Literary criticism is the term given to essays or works that analyze and interpret works of literature. Criticisms may focus on a particular work or investigate an author's writings as a whole.
When doing literature research, know the difference between primary and secondary sources. The primary source is the work being studying or analyzed. The secondary source analyzes the primary source. See the chart below to help you distinguish.
Primary Source |
Secondary Source |
|
Novel |
Criticisms |
|
Poem |
Work overviews |
|
Short Story |
Essays |
|
|
Reviews |
This OWL section contains resources for writing about literature across a variety of genres and explains different theories and schools of criticism.
