Literary criticism was the spawning ground for the emergence of Postmodernism as we know it today. The postmodernist sees words as abstractions. Because words are mere symbols, language simply is a codification of these abstractions. Words are represented by more words. Words do not present truth, but create truth.
Language then becomes a inconsequential game.
Everything we know and understand has been tarnished by the symbol crafters. With this in mind, the postmodernist believes that the more important the work of literature is or the stronger the structure that holds society together, the more diabolical it is. Words mean nothing as long as they support the organizations and traditions that the postmodernist does not like. Like a parasite that destroys the very body that allows it to live, so Postmodernism uses language to disavow the use of language. This is not a surprising tactic.