Literary Criticism

LITERARY ANALYSIS RESEARCH

Approaches| Topics | Theories

Why Do We Read?

We read stories for pleasure; they entertain us. And we read them for profit; they enlighten us.

Stories draw us into their imaginative worlds and engage us with the power of their invention. We read stories for pleasure; they entertain us. And

we read them for profit; they enlighten us. Stories draw us into their imaginative worlds and engage

us with the power of their invention.

DiYanni, Robert (1997) Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, Drama and the Essay, McGraw-HilDiYanni,

Robert (1997) Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, Drama and the Essay, McGraw-Hil

Why Do Literary Analysis?

By Tom Palumbo from New York, NY, USA (Jack Kerouac) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

An analysis offers you an opportunity to deepen

and broaden your understanding of the

work, identify how the meaning is conveyed

through literary elements, and better understand

the works’ significance.

Content AnalysisAsk these questions:What sort of person are the main characters?Who tells the story?How do you learn about the characters? Their actions, speech, thoughts?What are the sounds, rhythms, and language of the work?How do patters of imagery contribute to the tone and theme?

How to approach a literary analysis assignment.

1) Take a position about the work.2) Find expert and reliable support

for the position.3) Argue the position using

evidence from the work.

FIND EXPERT SUPPORT!You can usually find literature criticism articles in two places: in library databases and in books.

Try searching databases and the library catalog using keywords such as the name of the theory or the name of a literary work

WHAT MORE WOULD YOU LIKE TO KNOW !

Contact Julie Kent, Hons. B.A., M.L.I.S., Instructional and Research Librarian, [email protected]

Or speak with staff at the Library Reference Desk!

mailto:[email protected]

Literary Criticism

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Transcript of Literary Criticism