LITERARY CRITICISM

LEARNING TARGETS
define literary criticism
distinguish different literary approaches
explain the biographical, linguistic, and sociocultural
contexts and discuss how they enhance the text’s
meaning and the reader’s understanding
 LITERARY APPROACHES

BIOGRAPHICAL LINGUISTIC SOCIOLOGICAL

FORMALISM FEMINISM
 SOCIOLOGICAL
• Focuses on the values of a society and
how those views are reflected in a text
• Emphasizes the economic, political,
and cultural issues within literary
texts
 SOCIOLOGICAL CONTEXT
There are reasons to read literature through the
sociocultural context (Gioia and Kennedy 2007):
helps you understand the social, economic, political, and
cultural forces affecting the work that you are reading
makes you examine the role of the audience (readers) in
shaping literature
 SOCIOLOGICAL
1. What is the relationship between the
characters or the speakers in the text and
their society?
2. Does the text explicitly address issues of
gender, race, or class?
3. How does the text resolve these issues?
 SOCIOLOGICAL
4. Who has the power? Who does not? What is the
reason for this setup?
5. How does this story reflect the nation? What does
this say about the country and its inhabitants?
6. Who has the economic or social power? Is there
oppression or class struggle?
 SOCIOLOGICAL
7. How do the characters overcome this? Does
money or finances play a large role in the
narrative?
8. What is the prevailing social order? Does the
story or poem accept or challenge it?
SOCIOLOGICAL
FEMINIST
MARXIST
FEMINIST CRITICISM
scan the QR CODE below for the video
 THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM
Based on the video clip you watched, answer the following
questions below. Write your answer in a 1 whole sheet of paper.
1. How is the relationship between men and women
portrayed?
2. How are male and female roles defined? Do women exist
as characters only in relation to others– the mother,
daughter, sister, wife, aunt relations?
 FEMINIST CRITICISM
• focuses on how gender affect a writer, a
work of literature, and a reader
• examines the status and portrayal of men
and women in the work
• reveals how aspects of our culture are
patriarchal
 GUIDE QUESTIONS
1. How are women’s lives portrayed in the work?
2. Is the form and content of the work influenced
by the writer’s gender?
3. How do male and female characters relate to
one another? Are these relationships sources
of conflict? Are these conflicts resolved?
 GUIDE QUESTIONS
4. Does the work challenge or affirm traditional views
of women?
5. How do the images of women in the story reflect
patriarchal social forces that have impeded women’s
efforts to achieve full equality with men?
6. What marital expectations are imposed on the
characters? What effect do these expectations have?
 GUIDE QUESTIONS
7. What behavioral expectations are imposed on the
characters? What effect do these expectations
have?
8. If a female character were male, how would the
story be different (and vice versa)?
9. How does the marital status of a character affect
her decisions or happiness?