Getting Started Guide: Literary Criticism: Home

• Use the online catalog to locate books about a person or your topic
  

• Look in reference and e-reference sources for background information
  

• Use an online database to find articles about a person or your topic

• See selected internet sites
  

• Search  on the internet; evaluate the information
  

• Ask for help

• Research the author as well as the specific work


• Research the genre of the book to determine how your author/title fits into the overall scheme


• Know if you are looking for a review or a criticism

Criticism/Critical Analysis

• Are scholarly in nature


• Are lengthy


• Discuss works in a broad context, such as political, social, historical, or cultural significance
  


• May compare works from the same author, another author or within a particular genre


• May discuss the work in relation to the author's body of work rather than as a single title
  


• May focus on specific aspects including things such as characters, setting, or dialect
  

•  May discuss the underlying themes or symbolism of a particular work

Reviews

• Provide opinions on the creativity, entertainment, social and cultural value of a book


• Designed to let a person know if the book is worth reading


• Usually fairly short, although in some cases they may be longer


• Are generally found in popular magazines, newspapers and websites, but may be included in book review sections of scholarly journals
  


• Generally do not reflect on things like the author's body of work, the genre, themes or focus on specific aspects of the book
  

•  See the Getting Started Guide for Book Reviews for more information