Deconstructionism or sometimes just deconstruction is a 20th century school in philosophy initiated by jacques derrida in the 1960s. Structuralism in literary theory routledge encyclopedia. We live in a logo centric world we want to believe that everything is grounded. Deconstructions reception was coloured by its intellectual predecessors, most notably structuralism and new criticism. Based on a dictionary of modern critical terms, edited by roger fowler. Structuralism is a term embracing a family of theories that between them address all phenomena of the human world notably language, literature, cookery, kinship relations, dress, human selfperception. Although derrida at times expressed regret concerning the fate of the word deconstruction, its popularity indicates the wideranging influence of his thought, in. Jun 18, 2012 though the term deconstruction has become very popular in literary criticism and theory, its precise meaning is extremely problematic. Jacques derrida stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. Nov 19, 2007 deconstruction is a strategy of critical questioning directed towards exposing unquestionable metaphysical assumptions and internal contradictions in philosophical and literary language. An introduction to literary criticism and theory before we begin our examination and study of literary theory, it is important that we define exactly what literary theory is and is not, identify some of the main characteristics of such, as well as identify some of the key differences between traditional literary. The paper argues and concludes that most classical and ancient works of literature like, hamlet, othello, the merchant of. A philosophical movement and theory of literary criticism that questions traditional assumptions about certainty, identity, and truth.
If any theory takes blood, sweat, and tears to master, its deconstruction. Undecided ability no single reader or critic can decide the meaning of a text 12. Jacques derridas theory of deconstruction teaching the. Jacques derrida 19302004 was the founder of deconstruction, a way of criticizing not only both literary and philosophical texts but also political institutions. Notes 5 pdf notes on extract from elementary structures notes 6 pdf notes on structure, sign and play. In structuralism one sees commentaries on the structure from various seminal theorists trying to unveil what lies in, behind and around the structure, but derrida deconstructs the fundamental assumption that these theorists make to unravel the unknown and his methodology would later become a significant critical theory called deconstruction, that has influenced disciplines all around. This study investigates deconstruction as a theory. Bringing together original entries written by such celebrated theorists as terry eagleton and malcolm bradbury. Of grammatology, writing and difference, and speech and phenomena and other writings on theory of signs. Deconstruction can perhaps best be described as a theory of reading which aims to undermine the logic of opposition within texts. It is in the first instance a philosophical theory and a theory directed towards the rereading of philosophical writings. What distinguishes structuralism from poststructuralism is not always easy to identify, but as a general rule poststructuralists see their theories as based on structuralisms. Engl 795 literary criticism gregory eiselein spring 2006.
The concept was first outlined by derrida in of grammatology where he explored the interplay between language and the construction of meaning. Deconstructionist theories synonyms, deconstructionist theories pronunciation, deconstructionist theories translation, english dictionary definition of. Sep 06, 2008 derrida begins to define deconstruction. Heavily influenced by marx and saussere, derrida wished to use deconstruction to battle inequality. Deconstruction often involves a way of reading that concerns itself with decenteringwith unmasking the problematic nature of all centers. Derridas name is inextricably linked with the term. Deconstruction, a theory about language and literature, was.
French critic jacques derrida is also recognized as french philosopher who developed three works which namely. Classic introductions to literary theory, therefore, such as culler 2011 and eagleton 2008, provide essential groundwork for understanding poststructuralism. Deconstructionism, as a literary theory, is using what is said to understand the unsaid. Deconstruction is a method of literary analysis that challenges our comfortable assumptions. Jacques derrida deconstruction post structuralism es. The deconstruction which is the critical thought method of derrida is established on graphemics and.
Through literary criticism, derrida would fight his battle. Deconstruction is a term in contemporary philosophy, literary criticism, and the social sciences, denoting a process by which the texts and languages of western philosophy in particular appear to shift and complicate in meaning when read in light of the assumptions and absences they reveal within themselves. Russian formalism, structuralism, marxism, feminism, jungian, freudian, reception theory. The deconstruction theory of derrida and heidegger a study chung chinyi in this paper i will discuss heideggers destruction and derridas critique of it in his deconstruction.
The founder of deconstruction is jacques derrida explained as a strategy rules for reading, interpretation. How poststructuralist literary theory applies to scientific. Deconstruction is an approach to understanding the relationship between text and meaning. Like structuralism, poststructuralism identifies a way of theorizing that belongs equally to literary theory the systematic study of literary texts, philosophy especially the study of how thought works, insofar as thinking is carried out in language, and critical theory emancipatory social science via discourse analysis and ideology. From this early work, and later works in which he has attempted to explain deconstruction to others, most notably the. It seeks to find the differences, contradictions, paradoxes, ambiguity and disintegration in short, loopholes in the text. Deconstruction definition is a philosophical or critical method which asserts that meanings, metaphysical constructs, and hierarchical oppositions as between key terms in a philosophical or literary work are always rendered unstable by their dependence on ultimately arbitrary signifiers. Deconstruction definition, a philosophical and critical movement, starting in the 1960s and especially applied to the study of literature, that questions all traditional assumptions about the ability of language to represent reality and emphasizes that a text has no stable reference or identification because words essentially only refer to other words and therefore a reader must approach a.
I will read destruction in various heidegger texts and discuss derridas intervention through his critique of destruction in deconstruction. Though the term has become very popular in literary criticism and theory, its precise meaning is extremely problematic. Postmodern theology and the theory of deconstruction. Deconstruction is an apparent revolution against all the literary theories before itself which vouch for a unity in the literary texts. A readers guide to contemporary literary theory 5th edition. But both in linguistic and literary studies the existence of a complete and closed system has been largely anticipated, presupposed rather than confirmed, where no more than fragments of the supposed system could ever really be collected. Deconstruction is concerned primary with the overturning of dominating biases in language. Deconstruction signifies a project of critical thought whose task is to locate. The routledge dictionary of literary terms the routledge dictionary of literary termsis a twentyfirst century update of roger fowlers seminal dictionary of modern critical terms. In deconstruction, this is the opposite of the logo centric view. It has had an enormous influence in psychology, literary theory, cultural studies, linguistics, feminism, sociology and anthropology. Deconstructions view of language derrida language is not the reliable tool of communication 3. Often dismissed as white devil sophistry, this way of reading, pioneered by hottie jacques derrida, is one of the most rigorouser, hardcoreand useful around.
Based out of france, derrida was a philosopher in the 1950s, well into the 1980s. Post structuralism in literature an introduction es. By ingrid melody english letters, universitas ma chung 2. May 27, 2016 key concept deconstruction by its very nature defies institutionalization in an authoritative definition. Deconstructive criticism posits an undecidability of meaning for all texts. He was also an educator, but the education systems left him with bouts of depression that would last the rest of his life. As ward says, deconstruction is a literary method of reading which effectively turns texts against themselves. Jacques derridas philosophy is a complex literary critical method called deconstruction. Deconstruction literature article about deconstruction. On the basis of whatever i have studied, deconstruction as a literary theory can be defined in the following words. Literary theory internet encyclopedia of philosophy. Along with these two overviews, belsey 2002, which focuses particularly on poststructuralism, completes a trio of popular and.
Deconstruction literature definition of deconstruction. Jacques derrida 19302004 came to prominence in the late 1960s and early 1970s with the publication of of grammatology 1967, writing and difference 1967 and margins of philosophy 1972. A philosophical movement and theory of literary criticism that questions traditional assumptions about certainty, identity. It is a theory of literary criticism that questions traditional assumptions about certainty, identity, and truth. Deconstruction literary and critical theory oxford. Key theories of jacques derrida by nasrullah mambrol on may 14, 2017 11. Deconstruction by its very nature defies institutionalization in an authoritative definition. Its rhetoric subverts or undermines its ostensible.
From this early work, and later works in which he has attempted to explain deconstruction to others, most notably the letter to a japanese friend, it is. A readers guide to contemporary literary theory raman selden peter widdowson peter brooker fifth edition a readers guide to contemporary literary theoryis a classic introduction to the everevolving field of modern literary theory, now expanded and updated in its fifth edition. Deconstruction deconstruction is a strategy of critical questioning directed towards exposing unquestionable metaphysical assumptions and internal contradictions in philosophical and literary language. Deconstruction, poststructuralism, phenomenology, literary theory, literary criticism. Any attempt to define deconstruction must soon run up against. The purpose of deconstruction is to show that the usage of language in a.
In the united states, the works of richard rorty 19312007 and judith butler are often associated with poststructuralism. Deconstruction deconstruction deconstruction in literary studies. It was originated by the philosopher jacques derrida 19302004, who conducted readings of texts looking for things that run counter to their intended meaning or structural unity. Deconstruction, as a form of analysis, calls our attention to the failure of philosophy to achieve or describe presence the selfidentity of the signified, the transcendental signi fied. English literature, literary theory, linguistics, film theory, media theory. Post structuralism in literature poststructuralism, a concept rarely defined and widely discussed, has complicated and problematized our understanding of the world that it has become impossible to define it. Pdf on jan 1, 2008, noel gough and others published.
Readings introduction to literary theory literature. Deconstruction basically aims at proving that a literary text is not certainly. Structuralism in literary theory routledge encyclopedia of. Deconstruction definition of deconstruction by merriam. Deconstruction definition of deconstruction by merriamwebster. Hillis miller, and barbara johnson, among other scholars. Deconstruction initially translates a term coined by the french philosopher and archdeconstructionist jacques derrida. Although the ideas presented by literary deconstruction were not entirely new, they arose at a time and in a way that facilitated their acceptance and application. In its simplest form it can be regarded as a criticism of platonism and the idea.
Poststructuralism, movement in literary criticism and philosophy begun in france in the late 1960s. This lesson will define deconstructionism, explain its background, and provide examples of. Deconstruction, form of philosophical and literary analysis, derived mainly from work begun in the 1960s by the french philosopher jacques derrida, that questions the fundamental conceptual distinctions, or oppositions, in western philosophy through a close examination of the language and logic. An introduction to derrida, deconstruction and post structuralism. Deconstruction can perhaps best be described as a theory of reading which aims. Each signified in this context an operation bearing on the. Readings introduction to literary theory literature mit. Its impact on literature, mediated in north america largely through the influences of theorists at yale university, is based. Renaissance drama and contemporary literary theory andy mousley. Poststructuralism is the literary and philosophical work that both builds upon and rejects ideas within the intellectual project that preceded it. It attempts to examine its significance in literary analysis and criticism. The text has intertwined and contradictory discourses, gaps, and incoherencies, since language itself is unstable and arbitrary. Home deconstruction key theories of jacques derrida.
Deconstruction as a method of film criticism the researcher international journal of management humanities and social sciences julydecember 2017, 22 24 similar that they crate image and the fact is that film is a text itself. Deconstruction is a literary criticism movement originated by french critic jacques derrida in 1960s. Poststructuralism literary and critical theory oxford. Key theories of jacques derrida literary theory and. His first line of reasoning the need of deconstruction. Deconstruction literature synonyms, deconstruction literature pronunciation, deconstruction literature translation, english dictionary definition of deconstruction literature. Deconstructionism by movement school the basics of. Rather than its current common usage of analyzing or criticizing something intensively, deconstruction indicates arriving at a new thought or perspective by taking apart an already existing one or taking apart an already existing one thanks to framing it. Deconstruction theory literary theory and criticism. This understanding differs from concrete reality and from abstract ideas, instead as third order. A readers guide to contemporary literary theory raman selden peter widdowson peter brooker fifth edition a readers guide to contemporary literary theoryis a classic introduction to the everevolving field of modern literary theory, now expanded and. Mar 22, 2016 deconstruction is a poststructuralist theory, based largely but not exclusively on the writings of derrida.
In the 1970s the term was applied to work by derrida. Deconstruction is a poststructuralist theory, based largely but not exclusively on the writings of derrida. Key theories of jacques derrida literary theory and criticism. Deconstruction in practice in deconstruction the signified and the signifier are unstable, and can take on multiple meanings. The routledge dictionary of literary terms edited by peter childs and roger fowler. Deconstructions theory of language based on the belief that language is much more slippery and ambiguous. Beginning in france in the 1950s, the structuralist movement in anthropology analyzed various cultural phenomena as general systems of signs and attempted to develop metalanguages of terms and. Cinematography, after all, is also a form of writing brunette.
Often dismissed as white devil sophistry, this way of reading, pioneered by hottie jacques derrida, is one of the most rigorouser, hardcoreand useful around thats right. Deconstruction is one controversial literary theory amongst many. Deconstruction, form of philosophical and literary analysis, derived mainly from work begun in the 1960s by the french philosopher jacques derrida, that questions the fundamental conceptual distinctions, or oppositions, in western philosophy through a close examination of the language and logic of philosophical and literary texts. May 14, 2017 home deconstruction key theories of jacques derrida. The starting point for a poststructural theoretical vision is language and signification. Deconstruction, post structuralism, phenomenology, literary theory, literary criticism. In fact, derrida himself in the famous letter to a japanese friend 1983 pointed out that the term was a product of his wish, to translate and adapt to my own ends the heidggerian word destruktion or abbau. In these contexts, deconstruction can be understood as a theory and method of reading and analytical inquiry, which aims to undermine the logic of opposition within texts.
A short summary of jacques derrida and deconstruction. Jacques derrida initiates such deconstructive strategies in literary criticism in one of his books. The deconstruction theory of derrida and heidegger a study. It was originated by the philosopher jacques derrida 19302004, who defined the term variously throughout his career.