Biographical: the Author's Life Affects His Or Her Work

Abbreviated Guide to Literary Criticism

Biographical: The author's life affects his or her work

Central Biographical Questions:  What biographical facts has the author used in the text?  What biographical facts has the author changed? Why?  What insights do we acquire about the author’s life by reading the text?  How do these facts and insights increase (or diminish) our understanding of the text?  In what ways does the author seem to consider his or her own life as "typical" or significant?

Works exemplifying this approach: ______

Historical: Historical events help shape a work Central Historical Questions:  What specific historical events were happening when the work was being composed? (See timelines in history or literature texts.)  What historical events does the work deal with?  In what ways did history affect the writer's outlook?  In what ways did history affect the style? language? content?  In what ways and for what reasons did the writer alter historical events?

Geographical: Settings limit and define what writers can produce Central Geographical Questions:  Which geographical features in the text are real?  What aspects of the geography are essential to the story? And which are nonessential?  To what extent has the geography limited the kind of story that can happen?  In what ways has the writer altered the geography to suit his or her purposes? Has the writer made any geographical errors?

Political: Prevailing Political conditions often modify a literary work Central Political Questions:  What political events are significant in the text?  What political events were occurring at the time the text was written? (See timelines in history or literature texts.)  What political events were occurring at the time the text was written?  What political beliefs does the author seem to have? And how are those beliefs shown?  What political beliefs does the author seem to dislike? How can you tell?

Philosophical and Religious: The religious and ethical climate influences writers Baltimore County Public Schools 2012 C. Barnaby and their texts. Central Philosophical/Religious Questions:  What religious or ethical beliefs does the text deal with directly? Are any religions or philosophies mentioned specifically in the text?  What religious or ethical beliefs or philosophies does the author seem to favor? How can you tell?  What religious or ethical beliefs or philosophies does the author seem to disfavor? How can you tell?  What behaviors do the characters display that the author wants us to think are “right”? How can you tell?  What behavior is “wrong”? How can you tell?

Sociological/Anthropological: Social conditions and notions of the origins and cultures of humanity affect literature. Central Sociological/Anthropological Questions:  What sort of society does the author describe? (How is it set up? What rules are there? What happens to people who break them? Who enforces the rules?)  What does the writer seem to like or dislike about this society?  What changes do you think the writer would like to make in the society? And how can you tell?  What sorts of pressures does the society put on its members? How do the members respond to this pressure?

Psychological: Prevailing theories of human behavior find their way into literature. Central Psychological Questions:  Are there any specific psychologists or psychological theories mentioned in the text? In what ways?  What theories of human behavior does the writer seem to believe? How can you tell?  What theories of human behavior does the writer seem to reject? How can you tell?  How do people’s minds work in the text? How do people think? How are their thoughts shown?  In what ways do the structure and organization of the text indicate the writer’s beliefs about the workings of the mind?

Baltimore County Public Schools 2012 C. Barnaby