2. Literary History Criticism
What is a literary historian?
-Literary historians shift the
emphasis from the period to the work.
A writer looks back at historical events to
determine the text.
Example- “Story of an Hour” is about a women
who is happy to finally have her own freedom,
without looking back at history and understanding
the women's rights at the time of the story, it
would not make as much sense.
3. Marxist Criticism
Where did Marxist Criticism come from?
- Marxist readings were developed from the
heightened interest in radical reform during the 1930s.
What is Marxist Critics?
-Marxist critics focus on the ideological content of
a work.
Marxist critics pay more attention to the content and
themes of literature than to its form.
Example-“Rose for Emily” pays more attention to the
idea of the story rather than how it is told.
4. New Historical Criticism
What is New Historicism?
- New historicism emphasizes the
interaction between the historic context of a work
and a modern reader’s understanding and
interpretation of the work.
New historicist criticism acknowledges the past and
tends to offer new emphases and perspectives
considering the past.
Example- “Rose for Emily” and “Story of an hour” both
emphasizes the past women's rights and tries to teach
readers of this age about what went on.
5. Cultural Criticism
What is a Cultural critics?
-Cultural critics focus on the historical contexts of literary
work, but pay particular attention to popular manifestations of social,
political, and economic contexts.
What is postcolonial criticism?
- Postcolonial criticism is the study of cultural behavior and
expression in the relationship to the formerly colonized world.
Example- “Rose for Emily” understands the historical
events that went on during the time of this story, but they
pay more attention to the moral of the story and her killing
him for no longer loving her.
