Literary Theory Terms

verb to form a theory or speculate about something

• Scientists theorize about the origins of the universe based on available evidence.
• Some people like to theorize about what might happen in the future.
• I heard some crazy theories people were theorizing about at the party last night.
• She likes to theorize about the meaning behind people's actions.

noun the process of making something more academic or scholarly in nature

• The academicization of the field has led to increased research and publication output.
• The academicization of this subject has made it more complex than it needs to be.
• Stop with all the academicization, let's just keep it simple.
• The academicization of her speech made it difficult for the average person to understand.

noun a term used in literary criticism to describe the practice of judging a work based on the emotional responses it evokes in the reader or viewer rather than its artistic merits

• The literary critic warned against committing the affective fallacy when interpreting the poem.
• Don't let your emotions cloud your judgment and fall into the affective fallacy trap.
• Don't get all caught up in your feelings and make the affective fallacy mistake.
• Just because a story makes you feel a certain way doesn't mean it's immune to the affective fallacy.