Biographical and Historical Approach

Manilyn R. Cacanindin
 CONTENT
Social Perspective
History and Biography

They are tried and true methods =

understanding Literature
 Social Viewpoint
Nobody lives a completely isolated existence
Each of us is a product of more biological,
intellectual, emotional and spiritual influences
All of us affect the world in some way

Literature- We are products of a time, a place, and an

individual and that they have the capacity to affect
and even change the world into which we are
introduced.
1. race- national characteristics that are typically
found in the works of art produced by the
creative artists
2. milieu- the environment of the artist, the sum
total of her experience
3. moment- less personal influence in a writers life
(major intellectual currents of a period)

Arts Unique Character (H. Taine)

1. importance of the heredity and environment of the
writer- social attitudes and opinions that appear in
his work (Uncle Toms Cabin)
2. The world that is presented in the work itself
What culture and society are being depicted?
(How does the fictive world reflect its outer world?)
3. The work that the world entered- the audience for
which it was intended. What kind of impact did it
have on its readers? (response of the reading public
in different periods)
3 Areas that are of interest to the
social critique (A. Warren)
1. the influence of new critics
2. the reluctance of readers to judge a work
thru its social relevance, their desire to value
it for its aesthetic qualities
3. aversion to studying society rather than
literature
4. readers find these approaches offering less
opportunities for creative reading
Reasons why Social Approach (history and biography)
Diminished
1. the knowledge of the past gives readers a way to
understand the language, ideas and purposes of
literature more deeply and clearly
Awareness of social trends and conventions that
would have influenced a writers attitudes and tastes
clarify allusions to local and historical events and
explain special uses of individual works and
expressions
explain the origins of a specific work, clarify the
source of the authors convictions, reveal her deep
concerns and conflicts
Importance of Historical and Biographical Approach
 Guide Questions

What time period was the piece written in?

How does that time period influence the work?
What cultural impact does the time period have on the
piece?
What is the authors background?
Does the authors personal history influence the piece? If so,
how?
Are any significant historical events described in the work?
Was there a political and or religious message in the work?
How do the issues addressed (or conflicts depicted) reflect
controversies, questions and problems of the authors day
How does this work exemplify the literary period in which it
was produced? (classicism? Romanticism?)
What are the attitudes of the author (either implied or
explicit) about the central concerns of the text? Why does he
have them?
 Examples
In Literature and The Real World

Saving Private Ryan Academy Award Winning

Movie, Based on a platoon in WWII
Gladiator- Movie, Graphic depiction of the
late Roman Empire
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark
Twain
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
 Works Cited
Theory into the Practice An Introduction to Literary
Criticism by Ann B. Dobie

http://mgshapenglish12.blogspot.com/2008/05/b
iographical-historical-literary-lens.html
http://home.olemiss.edu/~egjbp/spring97/litcrit.h
tml
www.classjump.com/eball/documents/9256264647.doc
http://english23405.tripod.com/english234.html
http://www.mccd.edu/faculty/pirov/Engl1B/Histo
rical_files/frame.htm
http://www.ci.maryville.tn.us/mhs/studyskills/com
pguide/AppLitCrit.htm