Discuss some of the importance of studying literary theory and history

i. Study of literary history enables us to understand and appreciate the major literary movements that have influenced literature in history. For instance, we are able to understand and appreciate the contribution of Romanticism and Realism in the development of literature of the 18th century.

ii. Secondly, it helps us to understand the dominant ideology of a certain historical period. We are already aware of the intimate relationship between history and literature. For example, a study of Honore De Balzac's Old Goriot enables us to understand the effects of rapid urbanization in Europe on the family structure.

iii. The study of theory also equips us with tools for criticizing literary texts. That is to say that after reading a text we can decide to use a specific theory to analyze it.

iv. Acquaintance with literary theory also gives us deeper insight into our own creativity. When we read and analyze works written by others we gain knowledge about their structure, language and the history they refer to.

v. The study of theory and history helps us to build our own cognitive levels.
That is to say that we acquire a deeper understanding of literature as a subject. It is only through such understanding that we can appreciate and love our discipline.

vi. Finally, a study of theory and history helps us to comment professionally on the
appropriateness of critical methods used by other scholars when they comment about literary
texts. In other words, we don't merely accept critics 'assessment of a text without pausing to question the critical approach used in arriving at conclusions.

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NatalieR answered the question on June 13, 2022 at 11:47