1. Differentiating the 4 historical strategies Literary Theory

2. Literary History, New Historicism, Cultural Criticism, Marxist Criticism Shared: All examine the relationship between the work and context in which the work was written All use information from the context to shed light on the work Different: What sort of documents/artifacts they examine in understanding the context Marxist: what it examines in the work

3. Literary History Criticism EXAMINES: Traditional historical sources and topics Political history National/international events Social/intellectual movements (ex., Civil Rights Movement, Romanticism) Literary context Works that influenced the author Other works in the same movement (ex., Modernists)

4. New Historicism ALSO EXAMINES NON-TRADITIONAL SOURCES—FOR EX: Medical records Water usage rates Poll results Sales figures FOR LITERARY CONTEXT, ALSO CONSIDERS The context in which the work is being read Present attitudes toward issues in the work

5. Cultural Criticism EXAMINES POPULAR CULTURE TO UNDERSTAND THE CONTEXT: Popular songs Advertising Home decorating trends Movies and TV Social networking

6. Marxist Criticism SIMILAR TO THE OTHER 3 APPROACHES: Examines historical context—might look at any of the evidence that the others examine DIFFERENT: WHAT IT LOOKS FOR IN THE WORK Implied values, assumptions it makes related to power based on economic status, class, race, etc.

7. Marxist Criticism A TRUE MARXIST CRITIC’S WISH: SOCIAL JUSTICE APPLYING THE METHOD IN A BROADER WAY: Recognize the underlying power structures implied in the work What places a character or group in a position of power over another person or group?