Temporal Identity Criticism
How time shapes identity, meaning, and human behavior in literature and media
ENC 1102
A game between chance and intuition that invites reflection on how we make decisions in the professional world.
Alfredo Collado
What is Temporal Identity Criticim?
Temporal Didentity Criticism can anlyze how time, including the past, present, and future, and how it influences a character's identity, decisions, and development.
Temporal Identity Criticism suggests that identity is always evolving. For example, a character haunted by childhood trauma can act differently in adulthood thanks to that past.
It focuses on memory, experiences, goals, fears, and expectations.
Connections to other criticisms
Psychoanalytic criticism: Focuses on unconscious mind as well as traumas. Formalism: Focuses on structure and literary elements. New Historicism: Focuses on the historical context of personal experiences.
TIC expands this by emphasizing timeline (past to present behavior) (Tyson 14)
TIC includes structure of time (flashbacks, nonlinear narratives)
(Tyson 137)
TIC focuses more on personal/internal time vs. societal time
(Greenblatt 9)
Application
Key idea involves who a character "is" depending on when you look at them in theirat a certain point in their life
Literature * The Great Gatsby: Defined by his past with Daisy Movies * Interstellar: Time affects relationship and identity * Inside Out: Memories shape emotional identity
Creator Bio
- Background:
- From a Cuban-American background
- Interested in medicine and understand people deeply.
- Enjoy analyzing characters and real-life experiences through a psychological perspective.
I created this criticism based on my interest in psychology and human behavior. Second, my experience seeing how people change over time inspired me.
GUiding questions:
How do future expectations or fears influence behavior and meaning?
How does a character's past shape their present identity and decisions?
Works cited (mla)
Tyson, Lois. Critical Theory Today: A User-Friendly Guide. 3rd ed., Routledge, 2015. Greenblatt, Stephen. “Introduction.” The Norton Anthology of English Literature, W.W. Norton, 2018. “Literary Theory and Schools of Criticism.” Purdue OWL, Purdue University, owl.purdue.edu.
Alfredo Collado
Alfredo Collado
Created on March 9, 2026
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Transcript
Temporal Identity Criticism
How time shapes identity, meaning, and human behavior in literature and media
ENC 1102
A game between chance and intuition that invites reflection on how we make decisions in the professional world.
Alfredo Collado
What is Temporal Identity Criticim?
Temporal Didentity Criticism can anlyze how time, including the past, present, and future, and how it influences a character's identity, decisions, and development.
Temporal Identity Criticism suggests that identity is always evolving. For example, a character haunted by childhood trauma can act differently in adulthood thanks to that past.
It focuses on memory, experiences, goals, fears, and expectations.
Connections to other criticisms
Psychoanalytic criticism: Focuses on unconscious mind as well as traumas. Formalism: Focuses on structure and literary elements. New Historicism: Focuses on the historical context of personal experiences.
TIC expands this by emphasizing timeline (past to present behavior) (Tyson 14)
TIC includes structure of time (flashbacks, nonlinear narratives) (Tyson 137)
TIC focuses more on personal/internal time vs. societal time (Greenblatt 9)
Application
Key idea involves who a character "is" depending on when you look at them in theirat a certain point in their life
Literature * The Great Gatsby: Defined by his past with Daisy Movies * Interstellar: Time affects relationship and identity * Inside Out: Memories shape emotional identity
Creator Bio
I created this criticism based on my interest in psychology and human behavior. Second, my experience seeing how people change over time inspired me.
GUiding questions:
How do future expectations or fears influence behavior and meaning?
How does a character's past shape their present identity and decisions?
Works cited (mla)
Tyson, Lois. Critical Theory Today: A User-Friendly Guide. 3rd ed., Routledge, 2015. Greenblatt, Stephen. “Introduction.” The Norton Anthology of English Literature, W.W. Norton, 2018. “Literary Theory and Schools of Criticism.” Purdue OWL, Purdue University, owl.purdue.edu.