Abstract: Literary theory serves as the foundational framework for contemporary research in English literature, offering and exploring perspectives to interrogate, interpret, and analyse texts. Theories such as Formalism, Structuralism, Post-Structuralism, Feminism, New Historicism, Post-colonialism, Eco-criticism and Marxism enable contemporary researchers to explore the relationship between literature, culture, identity society. Formalism relates to the structure of a literary text; Feminism emphasises the representation of women in literature; Marxism seeks to find and analyse class struggle and the exploitation of workers at the hands of the capitalists; Post – Structuralism deconstructs traditional ideas of meaning and truth. Post – Colonial studies analyse literary works in the context of colonial dominance and the experiences of the colonized. The study underscores how literary theory fosters interdisciplinary dialogues, enabling scholars to address issues such as power dynamics, gender issues, environmental crises and cultural hybridity through literary analysis. Thenotions associated with literary writings as being divinely inspired have been challenged and deconstructed. A literary text is just like any other text in social sciences and makes sense only in its cultural matrix. This paper argues that literary theory enriches the understanding of a text by pointing to its origin and the inter-play of power equations and the cultural context. Moreover, Literary theories have in a way refined research. Earlier, researchers had to depend entirely on tracing influences, relating the works to the biographies of the authors and wrote impressionistic critiques. With literary theories on the scene, researchers enjoy greater freedom in choosing authors, to select texts that reflect and co-relate with the tenets of a specific theoretical configuration. The research fits into a spectrum and becomes part of a body of research in a particular field. Earlier, research, however brilliant the Critique might have been, remained an isolated piece of criticism.
Keywords: Structuralism, Post-structural Feminism, New Historicism, Deconstruction, Post-Colonial studies.
Title: Literary Theory as the Backbone of the Contemporary Research in English Literature
Author: Abhinav Divyal, Dr. Rakesh Kumar
International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research
ISSN 2348-3156 (Print), ISSN 2348-3164 (online)
Vol. 13, Issue 2, April 2025 - June 2025
Page No: 256-260
Research Publish Journals
Website: www.researchpublish.com
Published Date: 10-May-2025
