Owen Holland

What Is Literary Criticism?
This is a (short) introduction to literary criticism.

IS WRITING? WHY DOES ONE WRITE? FOR WHOM?

The French philosopher, literary critic and communist, Jean-Paul Sartre (1905–80) asked these very questions in 1947.

Our question is somewhat different: “What is literary criticism?”

We might start with a broad generalization, and say that it includes any writing that claims to make judgements about the value, or otherwise, of literature in general or particular literary works.