Why is literary criticism important

See the English Libguide for more assistance with Literary Criticism. See the English Databases List for more resources.

Literary criticism is essentially an opinion, supported by evidence, relating to theme, style, setting or historical or political context. Although criticism may include some of the following elements in order to support an idea, literary criticism is NOT a plot summary, a biography of the author, or simply finding fault with the literature. Researching, reading, and writing works of literary criticism will help you to make better sense of the work, form judgments about literature, study ideas from different points of view, and determine on an individual level whether a literary work is worth reading.

Literary criticism in essays shortened from their original published versions can be found in the first two databases. Full text databases follow. If you already have a newspaper citation, and need to locate the article, use the following steps:. Librarians: ask dickinson.

It looks like you're using Internet Explorer 11 or older. This website works best with modern browsers such as the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. If you continue with this browser, you may see unexpected results. Introduction This guide will help you locate criticism for Literature, Film, and Drama. Literary Criticism Databases Literary criticism in essays shortened from their original published versions can be found in the first two databases.

Critics have reviewed and debated the value of literary works since before the Italian Renaissance. Critical reviews can assist you personally by supporting points you may make in your own literary interpretation. Referencing another legitimate literary review often enhances the quality of your reading of a text. Literary critics may sometimes challenge the ideas and values of literature. For example, some feminist critics review and challenge what they believe to be sexist attitudes in widely accepted literature written by men or from an exclusively male perspective.

Empathy is a necessary tool when criticizing a text. When reading another critic's textual interpretation that conflicts with your own values, you experience the reading through someone else's perspective and hence have the opportunity to increase your own tolerance for differing ideas. L iterary criticism in general and contemporary Urdu criticism in particular has been under fire in the last few years. Instead of instituting a serious debate on the theories in vogue, their epistemological roots, and efficacy in interpreting literary texts, their very existence is being called into question.

They are being maligned and violently discarded. Literary criticism aims to analyse, interpret and evaluate the texts created by humans at a particular moment in time and in a specific cultural ambience. Analysis and interpretation are acts of intellect and rationality.

But no critic, not even the most gifted one, has ever made such a claim. A critic can define, interrogate or negotiate the actual or supposed role of deities that have been traditionally associated with them in the moment of creation; they can also interpret or question how and in what way inspiration and supernatural agency is supposed to influence or orient the creative process, but their way of defining and presenting an argument would inevitably be based on reason and logic.

The quintessential element of criticism is human rationality. Poetry can surpass the limits of human rationality; and at times poetic imagination is claimed to have encountered rationality as a major hurdle in its way. Iqbal in one of his oft-quoted couplet says:. Higher reality, being the destination of all truth-seekers, can be fully grasped only by intuition or imagination.

Why Iqbal suggests surpassing reason or intellect is answered in another couplet:. Ishq believes in surrendering to the beloved object or idea, while Aql dares to question not only the nature of that object or idea and the psychology involving desire but also raises eyebrows at why after all someone gives in. The most interesting aspect of the problematic relation between intellect and intuition lies in the fact that harsh criticism is carried out against intellect by the intellect itself.