A literary criticism is an in-depth analysis of a literary work (ex. a novel, short story, play, or poem). Critical essays are published in books or scholarly journals rather than newspapers or magazines.
Writing literary criticism Students are often asked to adopt one of three approaches for a text analysis: a character and relationship study, a description of the principal themes and ideas in a work, or a review. Each of these approaches requires a detailed knowledge of the text and careful selection of relevant examples to support arguments. In general, it is useful to pay particular attention to the following aspects of a text: What sort of atmosphere is the author trying to create? What are the central themes of the work? What is the style of writing? What literary techniques does the author use to achieve the intended effect? (especially relevant to poetry). Pre-twentieth-century texts may also require some historical research – for example to find out the expectations and sense of humour of the audience in Shakespeare's day. from The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide, edited by Helicon, 2018. Credo Reference.