Transcript Historical Literary Criticism

By: Keith, Mike, Connor
• Literary Criticism- Literary criticism is an attempt to evaluate
•
and understand the creative writing, the literature of an author.
Literature includes plays, essays, novels, poetry, and short stories.
Literary criticism is a description, analysis, evaluation, or
interpretation of a particular literary work or an author's writings
as a whole. Literary criticism is usually expressed in the form of a
critical essay. In-depth book reviews are also sometimes viewed
as literary criticism.
Historical Criticism- This approach "seeks to
understand a literary work by investigating the social,
cultural, and intellectual context that produced it-a
context that necessarily includes the artist's biography
and milieu." A key goal for historical critics is to
understand the effect of a literary work upon its original
readers.
Theory Background
• The historical side of literary criticism uses the
Authors background like their life experiences
and his or her surrounding world. This is
generally shown by the author’s piece of
literature showing some significant
connections to the author themselves.
Pros
• Demands close reading of the text which helps
the reader better understand what is being
read
• Notices repetition of words, phrases, and
themes
• Makes the reader understand why the piece
of literature was written the was it was
Cons
• In order to analyze the reading, the reader
must first have further knowledge about the
author and their life.
Poem Criticism
• “My Father and the Fig Tree” by Naomi Shihab
Nye
• The author’s personality and background is
shown through this poem because it reveals
her religious background through telling a
story about her father.
Poem Criticism
• “Identity Card” by Mahmoud Darwish
• In his poem “Identity Card” he reveals much
about himself. He says that he is Arab, has
eight children and a couple other things about
his personal background.
• His writing is also one-sided or biased because
he is a strict Muslim.
Works Cited
• "Critical Approaches To Literature." Home.olemiss.edu. Ole Miss. Web. 01
Dec. 2011. <http://home.olemiss.edu/~egjbp/200/litcrit.txt>.
• Google Images
• Kids, Kids For. "Literary Criticism." 42explore: Thematic Pathfinders for All
Ages. Web. 01 Dec. 2011. <http://www.42explore.com/litcrit.htm>.
• "Literary Criticism." Dictionary.reference.com. Web. 04 Dec. 2011.
<http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/literary%20criti>.
• "What Are the Pros and Cons of New Criticism?" WiseGEEK: Clear Answers
for Common Questions. Web. 04 Dec. 2011.
<http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-the-pros-and-cons-of-newcriticism.htm>.