1. Biographical and Historical Criticism P37 Critical Approaches

2. What is… Biographical Criticism: ▫examines the effect and influence of the writer's life on his or her work. ▫knowing something about the writer's life helps us to more fully understand his or her work. Historical Criticism: ▫explores the historical, social, political, and cultural contexts surrounding the creation and reception of a work of literature. ▫uses history as a means of understanding a literary work more clearly. ▫understand the work through its historical context and to understand cultural and intellectual history through literature.

3. Questions for Biographical Criticism Biographical Criticism Strategies: ▫Research the author's life. ▫Research the author's beliefs. Questions to ask oneself when doing biographical criticism: ▫Are facts about the writer's life relevant to your understanding of the work? ▫Are characters and incidents in the work versions of the writer's own experiences? ▫How do you think the writer's values are reflected in the work? ▫How do the connections explain the author's purpose and the overall meaning of the work? Note: do not assume the work retells the author's life, and avoid using unsound sources of information about the author's life.

4. Questions for Historical Criticism Strategies for historical criticism: ▫Research the author's time (the political history, literary period, economic history, cultural climate, philosophers of the time, and social environment). ▫Research the time in which the story takes place. ▫Research the characteristics of the literary period. Questions to ask oneself when doing historical criticism: ▫How does the work reflect the period in which it is written? ▫What were the common themes and motifs in the literature of the time period? ▫How important is the historical context to interpreting the work? ▫What position is the author taking regarding the events or conditions of the time?

5. Resources Langdahl (2012). Biographical criticism. Retrieved from http://parkrose.orvsd.org/mod/resource/view.p hp?id=8862 http://parkrose.orvsd.org/mod/resource/view.p hp?id=8862 Langdahl (2012). Historical criticism. Retrieved from http://parkrose.orvsd.org/mod/resource/view.p hp?id=9033 http://parkrose.orvsd.org/mod/resource/view.p hp?id=9033