Requirements
 Students are required to complete:
 Two 1 page responses that must include:
 1 Literary criticism.
 Tell the story

The criticism

Provide quotes to prove the criticism, then an explanation.
 Do the same for the themes.

Important to know when brevity and specificity is
important, and when elaboration is required.
Requirements continued
 Students are required to:
 Write a third analysis (1,500 words).
 Complete a Poetry Anthology as the final.
Six Basic Approaches to
Literary Criticism
 Textual
 Focuses on text.
 Do you perceive what the author intended?
 Translations?
Six Basic Approaches to Literary
Criticism continued
 Historical/Biographical
 What are the political, social, and economic events the
writer uses?
 This is a reflection of its author’s life and times or the
life and times of the characters in the work.
Six Basic Approaches to Literary
Criticism continued
 Moral/Philosophical
 What does the work mean?
 This type of literature is to teach morality and probe
philosophical issues.
Six Basic Approaches to Literary
Criticism continued
 What is the purpose?
 This is a reflection of the author’s life and times or the
life and times of the characters in the work.
 Ex.: Aesop’s fables. Authors may not have the same view as
you.
Six Basic Approaches to
Literary Criticism continued
 Formalistic
 Form of the work focuses on how the work is:
 New Critical approach.
 Close, analytical approach to the work.
 Analysis and Synthesis. Look for multiple meanings of
words and illusions. Watch for structures and patters,
sentence structure and grammar.
Six Basic Approaches to
Literary Criticism continued
 Psychological
 Freudian approach.
 Understand the characters and what makes them do
what they do.
Six Basic Approaches to
Literary Criticism continued
 Archetypical Universal
 Something occurs in every culture.
 Point out (compare) points in stories that appear in all
cultures.
Universal Themes
 Innocence & Experience – Loss of innocence, coming
of age. Huckleberry Finn
 Conformity vs. Rebellion – Don Quixote, Scarlet Letter
 Love/Hate – Revenge stories. Moby Dick
 Death, Time, & Change – Emily Dickinson, Edgar
Allen Poe
 Good & Evil – Cowboys and Indians
Response Papers
 One Paper – 250+ Words
On left hand side of the essay:
 MLA Formatting:
Your Name




Times New Roman
12 Point Font
Double Spaced
1 inch margins
S. Mueller
English Composition 1302
Date Due
Literary Response
 1,500 Words
 Three Short Quotes
 One Long Quote
 Parenthetical Citation
 Three different sources used in the essay.
 Works Cited page.