theories has expanded my thinking and different methods I can use for my analyses.

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This semester, I've gotten much more comfortable in using the older, more foundational critical theories like New Criticism, Structuralism, Post Structuralism, and Deconstructionism. I've also gotten a deeper understanding of the ones I was already familiar with, like Marxism, Feminism, and New Historicism by seeing what laid the foundation for these criticisms in terms of texts and ideas. I've learned that by having the knowledge on the foundational aspects of these criticisms has helped me use these lenses more effectively. To me, theory is how we find meaning in a text- a critical lens gives us a more narrowed-down avenue to traverse when finding meaning in a text and allows one to focus on a specific kind of meaning. It's valuable in maintaining a train of thought- to combine all of the critical theories to analyze one text would seem jumbled and disorganized no matter how one writes it. However, that isn't to say that different lenses can's be used simultaneously, but rather that a lens helps us maintain one train of thought.

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theories are methods of analyzing text/the author/the context in which the text was written in order to understand it on a deeper level. It can be limiting when only looking at a text through a specific theoretical lens when it could be looked at through several, but it can also help us get a better grasp of specific aspects of texts, which if someone is a writer, can help them to better build their work or understand the work of others.

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Throughout the semester, I have learned that literary theory is much more complex than I expected. I was familiar with the bigger theories such as feminist criticism, CRT, and New Historicism. Those all seemed pretty easy for me to apply and I feel like I've used them a lot in the past without being aware of it. But some of the theories we discussed early on like structuralism and poststructuralism were completely new to me and a little bit more difficult for me to grasp.
To define it broadly, I've come to see theory as a way to examine not only texts but the world around us. I think it helps us to be more critical thinkers and to notice things that we maybe wouldn't have before. I do think that theory could be limiting in that it could sometimes cause overthinking. For example, not everything is written with a certain lens in mind, and trying to apply a specific lens to everything can be too much. I think it's great to be able to think more critically about the texts that we consume but sometimes we can take a step back and just enjoy them (and be critical of them if we choose, but not because we feel like we have to).

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Mainly, I've learned to define the theories and better structure arguments in terms of the theoretical traditions. Psychoanalytic theory especially was something I'd stumbled into utilizing previously, but with a more thorough understanding of the techniques, I'd be able to better employ it now. Marxist criticism, ecological criticism, reader response, formalist, new historicism; my understanding of all of these has been expanded and I feel more capable of employing these in my critiques going forward (Except RRC; that's still garbage!).

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Mainly, I've learned to define the theories and better structure arguments in terms of the theoretical traditions. Psychoanalytic theory especially was something I'd stumbled into utilizing previously, but with a more thorough understanding of the techniques, I'd be able to better employ it now. Marxist criticism, ecological criticism, reader response, formalist, new historicism; my understanding of all of these has been expanded and I feel more capable of employing these in my critiques going forward (Except RRC; that's still garbage!).

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Brandon Schmitz

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Something I have learned about theory this semester is how we can apply theories to almost any reading, and how theories can be used together. I now find myself applying multiple theories to texts that I would not have ever thought of before. I think using theory is valuable because it always us insight on different experiences and lives we would of never before considered. Applying theories can show us what is being said about something or someone that we may of missed before.

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Literary theory is how we look at a text. At the beginning of the year, I did not know any theories and everything we have learn is new to me. We use theory to help us analyze a text and look for specific things. It is valuable because analyzing a text is important as it allows us to look closer at it and determine what the meaning is, or what we should take away from it. It can be limiting as when using a theory with a text you are looking for specific things. For example, if you are using a feminist lens then you are looking for things that relate to that. Because you are looking for specific things you may miss others. So theory is limiting as it can cause you to be blind to other important parts of a text because they don't relate to your theory.

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Literary theories are essentially frameworks/lenses that critics can use when analyzing a text. They can help focus literary analysis to a specific topic or subject (such as class, gender, text creation, societal structure, etc). This allows critics to take a deeper dive into the text and discover things they may not have otherwise discovered. For example, a text may not obviously discuss the environment, but environmental criticism can reveal interpretations of the text that make valuable commentary about the environment. Some theories could be limiting, such as New Criticism not taking outside context into consideration. However, modern critics have learned to adapt and combine theories in whichever ways best serve their purpose of text analysis.

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Hannah Simon-
I think that theories and criticism have opened my eyes to becoming a better reader and writer. I have learned new ways to dive deeper into my analysis and how to close read to find deeper meanings like never before. I have reread a ton of old books using theories to find something I missed, I am doing it in my capstone currently and uncovered a deeper meaning I never saw. I don’t think it’s limiting unless were focused on just one theory instead of incorporating more to gain an even larger picture. Overall I have learned a lot about how important theories and critical lenses are and plan to keep using them!