1. F EMINIST L ITERARY T HEORY A brief introduction

2. I NTERPRET THIS POEM : Possibilities: You can’t have ‘she’ without ‘he’ Her thoughts revolve around him He is trapped by her He breaks up her thoughts She holds him together

3. W HAT IS F EMINISM ? The term feminism can be used to describe a political, cultural or economic movement aimed at establishing equal rights and legal protection for women. Feminism involves political, cultural and sociological theories, as well as philosophies concerned with issues of gender difference. It is also a movement that advocates gender equality for women and campaigns for women's rights and interests. It is not trying to make women better than men, just equal.

4. W HAT IS L ITERARY T HEORY ? The rigorous examination of literature, undertaken to bring to life the full depth and range of its meanings Lisa Tuttle has defined feminist theory as asking "new questions of old texts." Examines relationship between men and women and their roles in society Fact Sheet W HAT IS F EMINIST L ITERARY T HEORY ?

5. C AN F EMINIST THEORY APPLY TO MORE THAN LITERATURE ? Mount Rushmore The Miss America Pageant Coverage of the Olympic women’s hockey team Anchors of national network news shows Other?

6. H OW DO WE APPLY THE THEORY ? Closely examining the portrayal of the characters, both female and male, the language of the text, the attitude of the author, and the relationship between the characters. Also, what comments the author seems to be making about society as a whole. Try to analyze that characters, the situations, the relationships and the author’s intent on writing the piece – this is the type of analysis you will be expected to do in college.