The Evolution of the Theories on the Sociological Criticism of Literature

The sociological criticism of literature has a short history. This approach, in essence, studies the form and the content of the literary work as related to those of the society on the basis of which the work takes form; nevertheless, what is of specific importance is the reflection of an image of the society in the imaginative, artistic work as well as the various forms of this reflection. Social criticism of literature as a methodic approach, appeared by the beginning of 19th century, in the works of Madam de Stael and Hippolyte Taine who tried to use literature as a representation of social life. In the 20th century, Lukacs and Goldmann, on the basis of their historical and philosophical studies, did their best to manifest the interaction between social and literary structures.This article, apart from focusing on the above said ideas, points out the issues such as sociology of literary contents, sociology of literary genres, sociology of literary production, distribution and consumption.