Biographical Criticism Authors typically write about things they know well, the events and circumstances of their lives are often reflected in their works. The context for a literary work includes information about the author Interpretation of the work should be based on an understanding of its context Focuses on explicating the literary work by using the insight provided by knowledge of the author’s life

Biographical Criticism Advantages Helps to illuminate the text; provide insight into themes historical references, social oppositions and the creation of fiction characters Disadvantages Some biographical details may be irrelevant Writers often revise facts Can overwhelm and distort the work Requires knowledge of the author

Biographical Criticism Questions and strategies Research the author’s life and relate that information to the work Research the author’s time and relate that information to the work What elements of the author’s life come out in the work? Why? How might the work came into being? How did the author change it from its autobiographical origins?

Historical Criticism When reading a text, you have to place it within its historical context Historical refers to the social, political, economic, cultural, and intellectual climate of the time Less concerned with explaining a work’s literary significance for today’s readers than with helping us understand the work by recreating the exact meaning and impact it had on its original audience

Historical Criticism Advantages Disadvantages There have been so many social, cultural, and linguistic changes that some older texts are incomprehensible without this criticism Even simple historical analysis can help with analysis Disadvantages Requires research and prior knowledge May be missed if knowledge isn’t present Often ignores the other types of analysis

Historical Criticism Strategies and Questions What information about the time the author wrote is important to the work? What information about the time the work is set in is important to the work? What ways did the people of that period see and think about the world in which they lived Research the fundamental historical events of the period in which the author wrote

Historical Criticism Strategies and Questions, cont. Consider the fundamental historical events of the period in which the literary work is set if it is different from the period in which the author wrote View the text as part of a larger context of historical movements, and consider how it both contributes to and reflects certain fundamental aspects of human history? How does this effect the story?