Structuralism as a Literary Theory: An Overview

Abstract

The 20th century is characterized by the proliferation of ideas. The ideas so developed and harnessed permeated all fields of human endeavor from epistemology, metaphysics and logic. Every field has registered one form of breakthrough or another. In literature, many literary theories are developed and become the gateway to textual interpretation and analysis. One of such is the Theory of Structuralism. It is a plethora of theories with different analytical tools. Most of these subscribe to binary opposition as the ideal was of textual interpretation. Structuralism attempts a scientific way of arriving at the text unmindful of details. The theory announces the ‘death of the author’ while equally dismissing the reader as unimportant. This paper attempts an insight into the theory of structuralism with the aim of discussing it in simple terms.

Key words: Literary Theory, Structuralism, Text, Reader, Meaning