Main differences between literary criticism and literary theory:

e.g of criticism are poetics,preface and other major works etc.

Literary criticism denotes action and a literary theory denotes abstract, an idea, a set of rules.

Literary theory deals with the ways to distinguish literary texts from each other and establish
categories, classifications and schools of thoughts that are apparently visible in literary texts.
Literary criticism, on the other hand, is a practical study of a literary text that may be initiated on the
basis of any particular literary theory or independently, that deals with analyzing, interpreting,
extensively studying within certain boundaries and criteria.

The act of literary criticism generally concerns with comparison, analysis, and evaluation of literary
texts. A literary theory takes one step ahead and it may be the result of extensive literary criticism. For
instance, the literary theory with the name of Structuralism must have been the result of an extensive
act of literary criticism with an intent to establish a theory that certain elements in many literary
works are like a pattern – set of characters, ideas for plots, themes etc.

Importance of Literary Theory and criticism

Literary theory enables a broad appreciation of global literature. Reading a text through the lens of
literary theory provides a new perspective to better understand literature, learn more about different
authors' intentions, and generally improve the quality of literature for both authors and readers.
Literary theory can also influence literature, challenging texts to evolve into new territory.

The purpose of literary criticism is to broaden a reader's understanding of an author's work by

summarizing, interpreting, and exploring its value.

Some of the major schools of literary theory include :

Formalism – focuses on the structural purposes of a text

Reader-Response Criticism – focuses on the response of the reader to a text

Structuralism – focuses on the universal underlying structures of a text

Gender/Queer Studies – focuses on the portrayal of gender and gender relations

Post-colonial Studies – focuses on the influence of colonialism on literature

Psychoanalytic Criticism – focuses on the role of consciousness and unconsciousness in literature

Marxist Criticism – focuses on the political, economic and social in the literature