Journal of Literary Criticism and Rhetoric

Journal of Literary Criticism and Rhetoric

Conceptual and Structural Deficiencies in Literary Criticism of Afghanistan

Document Type : scientific-research

Authors
Noor Mohammad Noornia 1
ahmad razi 2
Alireza Nikouei 3
1 Ph.D. Graduated of Persian Language and Literature Department, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Guilan University, Rasht, Iran.
2 Professor of Persian Language and Literature Department, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Guilan University, Rasht, Iran.
3 Associate Professor of Persian Language and Literature Department, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Guilan University, Rasht, Iran.
10.22059/jlcr.2026.409553.2101
Abstract
Literary criticism in Afghanistan two last decades, concurrent with the expansion of literary and cultural activities, has witnessed a remarkable growth and proliferation of sources, academic theses and journalistic criticism; nevertheless, this quantitative expansion has failed to lead to the formation of a coherent, sustained and methodologically grounded critical discourse and has instead resulted largely in the accumulation of fragmented texts. The present article aims to identify and systematically analyze the conceptual and structural deficiencies of literary criticism in Afghanistan by examining the most significant domains in which theoretical weakness, methodological inadequacy and linguistic divergence are clearly manifested and traceable. The research adopts a descriptive–analytical method with a diagnostic approach grounded in conceptual and structural analysis of critical texts (Criticism of poetry and story/novel). The findings indicate that the crisis of literary criticism in Afghanistan stems primarily from the misinterpretation of literary theories, their superficial or merely formulaic application, the absence of a clear analytical language and the predominance of subjective judgment in place of structured and reasoned analysis. Moreover, structural examination reveals that deficiencies in systematic theoretical education, the prevalence of incomplete or inaccurate translations, the absence of effective mechanisms for scholarly evaluation and the dominance of taste-oriented approaches within the literary sphere have created conditions for instability, fragmentation, and methodological discontinuity, while further intensifying the persistence of this situation. These deficiencies operate in an interconnected, network-like manner, placing literary criticism in a state of “epistemic deficiency” a condition in which theory is not properly assimilated, methodology fails to become established and criticism is prevented from fulfilling its role in the production of scholarly knowledge. Overcoming this vicious cycle requires a fundamental reconstruction of theoretical education, the strengthening of analytical methodology and the establishment of research institutions equipped with academic journals and systematic systems of university-level evaluation. Such reforms are essential for disciplinary coherence alone.
Keywords
literary criticism of Afghanistan
pathology
literary theory
methodology
critical language
 
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  • Receive Date 06 January 2026
  • Revise Date 29 May 2026
  • Accept Date 30 May 2026