What is Literary Criticism?
Before you can find literary criticism, it is important to know what it is.
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.
Although criticism may include elements such as biographical, ethical, feminist, social, or psychological 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.
Literary criticism is an in-depth analysis of a literary work: novel, short story, play, or poem. These articles usually are published in scholarly journals as opposed to popular magazines and newspapers.
Critical Analysis Papers analyze and explain some important points about a piece of literature. They do not repeat the plot.
Solve that problem or analyze a central point.· Analysis of theme · Close textual analysis · Sociological, psychological, or historical context · Survey of other critical opinions · Analysis of images of figurative language · Analysis of structure · Analysis of character · Interpretation of lines
Support for your argument: Be sure that every paragraph has a unified topic that helps to develop your argument. Here are some ways to provide this support: · Use specific quotes and illustrations from the work you are discussing. · Analyze characters carefully: what they do, what they say, what they saw, how other treat them, what other say about them, what the narrator says about them. · Isolate the main issues, and find words or passages that justify your emphasis. · Provide a close reading or textual analysis. · Use vivid verbs that give a sense of sight, sound, or activity. · Avoid the passive voice unless there is good reason to use it. · Cite important critics who support your thesis, and explain how they support it. · Answer the critics who argue against your thesis.
Critical Analysis of Literature Last Updated 10/16/2002 by Henri Dongieux
If you are still having trouble locating criticism on your book or author, please ask a librarian for help.
Reading how other people have evaluated a novel, short story, play or poem can help you define your own views.
Criticism doesn't substitute for reading the original work because it won't give a detailed plot summary. However it can help you understand the main points of a story and identify the significant parts.
Many critical sources discuss an author's overall writing and may not even mention the specific work you have read. This is especially true for poems and short stories. This sort of criticism can still be useful if you apply the overall interpretation of an author to your particular work.
Yes, you can use Google, but only in scholar form to get accurate research information. There is a lot of information written by scholars on there which will make you, your teacher, and your grade happy.
This website is only for academic research and is very similar to Explora. They key difference is you can go to the website on any browser at any time without having to log into the webpage with a library card. Truly a great resource for students.
| Scholarly | Popular | |
| Length | Longer articles, providing in-depth analysis of topics | Shorter articles, providing broader overviews of topics |
| Authorship | Author usually an expert or specialist in the field; name and credentials always provided | Author usually a staff writer or a journalist, name and credentials often not provided |
| Language/Audience | Written in the jargon of the field for scholarly readers, professors, researchers or students | Written in non-technical language for anyone to understand |
| Format/Structure | Articles usually structured, may include: abstract, literature review, methodology, results, conclusion, bibliography | Articles do not necessarily follow a specific format or structure |
| Special Features | Illustrations that support the text, such as tables of statistics, graphs, maps, or photographs | Illustrations with glossy or color photographs, usually for advertising purposes |
| Editors | Articles usually reviewed and critically evaluated by a board of experts in the field (refereed or peer reviewed) | Articles are not evaluated by experts in the field, but by editors on staff |
| Credits | A bibliography (works cited) and/or footnotes always provided to document research | A bibliography (works cited) is usually not provided, although names of reports or references may be mentioned in the text |
Remember: Not everything published in an academic journal is considered scholarly. Academic journals contain book reviews and opinion pieces such as letters and editorials. These items do not go through the jury process that the articles do.
It is also important to understand that just because something is "Popular" does not mean that it will always be unacceptable for your work. Use your best judgment and, when in doubt, ask your teacher.
