Cultural+Literary+Criticism

English 11 Cultural Literary Criticism New Historicism/Cultural Studies This lens seeks to connect a work with the time period in which it was produced and identify it with the cultural and political movements of the time. New Historicism assumes that every work is a product of the historic moment that created it. New historicists do not believe that we can look at history objectively, but rather that we interpret events as products of our time and culture and that "...we don't have clear access to any but the most basic facts of history...our understanding of what such facts mean...is...strictly a matter of interpretation, not fact" (279).

§ What language/characters/events present in the work reflect the current events of the author’s day? § Are there words in the text that have changed their meaning from the time of the writing? § How are events of the day interpreted and presented? § How is interpretation and presentation of the events a product of the author’s culture? § Does the work's presentation support or condemn the event? (Can it be seen to do both?) § How does the text criticize the leading political figures or movements of the day? § How does the literary text [connect with] with other historical/cultural texts from the same period...? § How does the work consider traditionally marginalized populations?

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Additional Questions: è Do events happen because of the main character’s race? è How does a character’s race affect the reaction they have to events?