Criticism

Unit 3

Using Literary Criticism

When your personal reactions and knowledge cannot give you enough insight into a literary work, you may choose to read literary criticism — books and journal articles written by experts who describe, analyze, interpret, or evaluate a work of literature.

Consulting and citing literary criticism is important as it...

increases your knowledge of the subject;
provides evidence for your argument;
offers counterarguments to and alternative interpretations of your argument;
provides background information or context for your topic;
demonstrates that you have considered views other than your own;
makes you appear a more knowledgeable writer to your readers.

Where do I find literary criticism?

Things to take into account:

Encyclopedia articles do not offer true literary criticism.
Nor do Cliff's Notes, Spark Notes, or "overviews" of authors, works, or literary topics available online.
Wikipedia is not a peer-reviewed source: anyone can post and update information on this site. As a result, it is not a reliable resource.

Recommendations for your search:

Internet material must have been published in a book or journal before being placed online.
Use Google Scholar and type in the title of specific work + its author/s or characters' names.
Use a search engine and type in the title of a specific work or the author + doi (digital object identifier).
Use books and articles from libraries and articles located on special databases: Researchgate, Academia, Project Muse.

Reading an article

Read the article about The Legacy by Virginia Woolf's and answer the following questions:
1 What is the source of the publication (a website, journal, book, etc.)? Is it reliable?
2 Is the critical work's publication date of any significance?
3 What is the main point of the article? How is it presented?
4 Does the critic support conclusions with references to other sources? Give examples.
5 Does the critic provide documentation and a list of works cited? Are the works relevant to the topic of the article?
6 Does the critic take into consideration the most important critical books and articles on his or her subject? Give examples.
7 How is the article structured? Which part seems the most important?
8 What is the meaning of feminist literary criticism?
9 Why is the name of the main heroine of the story (Angela) an important detail? What might it represent?
10 Why were diaries important for Virginia Woolf?

Read the article