Learning Targets:

 Today you will understand 4 theories

of literary criticism (New Criticism,
New Historicism, Post-colonial and
Gender Criticism) … so that you can
practice applying these lenses … in
order to write a literary analysis
essay that focuses on one lens.
LITERARY CRITICISM:
How to Read Literature Like a Professor
What happens when you put on a pair of
sunglasses?
 Literary Criticism (Lit Crit) Defined

A well-developed
and informed
evaluation and/or
analysis of a work
of literature based
on literary theory.
 Literary Criticism & Sunglasses??
 Numerous ways to look
at the SAME text
 Different color glasses=

Different literary lenses

 Three types of Lit

Crit…. apply to Things

Fall Apart
 New Criticism
 Lit crit most often used in
schools.
 Examine text & focus on
words, symbols, and
literary devices.
 EQ: What is the theme of
the novel? How do the
literary devices used help
support/enhance that
theme?
 Postcolonial
 disrupt and challenge unbalanced power
structures that position whites/ Western
peoples as being…
- civilized
- more “advanced” than the “Others”
(a.k.a. non-white, colonized peoples).
EQ: How does the novel challenge
stereotypes of “the other”? What is
revealed about the loss of personal and
cultural identity?
 New Historicism/Cultural Studies
Focus on historical background
of novel
- Examines book’s politics,
societal issues in relation to
characters’actions & themes
EQ: What does the novel
reveal about the author and
his/her world? In what historical
context did the author write the
book?
 Gender Criticism
 Portrayal of women and
men in literature: roles,
expectations, relationships
 Societal views: women’s
roles vs. men’s roles
 EQ: What does this novel
convey about gender
roles & expectations?
What do these portrayals
reveal about gendered
power structures?