Introduction to Ethical Literary Criticism

This title is a thorough introduction to ethical literary criticism, defined as a critical methodology to interpret literature from the perspective of ethics, with the whole set of concepts and theories elucidated and textual analyses provided.

The title is a thorough introduction to ethical literary criticism, a critical methodology designed to interpret literature from the perspective of ethics, including a whole set of concepts, theories, and working mechanisms.Drawing on ideas from both Western ethical criticism and the Chinese tradition of moral criticism, ethical literary criticism contrasts with the former in its occasional lack of a theoretical foundation and applicable methodologies and the latter that tends to make subjective moral judgments. Its most ground-breaking argument is that while natural selection answers how humans are different from animals physically, ethical selection endows human beings with reason and ethical consciousness. The ethical nature and edifying function of literature is therefore asserted, seeking to unfold in the literary text the ethical choices of human beings as a way to complete ethical selection in society within historical context. The arguments and theoretical toolbox inject a unique ethical dimension into literary criticism and help understand anew the ethical and social potency of literature.The theoretical elucidation, exemplary textual analyses, and a supplement of key terminologies and ancillary materials make this book an essential guide for students and general readers interested in ethical literary criticism and scholars of literary criticism, ethical criticism, and literary theory.

Autorentext

Nie Zhenzhao, MAE, is currently Professor and Yunshan Chair on World Literature and Languages at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, China. Previously he was a Distinguished Professor of Literature and founding director of the Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies of World Literature at Zhejiang University, where he transferred to emeritus status in 2022. He is an elected foreign member of the Academia Europaea.

Inhalt

1. Introduction Part 1: Ethical Literary Criticism: Basic Theory 2. What is Ethical Literary Criticism 3. The Sphinx Factor and Ethical Selection 4. The Origin of Literature: Issues and Misreading 5. Ethical Literary Criticism: A Moral Tradition 6. Ethical Literary Criticism and Moral Criticism 7. Re-Reading Classical Literature 8. Western Ethical Criticism 9. Ethical Literary Criticism in China Part 2: Ethical Literary Criticism: Case Studies 10. Ethical Taboo and the Tragedy of Oedipus 11. Ethical Concerns in Thomas Hardy's Works 12. The Law of the Jungle in *The Old Man and the Sea 13. Incest and Revenge in Mourning Becomes Electra ***14. The Transformation of Ethics in China's May Fourth Poetry