2. HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL LENSES By: Amelia Penniman and Allyson Frese and Justin Norris

3. DEFINITIONS  Historical:  Reflection of time period  Biographical:  Reflection of self

4. QUESTIONS ASKED  What is the time period in which the piece was written?  Does the time period affect why it was written?  How does the time period influence the characters’/narrator’s actions… how does it not?  What is the author’s background?  Does conflict in the book correspond with the historical period?  Was the author a part of any significant historical happenings in his/her life?  What cultural aspects of the time could have changed the plot?  What does the work reveal about the author’s life?  How does the author incorporate events from his/her own life in the text?  What historical events are present in the work?

5. ADVANTAGES  Helps place allusions  Clarifies author’s intent  Gives information about the author  Gives information about the time period  Reader can make comparisons between time periods

6. DISADVANTAGES  Background information on the author/time period must be known  Can limit the reader’s creativity in analyzing the text  Overanalyzing takes away from the text

7. USES  The Great Gatsby  The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn  The Scarlet Letter  To Kill A Mockingbird  Walden

8. THE REAL WORLD  English  Analyzing art  Reading historical textbooks  Newspapers  Other forms of media  Politics

9. APPLYING THE LENS  Where?  How?

10. Sources  http://www.textetc.com/criticism.html http://www.textetc.com/criticism.html  http://www.kristisiegel.com/theory.htm http://www.kristisiegel.com/theory.htm  http://wwww.ksu.edu.sa/colleges/art/eng/461- Eng/Literary%20Criticism%20Map.htm http://wwww.ksu.edu.sa/colleges/art/eng/461- Eng/Literary%20Criticism%20Map.htm  http://hubpages.com/hub/Historical-Literary- Criticism http://hubpages.com/hub/Historical-Literary- Criticism  http://apbaionedoda.blogspot.com/2009/01/liter ary-criticism-map.html http://apbaionedoda.blogspot.com/2009/01/liter ary-criticism-map.html