Literary Criticism

Presenters: Niloufar Fathi

Pariya Mozafari

What is literary criticism?

Literary criticism is the evaluation of literary works. This includes the classification by genre, analysis of structure and judgment of value.

Literary critics

Sources literary critics are published

• Times literary supplement• The NY times book review• The London review of books• The nation • The New Yorker

Aspects of literary criticism

• Genre: it’s how you classify the written word, by the way in which it was written. Some pieces of literature share similar characteristics.

Theme: it’s a abstract idea that pulls the piece of literature together.

Significance and uses of literary criticism

• Historical criticism• Feminist criticism• Criticism based on literary devices

Historical criticism• It’s a way that classical literature can be brought to life.

• It’s by reading the novel in the context of the time period in which it was written.

Feminist criticismFeminist Criticism - analysis of the depiction of women and their relation to the woman reader by male authors.

Gynocriticism - the study of women’s writing.

What does Feminist Criticism do?

The critic analyzes how women are portrayed, spoken about or described in a piece of literature.

Some questions to consider...

How are the lives of men and women portrayed in the work? Do the men and women in the work accept or reject these roles?

Is the form and content of the work influenced by the author’s gender?

Prominent feminist literary critics

Jennifer Brody

Nancy Armstrong

Margaret Doody

Criticism base on literary devices

• A great way to read into a text is to analyze the:

• style• voice • Theme(s)• Setting• Type of narration• Metaphors used