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Criticism: Literature, Film & Drama: Literature Criticism

Literature criticism.

  • Film Criticism
  • Drama Criticism

Introduction

This guide will help you locate criticism for Literature, Film, and Drama.

See the English Libguide for more assistance with Literary Criticism.

See the English Databases List for more resources.

Literary criticism is the comparison, analysis, interpretation, and/or evaluation of works of literature. Literary criticism is essentially an opinion, supported by evidence, relating to theme, style, setting or historical or political context. It usually includes discussion of the work’s content and integrates your ideas with other insights gained from research. Literary criticism may have a positive or a negative bias and may be a study of an individual piece of literature or an author’s body of work.

Although criticism may include some of the following elements in order to support an idea, literary criticism is NOT a plot summary, a biography of the author, or simply finding fault with the literature.

Researching, reading, and writing works of literary criticism will help you to make better sense of the work, form judgments about literature, study ideas from different points of view, and determine on an individual level whether a literary work is worth reading.

Examples of some types of literary criticism are:

  • Biographical
  • Comparative
  • Psychological
  • Theoretical

Literary Criticism Databases

Literary criticism in essays shortened from their original published versions can be found in the first two databases. Full text databases follow.

  • Literary Index (Gale Literary Sets) This link opens in a new window Search a master index to the major literature books published by Gale, including Contemporary Authors, Contemporary Literary Criticism, and Poetry Criticism. Coverage: historical to present. Citations only.
  • Gale Literary Criticism This link opens in a new window Explore an authoritative source of literary criticism, summarizing authors' lives and works and including excerpts from scholarly articles. IMPORTANT NOTE: Because this source is an encyclopedic work, it should NEVER be directly cited. Always look up the original source of the excerpted and reprinted articles. Coverage: varies. Mostly full text.
  • Essay and General Literature Index This link opens in a new window Search chapters and essays contained in books of collected works, focusing on humanities and social sciences, including works published in the United States, Great Britain and Canada. This index covers archaeology, folklore, architecture, history, art, linguistics, literature, music, classical studies, poetry, drama, political science, economics, religion women's studies, and film. Coverage: 1985 to present. Citations only.
  • Humanities Source This link opens in a new window Access journals, books and other published sources from around the world in all aspects of the humanities, including archaeology, area studies, art, classical studies, dance, film, gender studies, history, journalism, linguistics, literature, music, performing arts, philosophy, and religion. For citation searching: click "Cited References" at the top of the search screen. Coverage: late 1800s to present. Some full text.
  • Humanities and Social Sciences Retrospective This link opens in a new window Search for articles from English-language periodicals on subjects including anthropology, archaeology, art, classical studies, criminal justice, environmental studies, ethics, gender studies, international relations, law, literature, music, performing arts, philosophy, political science, psychiatry, psychology, religion and sociology. Use the library's "Get It!" button to obtain materials with no direct full text link. Coverage: 1907-1984. Citations only.
  • MLA International Bibliography (Modern Language Association) with Full Text This link opens in a new window Search for scholarly, international journals, books, and more, covering language, literature, composition, folklore, and film. Coverage: late 19th century to present. Some full text.
  • Times Literary Supplement Historical Archive This link opens in a new window Access historical issues of Times Literary Supplement, a literary journal which scrutinized, dissected, applauded, and occasionally disparaged, the work of the twentieth century's leading writers and thinkers. This journal is cross-searchable with other collections via Gale Primary Sources . Coverage: 1902-2019. Mostly full text.
  • Magill's Literary Annuals (On Campus Access Only) This link opens in a new window Access reviews of literature, both fiction and nonfiction, published in English, from writers in the United States and around the world. *This collection must be accessed from on campus.* Coverage: 1977-2021. Full text.

Have the citation?

If you already have a newspaper citation, and need to locate the article, use the following steps:

  • Search the Journal Locator using the title of the newspaper.
  • If your newspaper is not listed in the results, search the library catalog .
  • If not available in the Library Catalog or the Journal Locator, use ILLiad to request the article from another library.
  • Still having trouble? Ask a Librarian for help.

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  • URL: https://libguides.dickinson.edu/criticism

Table of Contents

Collaboration, information literacy, writing process, literary criticism.

  • © 2023 by Angela Eward-Mangione - Hillsborough Community College
  • Some of the people in the group say they do not like the film because it portrays Bella as a weak female who becomes obsessed with Edward Cullen whom she cannot marry without leaving her loving father and losing her precious mortality.
  • Other people like those aspects of the film, however, arguing that the film makes them disagree with its representation of some women as meek characters.

What is Literary Criticism?

Literary Criticism is

  • a research method , a type of textual research , that literary critics employ to interpret texts and debate interpretations
  • a genre of argument about a specific text or a set of texts .

Key Terms: Archive, Canon ; Dialectic ; Hermeneutics ; Semiotics ; Text & Intertextuality ; Tone ; rhetoric , intersubjectivity, modernism, postmodernism.

*Alternative Article Title(s): Critical Theory

General Strategies for Engaging in Literary Criticism

Engage in rhetorical analysis.

The methods for engaging in rhetorical criticism and presenting interpretations are bounded by the values and customs of particular disciplinary communities–i.e., the conventions of particular critical schools (e.g., Critical Disability Studies or Feminist Criticism ).

Distinguish between summarizing the literary work and presenting your argument. Many students fall into the trap of spending too much time summarizing the literature being analyzed as opposed to critiquing it. As a result, it would be wise to check with your teacher regarding how much plot summary is expected. As you approach this project, remember to keep your eye on the ball: What, exactly (in one sentence) is the gist of your interpretation?

Development

One of the most strategic things you can do if you’ve assigned to write some criticism is to read other critics who are well regarded by the disciplinary community you choose to address.

How do other critics evaluate an author’s work? What literary theories do literary critics use to interpret texts or particular moments in history? Reading sample analysis papers can help you find and adopt an appropriate voice and persona. By reading samples, you can learn how others have prioritized particular criteria.

Cite Other Critics’ Interpretations of the Work

Criticism written by advanced English majors, graduate students, and literary critics may be more about what other critics have said than about the actual text. Indeed, many critics spend more time reading criticism and arguing about critical approaches than actually reading original works. However, unless you are enrolled in a literary theory course, your instructor probably wants you to focus more on interpreting the work than discussing other critical interpretations. This does not mean, however, that you should write about a literary work “blindly.” Instead, you are wise to find out what other students and critics have said about the work.

Below is a sample passage that illustrates how other critics’ works can inspire an author and guide him or her in constructing a counter argument, support an author’s interpretation, and provide helpful biographical information.

In her critical biography of Shirley Jackson, Lenemaja Friedman notes that when Shirley Jackson’s story “The Lottery” was published in the June 28, 1948 issue of the New Yorker it received a response that “no New Yorker story had ever received”: hundreds of letters poured in that were characterized by “bewilderment, speculation, and old-fashioned abuse.”1 It is not hard to account for this response: Jackson’s story portrays an “average” New England village with “average” citizens engaged in a deadly rite, the annual selection of a sacrificial victim by means of a public lottery, and does so quite deviously: not until well along in the story do we suspect that the “winner” will be stoned to death by the rest of the villagers.

[ Scholarship as a Conversation ]

Organization

The format for literary critiques is fairly standard:

  • State your claim(s).
  • Forecast your organization.
  • Marshal evidence for your claim.
  • Reiterate argument and elaborate on its significance.

In English classes, you may be able to assume that your readers are familiar with the work you are critiquing. Perhaps, for example, the entire class is responding to one particular work after some class discussions about it. However, if your instructor asks you to address a broader audience, you may need to provide bibliographical information for the work. In other words, you may need to cite the title, publisher, date, and pages of the work (see Citing Sources ).

Literary critiques are arguments. As such, your instructors expect you to state a claim in your introduction and then provide quotes and paraphrased statements from the text to serve as evidence for your claim. Ideally, your critique will be insightful and interesting. You’ll want to come up with an interpretation that isn’t immediately obvious. Below are some examples of “thesis statements” or “claims” from literary critiques:

  • In “The Yellow Wallpaper,” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the protagonist is oppressed and represents the effect of the oppression of women in society. This effect is created by the use of complex symbols such as the house, the window, and the wall-paper which facilitate her oppression as well as her self expression. [“‘The Yellow Wall-Paper’: A Twist on Conventional Symbols” by Liselle Sant]
  • “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Gilman is a sad story of the repression that women face in the days of the late 1800’s as well as being representative of the turmoil that women face today. [Critique of “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Brandi Mahon]
  • “The Yellow Wallpaper,” written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, is a story of a woman, her psychological difficulties and her husband’s so called therapeutic treatment of her aliments during the late 1800s. . . Gilman does well throughout the story to show with descriptive phrases just how easily and effectively the man “seemingly” wields his “maleness” to control the woman. But, with further interpretation and insight I believe Gilman succeeds in nothing more than showing the weakness of women, of the day, as active persons in their own as well as society’s decision making processes instead of the strength of men as women dominating machines. “The View from the Inside” by Timothy J. Decker
  • In Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain creates a strong opposition between the freedom of Huck and Jim’s life on the raft drifting down the Mississippi River, which represents “nature,” and the confining and restrictive life on the shore, which represents “society.” [ “‘All I wanted was a change’: Positive Images of Nature and Society in Chapter 19 of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” from Professor Matthew Hurt’s “Sample Essays for English 103: Introduction to Fiction”]
  • In Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s short story, “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings,” an unexpected visitor comes down from the sky, and seems to test the faith of a community. The villagers have a difficult time figuring out just how the very old man with enormous wings fits into their lives. Because this character does not agree with their conception of what an angel should look like, they try to determine if the aged man could actually be an angel. In trying to prove the origin of their visitor, the villagers lose faith in the possibility of him being an angel because he does not adhere to their ordered world. Marquez keeps the identity of the very old man with enormous wings ambiguous to critique the villagers and, more generally, organized religion for having a lack of faith to believe in miracles that do not comply with their master narrative. [“Prove It: A Critique of the Villagers’ Faith in ‘A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings'” from Sample Essays for English 103: Introduction to Fiction, Professor Matthew Hurt]

Literary criticism is a fairly specialized genre . Instead of writing to a general lay audience, you are writing to members of a literary community who have read a work and who developed opinions about the work–as well as a vocabulary of interpretation.

Across Schools of Criticism, critics share a common vocabulary of critique. Below are some common words used by literary critics.

  • Protagonist: The protagonist is the major character of the story; typically the character must overcome significant challenges.
  • Antagonist: The protagonist’s chief nemesis; in other words, the character whom the protagonist must overcome.
  • Symbols: Metaphoric language; see A Catalogue of Symbols in The Awakening by Kate Chopin
  • Viewpoint: Stories are told either in the first person or third person point of view. The first person is limited to a single character, although dialog can let you guess at other characters’ intentions. The third person allows readers inside the character’s mind so you know what the character feels and thinks.Viewpoint can be “limited,” where the character knows less than the reader, or “omniscient,” where the reader can hear the thoughts and feelings of all characters. Occasionally writers will use multiple character viewpoint, which takes you from one character’s perspective to another.
  • Plot: Plots are a series of scenes, typically moving from a conflict situation to a resolution. To surprise readers, authors will foreshadow “false plants,” which lead readers to anticipate other resolutions. The term “denouement” refers to the unraveling of the plot in the conclusion.

Cite from the Work

Literary criticism involves close reading of a literary work, regardless of whether you are arguing about a particular interpretation, comparing stories or poems, or using a theory to interpret literature. The purpose of the document is not to inform the readers, but to argue a particular interpretation. You only need to cite parts of the work that support or relate to your argument and follow the citation format required by your instructor

What are Schools of Literary Criticism?

Literary theory and criticism have existed from classical through contemporary times. Over time, schools of criticism have evolved as critics (aka communities of practitioners) have introduced new ideas about texts and intertextuality , rhetoric , intersubjectivity, modernism, postmodernism.

Schools of Literary Criticism include

Critical Disability Studies

Feminist criticism, lgbtq + criticism, marxist criticism, new historicist criticism, post-colonial criticism, post-structuralist, deconstructive criticism, psychological criticism, reader-response criticism, russian formalism and new criticism, structuralist criticism.

Most schools of literary criticism draw extensively on the work of other theorists and critics, while others concentrate on the reader’s thoughts and feelings. Additionally, some theorists analyze a work from an historical perspective, while others focus solely on a close reading of a text.

The first step in formulating a critical argument is to assume a rhetorical stance that engages a type, school, or approach of literary criticism. The critical approach you employ to engage in textual analysis will shape the content of your interpretation.

[ Rhetorical Stance | Rhetorical Reasoning ]

Related Articles:

Marxist Criticism

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Marxist Criticism

Marxist Criticism refers to a method you’ll encounter in literary and cultural analysis. It breaks down texts and societal structures using foundational concepts like class, alienation, base, and superstructure. By...

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Finding Literary Criticism Tutorial: I. What is Literary Criticism?

  • I. What is Literary Criticism?
  • II. Literary Criticism in Books
  • III. Literary Criticism in Databases
  • IV. Literary Criticism on the Web
  • V. Finding Author Information
  • VI. Citing Literary Criticism
  • VII. Test Your Knowledge

Encyclopedia Britannica defines Literary Criticism as "the reasoned consideration of literary works and issues."   In other words, it is the act of studying, evaluating, discussing, and/or interpreting a work of literature.  

close-up on dictionary entry for the word criticism

  • an in-depth analysis
  • can be about a poem, play, novel, or short story
  • can help you understand the main ideas of a work of literature and identify the significant parts 
  • is usually found in books and academic journals in the form of an essay
  • has references
  • can be written from different perspectives, such as historical, sociological, or psychological
  • can compare & contrast works by the same author or works by different authors
  • does not have one "right" answer

Uses for Literary Criticism

There are many reasons for engaging in Literary Criticism.  For example:

  • Understanding literature can help us better understand similar situations in real life.
  • Analyzing a complex issue in literature from multiple viewpoints  can make us more empathetic.
  • Learning about the views of other critical readers can help you develop your own interpretations of literature.
  • Considering all the possible meanings of a work of literature can help you appreciate it on a deeper level.
  • It provides the opportunity to practice developing and defending an argument.

Professional Organizations

The following organizations promote Literary Criticism:

Modern Humanities Research Association

"The Modern Humanities Research Association (UK) encourages and promotes advanced study and research in the field of the modern humanities... The Association fulfils this purpose through the publication of journals, bibliographies, monographs, critical editions, and the MHRA Style Guide, and by making grants in support of research."

Society for the Study of the Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States

"MELUS endeavors to expand the definition of new, more broadly conceived US literature through the study and teaching of Latino, Native American, African American, Asian and Pacific American, and ethnically specific Euro-American literary works, their authors, and their cultural contexts."

Association of Literary Scholars, Critics, and Writers

"The ALSCW seeks to promote excellence in literary criticism and scholarship, and works to ensure that literature thrives in both scholarly and creative environments... publishers of  Literary Imagination  (an acclaimed review, issued three times per year),  Literary Matters  (an online journal), and  Forum  (an imprint on literary advocacy and public policy)."

Terminology

Websites with Dictionaries of Literary Terms:

  • LitCharts Dictionary of Literary Devices & Terms
  • Purdue OWL Literary Terms

These Things are NOT Literary Criticism

Literary Criticism is not the same thing as:

  • a summary.   When you write a summary, you are merely retelling the plot of a story.  Literary Criticism is written  about the events in the story;  it is not the events themselves.
  • a book review.  Book reviews attempt to determine the quality of a work of literature, i.e. "How good is it?"  They can be found in such places as the New York Times or on websites like Goodreads, and are intended for the casual reader.  Literary Criticism, however, attempts to understand and explain the work, i.e. "What does it mean?"  It is intended for an academic audience.
  • finding fault.   This is certainly one definition of being "critical," but in literary criticism you are actually trying to "critique" all of the qualities of a work, not just the negative ones.
  • a primary source.   In literature, a primary source would be the actual poem, play, novel, or short story you are analyzing.  Literary Criticism is a  secondary  source, because it is written  about  a primary source.  It might take the form of an article in a journal, or a book of essays about an author or work.

Check Your Knowledge

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  • sympathetically
  • tartan noir

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guide to literary theory and criticism

A comprehensive resource for close reading, deeper understanding, and analytical discussion.

Literature is meant to convey meaning, but understanding the message of a novel, play, or poem can take some digging. If you have the right tools, you can gain a deep understanding of the texts you read — and approach literature’s most intimidating topics with confidence. This article presents a host of background information and useful resources to help you make use of a reader’s most essential tools: literary theory and literary criticism.

Sigmund Freud is often credited, rightly or wrongly, with the assertion that “[s]ometimes a cigar is just a cigar.” But what if the cigar in the novel you just read is not, in fact, just a cigar, but a symbol of oppression or suppressed desire or even jealousy? The narratives, settings, and characters of literature can and often do represent more than what at first meets the eye. Literary theory and criticism can shine a light on those underlying meanings to help you: 

  • Understand the themes , symbols , and motifs presented in a text.
  • Analyze an author’s style .
  • Write a critical essay or analysis of a book.
  • Engage in a comprehensive literary discussion .
  • Teach students to ask analytical questions of a text.

What Is Literary Theory? What Is Literary Criticism?

Literary theory is a way of interpreting a work of art. When readers and scholars engage in literary criticism, which is the practice of evaluating literature, they often use literary theories to inform their ideas and opinions about a text. 

Though the terms “literary criticism” and “literary theory” are related, they are not interchangeable. Some scholars like to think of literary theories as eyeglasses or camera lenses through which they can examine and evaluate works of literature or other pieces of art. Then, what they see through each lens (each theory) becomes the focus of their literary criticism. Literary criticism is a research method or a kind of scholarly discourse that engages with literary theory .

For example, just as a bifocal or a tinted lens will reveal certain qualities of a work of art, so can different literary theories. A work of feminist literary criticism will contain observations about a text that reveal what it’s like to be female. Writers of feminist criticism will likely employ feminist literary theory to support their scholarly arguments. An argument based on the same text examined through a lens of Marxist theory, however, might focus more on how the text regards a particular social class.

Many different literary theories exist, and scholars often blend two or more theories into their interpretations of literary texts. As time passes, new theories that reflect contemporary issues and mindsets emerge, adding richness and nuance to the study of literature.

Learning resources: 

  • Literary Theory and Schools of Criticism : In this resource, find helpful examples of different schools of literary thought.
  • The 10 Best Literary Theory and Criticism Books : Peruse this list of book titles that describe and explain different literary theories in detail. 
  • Literary Schools of Theory : Here are some thorough explanations of individual literary theories. 
  • Literary Criticism definition : This page includes examples of literary criticism ideas.
  • What is literary criticism, and why would anyone want to write or read it? Read a University of Toronto professor’s discussion of the role of literary criticism in the appreciation of literature.
  • What Is the Point of Literary Criticism? Still wondering about the point of literary criticism? Check out this article for more information.

The History of Literary Theory

The origins of literary theory go back to Plato and Aristotle and the roots of philosophy. To Plato, literature is divinely inspired, but it is written by humans and, therefore, not a trustworthy source of truth. For this reason, Plato’s ideal society excludes poets to ensure that knowledge-seekers are not confused by poetry and other forms of literature. Many scholars credit Aristotle’s defense of the poetic modes that Plato decried as the foundation of modern literary theory. 

Much later, in the 19th century, other European thinkers expanded on these ancient ideas. For example, the Romanticism movement in Germany and England celebrated the same divine qualities of poets that worried Plato, placing high value on the potential of literature to reveal truth. 

The literary theorists of the 20th century have certainly followed suit. Contemporary thinkers continue to demonstrate to students and scholars alike that literature has the power to illuminate what it is to be human in the context of the societies in which we all live.

  • A History of Literary Criticism : This podcast explores the Platonic and Aristotelian origins of literary theory.
  • Historical Development of Literary Criticism : The origins of literary theory explain how contemporary literary theory is indebted the greatest minds of antiquity. 
  • The Cambridge History of Literary Criticism : These volumes, organized by historical era, offer in-depth explanations of the development of literary theory.
  • How Reading Makes Us More Human : This article surveys a series of arguments about the benefits of “deep reading” literature.

Literary Theory Examples

In addition to feminist and Marxist literary theories already mentioned, there are many literary theories — or lenses — through which one can interpret a work of literature. Here are several examples of the most prevalent schools of thought as well as a brief description of each. 

  • Structuralist Theory gained notoriety in the 1920s. Since then, it has been widely accepted as one of the more complicated literary theories in existence. In a nutshell, structuralists look at how language and linguistics operate as a kind of written or oral code. Just as language and music contain patterns, so does literature; literary patterns are sometimes revealed in a writer’s use of myths and archetypes, symbols, or even genre.
  • Psychoanalytic Theory originates from the work of Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), the founder of psychoanalysis. Psychoanalytic Theory as a literary theory emerged in the 1930s. It examines the role of the psyche and the unconscious in individuals and literary characters as they interpret the impact of society and culture on themselves and others.
  • The origins of Marxist Theory are credited to German philosopher Karl Marx (1818-1883), who believed that people are the product of the economic and social environments in which they grow up. Since the 1930s, Marxists have been studying the tensions between social classes as they appear in literature and elsewhere. In addition to economic concerns, Marxists also examine how a text uses politics to uphold or challenge social norms. 
  • Feminist Theory emerged in the 1960s, and the interests of feminist scholars, like the various definitions of feminism itself, do not always overlap. One overarching concern does unite all feminists, however: the power dynamics that stem from stereotypes and discriminatory practices involving women. 
  • Since the 1970s, Critical Race Theory and African American Literary Theory has enabled scholars in America to investigate the impact of race and racism as observed in various forms of expression. African American Studies as well as Asian American, Latino and Indian Studies are all closely linked to this literary theory — as well as matters of social activism, civil and human rights, and cultural perceptions of race and stereotypes. 
  • New Historicism emerged in the 1980s. To New Historicists, literature reveals the writer’s interpretation of historical events rather than the actual facts of the events. Cultural studies examine the role of culture in literature, both from the writer’s point of view and from that of the characters in the text.
  • Gender Studies and Queer Theory came about in the 1990s. Scholars of this school develop their ideas about literature while thinking about gender and sexuality. Feminist Theory is often linked with Gender Studies and Queer Theory because all three schools of thought concern power and marginalized populations.
  • Postcolonial Studies emerged in the 1990s to illuminate literature by writers representing both Western colonizers and the colonized. Issues as varied as politics, religion, culture and economics all matter within the context of power, and these issues form the basis of Postcolonial Studies.

Key Figures in Literary Theory

Hundreds of thinkers and scholars have contributed to the development of literary theory, and they continue to stimulate new ideas regarding art, writing and culture. Here is a brief introduction to ten key figures every literary scholar should know.

  • Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797): English writer and philosopher Mary Wollstonecraft was an early proponent of women’s rights. In her seminal text A Vindication of the Rights of Women , published in 1792, Wollstonecraft argues that women are not subordinate to men and that feminine conventions are highly oppressive to women. Wollstonecraft is credited by many contemporary feminists as laying the groundwork for the feminist movement.
  • Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986): French feminist, existentialist and social theorist Simone de Beauvoir was the first to articulate the distinction between one’s sex, a matter of biology, and one’s gender, a matter of myriad social constructs and stereotypes. Many literary theorists regard de Beauvoir’s philosophical writings as fundamental to our contemporary understanding of gender roles in society.
  • Judith Butler (1956- ): The writings of American professor, philosopher and gender theorist Judith Butler appear on many a queer theory reading list around the world. According to Butler, gender identities have a lot to do with how individuals repetitively “perform” their gender according to dominant expectations, stereotypes and conventions of gender. 
  • bell hooks (1952- ): Gloria Jean Watkins uses this pen name to honor her great-grandmother and to draw attention away from her name and identity and towards her ideas. As an American professor and feminist activist, hooks has written about art, media, gender, race and class. Her contributions to literary theory are appreciated within the contexts of several different literary schools of thought.
  • Roland Barthes (1915-1980): French literary theorist Roland Barthes was primarily concerned with the potential of signs to carry meaning. His complex ideas around communication, language, and cultural phenomena impacted the development of Structuralism and semiotics as literary theories. 
  • Noam Chomsky ( 1928- ): American theoretical linguist and political activist Noam Chomsky is widely regarded as a true polymath, having contributed to the study of mathematics, psychology, analytic philosophy and other fields. In the context of literary theory, Chomsky is best known for his ideas around linguistics and psycholinguistics. 
  • Sigmund Freud (1856-1939): Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud was the founder of psychoanalysis. His psychoanalytic theory of personality, which involves the id, the ego and the superego, can be applied to people and characters, revealing Freud’s ideas surrounding their motivations and their reactions to the world around them.
  • W.E.B. DuBois (1868-1963): American poet, sociologist and civil rights activist W.E.B. DuBois is famous for his scholarly works that argued for the equal treatment of Black people in a world that regarded Black people as inferior. As a professor of sociology, economics and history, he often applied Marxist theory to his interpretation of American history.
  • Karl Marx (1818-1883): German historian, economist and sociologist Karl Marx co-authored, with Friedrich Engels, several texts that provided a foundation for the political movements of socialism and communism. Marx’s humanism and his concern for the plight of the lower classes inspired the revolutionary ideas for which he is well known.
  • Edward Said (1935-2003): Palestinian-American professor Edward Said is a founder of the field of Postcolonial Studies. He was the first to point out the European tendency to represent Asians unfairly in literature and art in order to assert the power of the West over the East; this tendency results in damaging stereotypes that characterize the people of the East as inferior to Westerners.

How to Choose A Literary Theory

Choosing which literary theory — or theories — to use to inform your close reading depends on the questions you’re pondering. You don’t have to choose just one. In her seminal work, Critical Theory Today , Lois Tyson uses a florist’s bins of flowers as a metaphor to explain the relationship between different literary theories; for Tyson, just as each bin holds a different kind of flower, each literary theory offers readers a different way to understand — or “see” — a text. Just as different types of flowers can combine to make striking bouquets that are more beautiful in combination than on their own, literary theories can overlap to create a deeper appreciation and richer understanding of the elements at work in a piece of literature. 

So what are you trying to get out of the works you’re studying? Perhaps you want to dispel confusions about a text, form a clearer opinion about the author’s intent, or figure out why your reading of a narrative is so different from someone else’s. Once you understand the type of questions you want to ask about a work of literature, you are ready to locate the literary theories that will best inform your process.

Learning resources:

  • Literary Theories: Analysis Questions : The University of Texas - Arlington Libraries offers a great list of analysis questions for various types of literary theory to help you see the kinds of questions you can ask about a text that will take your understanding to the next level.
  • Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Literary Theory : The IEP, hosted by the University of Tennessee at Martin, compares several popular schools of literary theory and provides various resources for further reading.
  • Finding a Literary Criticism Approach : This guide from Pellissippi State Community College Libraries offers step-by-step tips to writers of critical essays.
  • Finding Books with Literary Criticism : The University of Illinois at Chicago offers this resource to library-goers in search of books and articles about literary criticism. This article also contains helpful advice to users of databases like JSTOR and ProjectMuse.

Examples of Applying Literary Theory

Let’s see literary theory in action. Here are three examples that illustrate how applying a literary theory can enable close reading, dispel confusion, and help you deepen your understanding of a text. See below for further examples of how literary theory can be applied — and not just to works of literature.

1. Marxist reading of The Great Gatsby : In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby , Nick feels a keen sense of discomfort when he attends one of Jay Gatsby’s lavish parties. To find out why, we apply a literary theory: A Marxist reading of Nick’s awkwardness offers scholars deeper insight into the scene, Nick’s character, and the character of Jay Gatsby himself. Nick’s social class sets him apart from Gatsby and his affluent guests, making Nick an outsider to the decadence of Gatsby’s world. A Marxist understanding of Nick’s role in the novel enhances the irony of the revelation that Gatsby is pretending to be someone he is not: In reality, he is the son of poor farmers, which means he has more in common with Nick than with his own party guests.

2. African American Literary Theory in To Kill a Mockingbird : In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird , Tom Robinson is a Black man whose arm was injured when he was a 12-year-old child; Tom’s left arm was caught in a cotton gin, leaving him disabled. What might the author’s purpose have been in giving Tom an injury of this nature? A scholarly interpretation of Tom’s disabled arm within the context of African American studies reveals that Tom’s injury is a symbol for his race. As a Black man in Alabama during the Great Depression, Tom is highly vulnerable; his disability compromises his ability to work just as his race compromises his ability to survive his trial after he is accused of sexually assaulting a White woman. The symbolism of Tom’s injured arm reveals the extent to which racism has the potential to harm and kill innocent men. 

3. Structuralism and Mythology: In mythology, the food of gods and goddesses takes the form of ambrosia and nectar; these food items are vastly different to the food of humans. A literary theory can help us understand why this difference exists and what it represents. A Structuralist reading of the different foods consumed by gods and humans illuminates a pattern of behavior that exists in all Greek myths. Food distinguishes humans from gods; only humans eat olives and drink wine, while gods consume ambrosia, nectar and the smoke of sacrificed offerings. A Structuralist examination of mythological eating patterns provides scholars with insight into the overarching myth system of ancient Greece and Rome.

Here are some further examples of literary theory in action — applied in some unexpected ways:

  • A Marxist take on Cinderella
  • A Feminist take on Disney Princesses
  • A Postcolonial take on Shakespeare’s The Tempest
  • A Psychoanalytic take on Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper

Putting Literary Theory Into Practice

When you’re ready to perform a close read on a text, it’s wise to read with a pen or highlighter in hand. Mark the passages you believe to have analytical potential — even if you’re not yet sure why they are meaningful. Then, review these passages, looking for patterns that help you see where to apply literary theory and begin developing your own literary criticism. Ask questions such as:

  • Do any symbols or motifs repeat themselves? 
  • How do the themes of the work interact with the literary theories you selected? 
  • Over the course of the work of literature, do any of the characters develop according to the predictions of the literary theories that most interest you? 

Sample Practice: A Postcolonial reading of Wide Sargasso Sea

To help you understand how patterns in a literary text can reveal meaning, here’s one more example: a Postcolonial reading of English writer Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea . This 1966 novel centers on a young heiress, Antoinette Cosway, born and raised on the Caribbean island of Martinique in the 1830s. Rhys based her character on Bertha Rochester from Charlotte Brontë’s 1847 classic novel Jane Eyre and tells the story of how she met and married Rochester, before she became the so-called “madwoman in the attic.”

In these three passages from Part 2 of the novel, Rochester has come to Martinique to marry Antoinette with the intention of exploiting her wealth:

So it was all over, the advance and retreat, the doubts and hesitations. Everything finished, for better or for worse. There we were, sheltered from the heavy rain under a large mango tree, myself, my wife Antoinette and a little half-caste servant who was called Amélie. Under a neighbouring tree I could see our luggage covered with sacking, the two porters and a boy holding fresh horses, hired to carry us up 2,000 feet to the waiting honeymoon house.
The girl Amélie said this morning, ‘I hope you will be very happy, sir, in your sweet honeymoon house.’ She was laughing at me I could see. A lovely little creature but sly, spiteful, malignant perhaps, like much else in this place. (Part 2, Page 55)

Analysis 1: 

In this passage, Rochester reveals that he is suspicious of Amélie, who represents the island of Martinique as a whole. His descriptions of her contain a pattern: She is “little” and “half-caste,” which emphasizes her inferior position as a servant and as a person of Caribbean heritage. Amélie’s position enhances his resentment of her as he suspects her of mocking him; Rochester is sure that she is showing disrespect, which is more offensive for the fact that she is a servant and a West Indian. Rochester’s mistrust of Amélie is further demonstrated by both his use of harshly critical adjectives to describe her and his direct comparison of Amélie to the island on which he finds himself. From a Postcolonial perspective, Rochester, as an Englishman, represents the colonial power of Europe over the French colonies of the West Indies. His sense of superiority and dismissal of Amélie reflects widespread European attitudes towards colonized lands and their peoples. His sexual attraction to her, however, as evidenced by his use of the word “lovely,” complicates matters; as a European man, he may have legal power over the Martinican Amélie, but the sexual power of her beauty places him in a weaker position.

Everything is too much, I felt as I rode wearily after her. Too much blue, too much purple, too much green. The flowers too red, the mountains too high, the hills too near. And the woman is a stranger. Her pleading expression annoys me. I have not bought her, she has bought me, or so she thinks. (Part 2, Page 59)

Analysis 2:

Rochester’s weary tone while describing the landscape of Martinique illustrates his acute discomfort while away from his own city and culture. The repetitive nature of his complaints form a pattern in this passage. The many colors of the island and the natural features of the land offend him and exacerbate his irritation with his wife, who was born and raised in this bright and colorful world. From a Postcolonial perspective, Rochester’s weariness indicates that he feels a sense of impatience with the land and its products, which he finds are garish and inferior to those of his own country. Rochester’s description of his wife as a “stranger” suggests that her origins and her person are too different from his own to be worthy of his trust and acceptance.

There were trailing pink flowers on the table and the name echoed pleasantly in my head. Coralita Coralita. The food, though too highly seasoned, was lighter and more appetizing than anything I had tasted in Jamaica. We drank champagne. A great many moths and beetles found their way into the room, flew into the candles and fell dead on the tablecloth. Amélie swept them up with a crumb brush. Uselessly. More moths and beetles came. (Part 2, Page 67)

Analysis 3: 

At dinner, Rochester drinks champagne, and under the influence of alcohol, he is able to appreciate the beauty of the pink coralita flowers on the dinner table. The brightness of the pink color is as noticeable to the reader as the dead moths and beetles that also appear on the table in a contrasting pattern of color and darkness. The insects are drawn to the light of the candles, and their deaths take place near the life-giving plates of food Rochester and Antoinette eat for dinner. A Postcolonial reading of this scene reveals that the stillness of the insects, which have all died, and the stillness of the flowers, which were plucked from a living climbing vine, suggest the potential of Europe to overpower the people of their colonies. The presence of nature on the surface of the dinner table, however, suggests that the natural world of Martinique, represented by the flowers and the insects, cannot be completely eradicated by a European presence, which is symbolized by the champagne and candles.  

As you can see, putting literary theory into practice is easier than its lofty origins might suggest. After all, literary critics and scholars all use the same tools you now have to put literary theory into practice. After you select one or two theories to review, remember that you can add more theories to your study of literature as you learn more about your ideas and your interpretation of the text becomes more informed. Soon, you’ll be engaging with literary theory and criticism and contributing to literary scholarship with confidence.

  • How to Write Literary Analysis : Learn how to analyze literature with this brief guide from SparkNotes. Literary analysis is an essential step to writing literary criticism.
  • How to Identify Writing Patterns : This video from the Online Reading Lab at Excelsior College describes how to identify the structure, parts and organization of a work of literature in order to think analytically about a text.
  • Steps to Literary Criticism : Follow this process to outline your own literary criticism. 
  • Beginner's Guide to Literary Analysis : Learn the basics of literary analysis, including how to write such analysis.

Literary Theory Book List

If you’d like to learn more about this approach to literary analysis and deep reading, here is a book list to whet your appetite and deepen your understanding:

  • Texts and Contexts: Writing About Literature With Critical Theory by Steven Lynn
  • Literary Theory: An Introduction by Terry Eagleton 
  • Orientalism by Edward Said 
  • African American Literary Theory: A Reader edited by Winston Napier
  • Aristotle’s Poetics  
  • S/Z by Roland Barthes
  • The End of the Line: Essays on Psychoanalysis and the Sublime by Neil Hertz
  • Criticism and Ideology: A Study in Marxist Literary Theory by Terry Eagleton
  • “Race,” Writing, and Difference edited by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Kwame Anthony Appiah
  • The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir
  • Decolonising the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Literature by Ngũgĩ Wa Thiong’O

in literary criticism definition

Module 10: Working with Literature

Terms and concepts in literary criticism, learning objectives.

Identify key terms and concepts of literary criticism

Books on a shelf called contemporary literary criticism

Up front, the thing to bear in mind is that literary criticism has a habit of taking everyday words and using them in very specific and sometimes counterintuitive ways. Consider the following title of an article, published in an academic literary journal, about Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved: “‘To Be Loved and Cry Shame’: A Psychological Reading of Toni Morrison’s ‘Beloved.’” You’re already familiar with the word “reading,” of course, but you may be less familiar with the way it’s used here: as a noun. Instead of an act you perform, like reading a book, the word “reading” here refers to something the author of the article has created through her critical-interpretive work: a reading. And even more, it’s a psychological reading. Clearly, the word “reading” is being used in a highly specific way.

Or consider another everyday word: “unpack.” You can tell someone that you need to unpack your suitcase or your car, and they’ll instantly understand what you mean. But look at the following passage from another academic article, this one titled “Reading to Outmaneuver: Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man and African American Literacy in Cold War America,” and notice the word’s use in a different way:

In their texts, African American authors explore a range of positions on reading’s role in black communities. Some works, such as James Baldwin’s Go Tell It on the Mountain (1953) and Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun (1959), depict reading as the route to transcending the limitations of one’s status—albeit one that comes at great cost. Others texts, in a variation on the Douglass theme, depict it as a radical awakening—for instance, Richard Wright’s Black Boy (1945), The Autobiography of Malcolm X (1965), and Eldridge Cleaver’s Soul on Ice (1968). Still others represent literacy as a weapon wielded by dominant powers to control, exclude, or erase blackness; Toni Morrison takes this tack in her first novel, The Bluest Eye (1970), and again in a later work, Song of Solomon (1977). As they work to unpack the complex history and role of literacy in African American lives, these twentieth-century writers rely on books to construct themselves as individuals, community members, and citizens. (Matthews)

The author obviously isn’t talking about unpacking a physical object like a suitcase. From the context, you can probably tell that she’s using the word to refer to the interpretive act of explaining something—in this case, “the complex history and role of literacy in African American lives”—by drawing out implicit or unexamined meanings.

The upshot is that when you first begin to read literary criticism, you should be on the alert for regular words that seem odd in a sentence, as this may be a sign that they’re being used in a technical way. You’ll also encounter many words that are entirely new to you; the field has its own highly developed technical vocabulary. When you encounter such words, try to use context clues to understand their meaning, but also make good use of the many valuable resources that are available for this very purpose, such as this online glossary or the books that are recognized as standard reference works, such as The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory or Holman and Harmon’s renowned A Handbook to Literature .

Common Terms in Literary Criticism

With these things in mind, here’s a short glossary of some broadly common terms you’ll encounter in literary criticism.

The first word to understand is “criticism” itself, which can be confusing if you take it in the wrong sense, which also happens to be its more customary, everyday sense. In everyday conversation, to criticize most often means to find fault with someone or something. The Oxford English Dictionary captures this sense when it defines criticism as “the expression of disapproval of someone or something based on perceived faults or mistakes.” However, the OED also provides a second definition, and this is the one we’re concerned with here: criticism is “the analysis and judgment of the merits and faults of a literary or artistic work.” The roles of “film critic” and “book critic” both draw on this definition, as they refer to people whose job is not so much to find fault with films and books as to offer informed evaluations of their quality.

Putting this all together, you can see that “literary criticism” means literary analysis and interpretation. It’s the act of interpreting and evaluating literature to understand and appreciate it more deeply. Note that this definition also applies to different forms of the word “criticism,” such as “critical.” Your “critical judgment” about a story or poem doesn’t mean your expression of dislike or disapproval but your overall evaluation and “take” on it as a work of literature. (On this last point, see the comments about “Reading” above, and also below.)

The OED defines a theory as “a supposition or a system of ideas intended to explain something.” You’re probably familiar with the word’s use in the natural sciences, where a theory—such as the theory of evolution, the the theory of relativity, or cell theory—is an explanatory framework, supported and verified by repeated scientific testing, that accounts for a set of observed facts or phenomena in the physical world.

The word’s use in connection with literature and literary criticism is related but distinct. Literary criticism proceeds by drawing on literary theory, defined as the set of methods, ideas, and assumptions that we bring to the reading of literature. There’s a highly developed realm of academic research and discourse devoted to literary theory. It gets really deep, really fast, and its many details sprawl well beyond the boundaries of this course. Just know that when you start reading literary criticism, you may come across references to theory. You can keep the two terms (criticism and theory) straight by remembering that literary criticism is the act of interpreting and evaluating literary texts, while literary theory deals with the assumptions and principles we bring to that practice. Sometimes the different approaches to literary criticism are referred to as discrete theories in their own right. That’s how we’ll refer to them in the next section on approaches to literary criticism.

Sometimes different literary critical theories are referred to as different “schools,” such as the “reader-response school” or the “feminist school of thought” (both of which you’ll learn about in the next section). This employs one of the basic definitions of the word “school”: as “a group of people, particularly writers, artists, or philosophers, sharing the same or similar ideas, methods, or style.”

As noted in the example above, in literary criticism and theory the word “reading” is often used not as a verb (“She was reading a book”) but as a noun (“What was her reading of that book?”) to refer to a particular interpretation, viewpoint, or understanding of a literary work. English professor Dr. Stephen Watt explains the difference: “‘Reading’ is one of the most provocative terms in literary theory, in part because it connotes both an activity and a product: on the one hand, an effort to comprehend a text or object of knowledge, and on the other, a more formal response.” Watts says the latter sense of the word refers to “an intellectual or scholarly product.” This second sense is important to understand when approaching the realm of literary criticism, because the act of literary criticism results in “a reading” of a literary work, that is, a particular “take” on it. When you set out to apply literary criticism to a story, novel, poem, or play, the end product is your personal reading of the work, your individual “intellectual or scholarly product,” which you produce by engaging with the work and attempting to articulate your interpretive understanding of it.

The word “canon” refers to a collection of literary works that are held to be of extremely high quality and permanent value for a culture or civilization. The now-unfashionable idea of “the classics” is roughly equivalent. Originally used to refer to an official collection of religious texts that are held by some to be authoritative and sacred, such as the canon of 27 books that make up the New Testament, the word also came to be applied to works of literature in general as a broad conceptual tool for identifying those that constitute a kind of core collection of literary value for a given civilization—something along the lines of what the 19th-century English poet and cultural critic Matthew Arnold meant in his essay “Culture and Anarchy” when he famously referred to “the best that has been thought and said.”

The very idea of a literary canon invites controversy, as it automatically raises the question of who is qualified or authorized to identify the works that should be universally considered canonical. The great cultural upheavals in America, Great Britain, and Europe in the 1960s and 1970s involved accusations of racism and sexism being leveled against official institutional notions of the literary canon at schools, colleges, and universities, and in the early decades of the 21st century the idea of a universal or normative canon remained contentious. This is why you’re as likely as not to come across explicit mention of the literary canon, and of the controversies surrounding the idea, in works of criticism written at any time during the past several decades.

Koolish, Lynda. “‘To Be Loved and Cry Shame’: A Psychological Reading of Toni Morrison’s ‘Beloved.’” MELUS, vol. 26, no. 4, 2001, pp. 169–195. JSTOR,  www.jstor.org/stable/3185546 . Accessed 22 Apr. 2021.

Matthews, Kristin L. “Reading to Outmaneuver: Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man and African American Literacy in Cold War America.” Reading America: Citizenship, Democracy, and Cold War Literature, University of Massachusetts Press, pp. 53–79. (Quote comes from pp. 54-55.)

Watt, Stephen. “Reading.” Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Literature, 30 June 2020,  https://oxfordre.com/literature/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190201098.001.0001/acrefore-9780190201098-e-1038 . Accessed 19 Apr. 2021.

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  • Terms and Concepts in Literary Criticism. Provided by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution

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Literary Theory and Criticism

Home › Literature › New Criticism

New Criticism

By NASRULLAH MAMBROL on May 30, 2021

New Criticism is a movement in 20th-century literary criticism that arose in reaction to those traditional “extrinsic” approaches that saw a text as making a moral or philosophical statement or as an outcome of social, economic, political, historical, or biographical phenomena. New Criticism holds that a text must be evaluated apart from its context; failure to do so causes the Affective Fallacy , which confuses a text with the emotional or psychological response of its readers, or the Intentional Fallacy, which conflates textual impact and the objectives of the author.

New Criticism assumes that a text is an isolated entity that can be understood through the tools and techniques of close reading, maintains that each text has unique texture, and asserts that what a text says and how it says it are inseparable. The task of the New Critic is to show the way a reader can take the myriad and apparently discordant elements of a text and reconcile or resolve them into a harmonious, thematic whole. In sum, the objective is to unify the text or rather to recognize the inherent but obscured unity therein. The reader’s awareness of and attention to elements of the form of the work mean that a text eventually will yield to the analytical scrutiny and interpretive pressure that close reading provides. Simply put, close reading is the hallmark of New Criticism.

The genesis of New Criticism can be found in the early years of the 20th century in the work of the British philosopher I. A. Richards and his student William Empson. Another important fi gure in the beginnings of New Criticism was the American writer and critic T. S. Eliot . Later practitioners and proponents include John Crowe Ransom, Cleanth Brooks, Allen Tate, Robert Penn Warren, Reni Wellek, and William Wimsatt. In many ways New Criticism runs in temporal parallel to the American modern period.

in literary criticism definition

I. A. Richards

From the 1930s to the 1960s in the United States, New Criticism was the accepted approach to literary study and criticism in scholarly journals and in college and university English departments. Among the lasting legacies of New Criticism is the conviction that surface reading of literature is insufficient; a critic, to arrive at and make sense of the latent potency of a text, must explore very carefully its inner sanctum by noting the presence and the patterns of literary devices within the text. Only this, New Criticism asserts, enables one to decode completely.

New Criticism gave discipline and depth to literary scholarship through emphasis on the text and a close reading thereof. However, the analytic and interpretive moves made in the practice of New Criticism tend to be most effective in lyric and complex intellectual poetry. The inability to deal adequately with other kinds of texts proved to be a significant liability in this approach. Furthermore, the exclusion of writer, reader, and context from scholarly inquiry has made New Criticism vulnerable to serious objections.

Despite its radical origins, New Criticism was fundamentally a conservative enterprise. By the 1960s, its dominance began to erode, and eventually it ceded primacy to critical approaches that demanded examination of the realities of production and reception. Today, although New Criticism has few champions, in many respects it remains an approach to literature from which other critical modes depart or against which they militate.

New Criticism: An Essay
The New Criticism of JC Ransom

BIBLIOGRAPHY Brooks, Cleanth. The Well Wrought Urn: Studies in the Structure of Poetry. New York: Reynal and Hitchcock, 1947. Guerin, Wilfred, et al. A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature. 4th ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. Jancovich, Mark. The Cultural Politics of the New Criticism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992. Lentricchia, Frank. After the New Criticism. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1980. Ransom, John. The New Criticism. New York: New Directions, 1941. Spurland, William, and Michael Fischer, eds. The New Criticism and Contemporary Literary Theory: Connections and Continuities. New York: Garland, 1995. Willingham, John. “The New Criticism: Then and Now.” In Contemporary Literary Theory, edited by Douglas Atkins and Janice Morrow, 24–41. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1989.

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  • How to write a literary analysis essay | A step-by-step guide

How to Write a Literary Analysis Essay | A Step-by-Step Guide

Published on January 30, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on August 14, 2023.

Literary analysis means closely studying a text, interpreting its meanings, and exploring why the author made certain choices. It can be applied to novels, short stories, plays, poems, or any other form of literary writing.

A literary analysis essay is not a rhetorical analysis , nor is it just a summary of the plot or a book review. Instead, it is a type of argumentative essay where you need to analyze elements such as the language, perspective, and structure of the text, and explain how the author uses literary devices to create effects and convey ideas.

Before beginning a literary analysis essay, it’s essential to carefully read the text and c ome up with a thesis statement to keep your essay focused. As you write, follow the standard structure of an academic essay :

  • An introduction that tells the reader what your essay will focus on.
  • A main body, divided into paragraphs , that builds an argument using evidence from the text.
  • A conclusion that clearly states the main point that you have shown with your analysis.

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Table of contents

Step 1: reading the text and identifying literary devices, step 2: coming up with a thesis, step 3: writing a title and introduction, step 4: writing the body of the essay, step 5: writing a conclusion, other interesting articles.

The first step is to carefully read the text(s) and take initial notes. As you read, pay attention to the things that are most intriguing, surprising, or even confusing in the writing—these are things you can dig into in your analysis.

Your goal in literary analysis is not simply to explain the events described in the text, but to analyze the writing itself and discuss how the text works on a deeper level. Primarily, you’re looking out for literary devices —textual elements that writers use to convey meaning and create effects. If you’re comparing and contrasting multiple texts, you can also look for connections between different texts.

To get started with your analysis, there are several key areas that you can focus on. As you analyze each aspect of the text, try to think about how they all relate to each other. You can use highlights or notes to keep track of important passages and quotes.

Language choices

Consider what style of language the author uses. Are the sentences short and simple or more complex and poetic?

What word choices stand out as interesting or unusual? Are words used figuratively to mean something other than their literal definition? Figurative language includes things like metaphor (e.g. “her eyes were oceans”) and simile (e.g. “her eyes were like oceans”).

Also keep an eye out for imagery in the text—recurring images that create a certain atmosphere or symbolize something important. Remember that language is used in literary texts to say more than it means on the surface.

Narrative voice

Ask yourself:

  • Who is telling the story?
  • How are they telling it?

Is it a first-person narrator (“I”) who is personally involved in the story, or a third-person narrator who tells us about the characters from a distance?

Consider the narrator’s perspective . Is the narrator omniscient (where they know everything about all the characters and events), or do they only have partial knowledge? Are they an unreliable narrator who we are not supposed to take at face value? Authors often hint that their narrator might be giving us a distorted or dishonest version of events.

The tone of the text is also worth considering. Is the story intended to be comic, tragic, or something else? Are usually serious topics treated as funny, or vice versa ? Is the story realistic or fantastical (or somewhere in between)?

Consider how the text is structured, and how the structure relates to the story being told.

  • Novels are often divided into chapters and parts.
  • Poems are divided into lines, stanzas, and sometime cantos.
  • Plays are divided into scenes and acts.

Think about why the author chose to divide the different parts of the text in the way they did.

There are also less formal structural elements to take into account. Does the story unfold in chronological order, or does it jump back and forth in time? Does it begin in medias res —in the middle of the action? Does the plot advance towards a clearly defined climax?

With poetry, consider how the rhyme and meter shape your understanding of the text and your impression of the tone. Try reading the poem aloud to get a sense of this.

In a play, you might consider how relationships between characters are built up through different scenes, and how the setting relates to the action. Watch out for  dramatic irony , where the audience knows some detail that the characters don’t, creating a double meaning in their words, thoughts, or actions.

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Your thesis in a literary analysis essay is the point you want to make about the text. It’s the core argument that gives your essay direction and prevents it from just being a collection of random observations about a text.

If you’re given a prompt for your essay, your thesis must answer or relate to the prompt. For example:

Essay question example

Is Franz Kafka’s “Before the Law” a religious parable?

Your thesis statement should be an answer to this question—not a simple yes or no, but a statement of why this is or isn’t the case:

Thesis statement example

Franz Kafka’s “Before the Law” is not a religious parable, but a story about bureaucratic alienation.

Sometimes you’ll be given freedom to choose your own topic; in this case, you’ll have to come up with an original thesis. Consider what stood out to you in the text; ask yourself questions about the elements that interested you, and consider how you might answer them.

Your thesis should be something arguable—that is, something that you think is true about the text, but which is not a simple matter of fact. It must be complex enough to develop through evidence and arguments across the course of your essay.

Say you’re analyzing the novel Frankenstein . You could start by asking yourself:

Your initial answer might be a surface-level description:

The character Frankenstein is portrayed negatively in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein .

However, this statement is too simple to be an interesting thesis. After reading the text and analyzing its narrative voice and structure, you can develop the answer into a more nuanced and arguable thesis statement:

Mary Shelley uses shifting narrative perspectives to portray Frankenstein in an increasingly negative light as the novel goes on. While he initially appears to be a naive but sympathetic idealist, after the creature’s narrative Frankenstein begins to resemble—even in his own telling—the thoughtlessly cruel figure the creature represents him as.

Remember that you can revise your thesis statement throughout the writing process , so it doesn’t need to be perfectly formulated at this stage. The aim is to keep you focused as you analyze the text.

Finding textual evidence

To support your thesis statement, your essay will build an argument using textual evidence —specific parts of the text that demonstrate your point. This evidence is quoted and analyzed throughout your essay to explain your argument to the reader.

It can be useful to comb through the text in search of relevant quotations before you start writing. You might not end up using everything you find, and you may have to return to the text for more evidence as you write, but collecting textual evidence from the beginning will help you to structure your arguments and assess whether they’re convincing.

To start your literary analysis paper, you’ll need two things: a good title, and an introduction.

Your title should clearly indicate what your analysis will focus on. It usually contains the name of the author and text(s) you’re analyzing. Keep it as concise and engaging as possible.

A common approach to the title is to use a relevant quote from the text, followed by a colon and then the rest of your title.

If you struggle to come up with a good title at first, don’t worry—this will be easier once you’ve begun writing the essay and have a better sense of your arguments.

“Fearful symmetry” : The violence of creation in William Blake’s “The Tyger”

The introduction

The essay introduction provides a quick overview of where your argument is going. It should include your thesis statement and a summary of the essay’s structure.

A typical structure for an introduction is to begin with a general statement about the text and author, using this to lead into your thesis statement. You might refer to a commonly held idea about the text and show how your thesis will contradict it, or zoom in on a particular device you intend to focus on.

Then you can end with a brief indication of what’s coming up in the main body of the essay. This is called signposting. It will be more elaborate in longer essays, but in a short five-paragraph essay structure, it shouldn’t be more than one sentence.

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is often read as a crude cautionary tale about the dangers of scientific advancement unrestrained by ethical considerations. In this reading, protagonist Victor Frankenstein is a stable representation of the callous ambition of modern science throughout the novel. This essay, however, argues that far from providing a stable image of the character, Shelley uses shifting narrative perspectives to portray Frankenstein in an increasingly negative light as the novel goes on. While he initially appears to be a naive but sympathetic idealist, after the creature’s narrative Frankenstein begins to resemble—even in his own telling—the thoughtlessly cruel figure the creature represents him as. This essay begins by exploring the positive portrayal of Frankenstein in the first volume, then moves on to the creature’s perception of him, and finally discusses the third volume’s narrative shift toward viewing Frankenstein as the creature views him.

Some students prefer to write the introduction later in the process, and it’s not a bad idea. After all, you’ll have a clearer idea of the overall shape of your arguments once you’ve begun writing them!

If you do write the introduction first, you should still return to it later to make sure it lines up with what you ended up writing, and edit as necessary.

The body of your essay is everything between the introduction and conclusion. It contains your arguments and the textual evidence that supports them.

Paragraph structure

A typical structure for a high school literary analysis essay consists of five paragraphs : the three paragraphs of the body, plus the introduction and conclusion.

Each paragraph in the main body should focus on one topic. In the five-paragraph model, try to divide your argument into three main areas of analysis, all linked to your thesis. Don’t try to include everything you can think of to say about the text—only analysis that drives your argument.

In longer essays, the same principle applies on a broader scale. For example, you might have two or three sections in your main body, each with multiple paragraphs. Within these sections, you still want to begin new paragraphs at logical moments—a turn in the argument or the introduction of a new idea.

Robert’s first encounter with Gil-Martin suggests something of his sinister power. Robert feels “a sort of invisible power that drew me towards him.” He identifies the moment of their meeting as “the beginning of a series of adventures which has puzzled myself, and will puzzle the world when I am no more in it” (p. 89). Gil-Martin’s “invisible power” seems to be at work even at this distance from the moment described; before continuing the story, Robert feels compelled to anticipate at length what readers will make of his narrative after his approaching death. With this interjection, Hogg emphasizes the fatal influence Gil-Martin exercises from his first appearance.

Topic sentences

To keep your points focused, it’s important to use a topic sentence at the beginning of each paragraph.

A good topic sentence allows a reader to see at a glance what the paragraph is about. It can introduce a new line of argument and connect or contrast it with the previous paragraph. Transition words like “however” or “moreover” are useful for creating smooth transitions:

… The story’s focus, therefore, is not upon the divine revelation that may be waiting beyond the door, but upon the mundane process of aging undergone by the man as he waits.

Nevertheless, the “radiance” that appears to stream from the door is typically treated as religious symbolism.

This topic sentence signals that the paragraph will address the question of religious symbolism, while the linking word “nevertheless” points out a contrast with the previous paragraph’s conclusion.

Using textual evidence

A key part of literary analysis is backing up your arguments with relevant evidence from the text. This involves introducing quotes from the text and explaining their significance to your point.

It’s important to contextualize quotes and explain why you’re using them; they should be properly introduced and analyzed, not treated as self-explanatory:

It isn’t always necessary to use a quote. Quoting is useful when you’re discussing the author’s language, but sometimes you’ll have to refer to plot points or structural elements that can’t be captured in a short quote.

In these cases, it’s more appropriate to paraphrase or summarize parts of the text—that is, to describe the relevant part in your own words:

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The conclusion of your analysis shouldn’t introduce any new quotations or arguments. Instead, it’s about wrapping up the essay. Here, you summarize your key points and try to emphasize their significance to the reader.

A good way to approach this is to briefly summarize your key arguments, and then stress the conclusion they’ve led you to, highlighting the new perspective your thesis provides on the text as a whole:

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

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By tracing the depiction of Frankenstein through the novel’s three volumes, I have demonstrated how the narrative structure shifts our perception of the character. While the Frankenstein of the first volume is depicted as having innocent intentions, the second and third volumes—first in the creature’s accusatory voice, and then in his own voice—increasingly undermine him, causing him to appear alternately ridiculous and vindictive. Far from the one-dimensional villain he is often taken to be, the character of Frankenstein is compelling because of the dynamic narrative frame in which he is placed. In this frame, Frankenstein’s narrative self-presentation responds to the images of him we see from others’ perspectives. This conclusion sheds new light on the novel, foregrounding Shelley’s unique layering of narrative perspectives and its importance for the depiction of character.

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  1. Literary criticism

    literary criticism, the reasoned consideration of literary works and issues. It applies, as a term, to any argumentation about literature, whether or not specific works are analyzed.

  2. What Is Literary Criticism? Definition, Types, and Examples

    Literary criticism is the interpretation, analysis, and judgment of a text. The purpose of literary criticism is to help a reader better engage with or challenge that writing. Good criticism deepens our understanding of literature and contributes to literature's development over time.

  3. Literary criticism

    A genre of arts criticism, literary criticism or literary studies is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature.Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical analysis of literature's goals and methods. Although the two activities are closely related, literary critics are not always, and have not always been, theorists.

  4. Literary Criticism Explained: 11 Critical Approaches to Literature

    Literary criticism is the practice of studying, evaluating, and interpreting works of literature. Similar to literary theory, which provides a broader philosophical framework for how to analyze literature, literary criticism offers readers new ways to understand an author's work.

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    The definition of literary criticism is the analysis, comparison, evaluation, and interpretation of a work of literature. Often engaging in debates with other critics to help prove their...

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    Literary criticism is essentially an opinion, supported by evidence, relating to theme, style, setting or historical or political context. It usually includes discussion of the work's content and integrates your ideas with other insights gained from research.

  7. What is Literary Criticism? (with Examples)

    Criticism in literature is the study/evaluation of literary works, including but not limited to plays, poems, novels, and essays. Critics evaluate, interpret, and judge literary work according to various theories (often closely connected to literary movements like modernism ).

  8. LITERARY CRITICISM definition

    the formal study and discussion of works of literature, for example by judging and explaining their importance and meaning SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases Literature accentual action hero alliterative alternative history anapest fiction fictionality fictionally fictive fictively non-metrical non-poetic nonsense verse nursery rhyme ode

  9. Literary Criticism

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  10. Literary Criticism

    a genre of argument about a specific text or a set of texts. Key Terms: Archive, Canon; Dialectic; Hermeneutics; Semiotics; Text & Intertextuality; Tone; rhetoric, intersubjectivity, modernism, postmodernism. *Alternative Article Title (s): Critical Theory General Strategies for Engaging in Literary Criticism Engage in Rhetorical Analysis

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    Encyclopedia Britannica defines Literary Criticism as "the reasoned consideration of literary works and issues." In other words, it is the act of studying, evaluating, discussing, and/or interpreting a work of literature. What else is Literary Criticism? an in-depth analysis can be about a poem, play, novel, or short story

  12. LITERARY CRITICISM

    the formal study and discussion of works of literature, for example by judging and explaining their importance and meaning SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases Literature accentual action hero alliterative alternative history anapest fiction fictionality fictionally fictive fictively non-character non-literary non-metrical non-poetic

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    Strictly defined, "literary criticism" refers to the act of interpreting and studying literature. A literary critic is not someone who merely evaluates the worth or quality of a piece of literature but, rather, is someone who argues on behalf of an interpretation or understanding of the particular meaning(s) of literary texts.

  14. Approaches to Literary Criticism

    This school of criticism rests on the assumption that literary works don't contain or embody a stable, fixed meaning but can have many meanings—in fact, as many meanings as there are readers, since each reader will engage with the text differently. In the words of literature scholar Lois Tyson, "reader-response theorists share two beliefs ...

  15. Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism

    Literary theory and criticism can shine a light on those underlying meanings to help you: Understand the themes, symbols, and motifs presented in a text. Analyze an author's style. Write a critical essay or analysis of a book. Engage in a comprehensive literary discussion.

  16. Literary Theory: Understanding 15 Types of Literary Criticism

    Literary Theory: Understanding 15 Types of Literary Criticism Written by MasterClass Last updated: Jun 7, 2021 • 4 min read Literary theory enables readers and critics a better understanding of literature through close readings and contextual insights. Learn From the Best 15 Types of Literary Criticism What Is Literary Theory?

  17. Terms and Concepts in Literary Criticism

    Literary criticism proceeds by drawing on literary theory, defined as the set of methods, ideas, and assumptions that we bring to the reading of literature. There's a highly developed realm of academic research and discourse devoted to literary theory. It gets really deep, really fast, and its many details sprawl well beyond the boundaries of ...

  18. New Criticism

    New Criticism is a movement in 20th-century literary criticism that arose in reaction to those traditional "extrinsic" approaches that saw a text as making a moral or philosophical statement or as an outcome of social, economic, political, historical, or biographical phenomena. New Criticism holds that a text must be evaluated apart from its context; failure…

  19. Literary Theory

    Literary Theory. "Literary theory" is the body of ideas and methods we use in the practical reading of literature. By literary theory we refer not to the meaning of a work of literature but to the theories that reveal what literature can mean. Literary theory is a description of the underlying principles, one might say the tools, by which ...

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    Literary Criticism - The analysis of a literary text though various lenses that highlight authorial stance, purpose, and perspective Part of the fun of reading good literature is looking for all its meanings and messages. Since people have written literature, critics have been interpreting it …. going all the way back to ancient Greece and Rome.

  21. How to Write a Literary Analysis Essay

    A literary analysis essay is not a rhetorical analysis, nor is it just a summary of the plot or a book review. Instead, it is a type of argumentative essay where you need to analyze elements such as the language, perspective, and structure of the text, and explain how the author uses literary devices to create effects and convey ideas.

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    Biblical literature - Literary Criticism, Canon, Texts: Literary criticism endeavours to establish the literary genres (types or categories) of the various biblical documents and to reach conclusions about their structure, date, and authorship. These conclusions are based as far as possible on internal evidence, but external evidence is also very helpful, especially where date is concerned.