Literary / Critical Theories: A How To GuideEach of the literary theories

analyzes one aspect of literature.

Here are guiding questions you can use as you apply each of the theories.

Literary / Critical Theories: A How To Guide

Reader Response Criticism What is it about your background, beliefs, or

experiences that affects how you interpret a text?

Is there something about the text that makes it easier or harder to understand? For example, is a short story easier for you to understand than a poem?

Is there something about the reading situation that affects your ability to understand the text? For example, do you prefer reading at home to reading at school?

Literary / Critical Theories: A How To Guide

Cultural Criticism What elements of culture are present in

the text?

How are different cultures within the text interacting with each other?◦ Is one culture more dominant / powerful?◦ Is one culture marginalized?◦Are any characters outsiders to the main culture

presented in the text?

How can an understanding of the culture depicted in the text assist in understanding characters’ motivations or actions?

Literary / Critical Theories: A How To Guide

Feminist Criticism How are women portrayed in the text?

How are men portrayed in the text?

Who has the power – the man or the woman?

Are the women stereotypical (obedient or submissive to the men)?

Are the women atypical (strong and independent)?

Is there a patriarchal or a matriarchal society?

Literary / Critical Theories: A How To Guide

Marxist Criticism Who has the power in the text?

Are the characters with the power also the characters with the wealth?

How is the story and/or the character development controlled by characters’ desires to gain wealth and power?

How can the conflicts in the text be understood as a struggle between the haves and the have-nots?

Literary / Critical Theories: A How To Guide

Historical Criticism How is the text a reflection of the time

period in which it was written?

Examples:◦ In William Shakespeare’s Othello, how does

the depiction of Othello, a Moor, reflect opinions or stereotypes about Moors that existed in the 1600s?

◦ In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, how does the author use the Salem witch trials to make a commentary about McCarthyism in the 1950s?

Literary / Critical Theories: A How To Guide

Archetypal Criticism

Which universal characters exist in the text?◦ Examples: the villain, the trickster, the tragic hero, the

jealous husband, the innocent, the temptress, the pawn.

What universal story pattern is present in the text?◦ Examples: the Cinderella story, the Pygmalion myth, the

journey to the underworld, the immigrant experience.

What universal symbols are present in the text?◦ Examples: water, sun, the desert.

How does being able to recognize these archetypes help you to understand the story or characters’ motivations?