How did anthropology, linguistics, philosophy, and psychoanalysis shape 20th-century literary criticism?

In the 20th century, literary criticism underwent a profound transformation by adopting methods from the social sciences, shifting from intuitive connoisseurship to systematic, often empirical, analysis. This evolution was driven by the integration of four key disciplines:1

• Anthropology: Scholars like Sir James George Frazer and Claude Lévi-Strauss introduced structuralist and mythological frameworks. This allowed critics to identify universal archetypes across cultures and view literature as a reflection of broader social and cultural practices.12
• Linguistics: The structuralist movement, rooted in the work of Ferdinand de Saussure, encouraged critics to analyze texts as organized systems of signs rather than isolated works of art. This approach explored how language and discourse constitute both the writer and the reader.2
• Philosophy: Movements such as phenomenology, existentialism, and deconstruction challenged traditional interpretations. Thinkers like Michel Foucault and Jacques Derrida shifted focus toward the relationship between power, knowledge, and textuality.34
• Psychoanalysis: Models proposed by Sigmund Freud and C.G. Jung enabled critics to interpret literary works as manifestations of unconscious desires or psychological conflicts, treating texts similarly to how dreams are analyzed.15

Collectively, these influences fostered a belief that literature’s governing principles could be located outside the text itself, leading to a more technical, albeit sometimes jargon-heavy, critical landscape.13