The Historical and Biographical Approach

1. The Historical and Biographical Approach By Mitchell King, Tori Gilliland, & Taylor Rioux

2. Definition: Historical • seeks to understand a literary work by investigating the social, cultural, and intellectual context that produced it: a context that necessarily includes the artist’s biography and milieu. • A key goal for historical critics is to understand the effect of a literary work upon its original readers. • When, where, and why?

3. Definition: Biographical • literature is written by actual people and understanding an author’s life can help readers more thoroughly comprehend the work • focuses on explicating the literary work by using the insight provided by knowledge of the author’s life

4. QuestionsTypes of Questions These Types of Thinkers Would Ask • 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 author’s background? • Does the author’s 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? • Does the author’s political or religious bias influence the piece?

5. Advantages • Time period clarifies purpose • A window into a different time • Insight into author’s personal life • Taste of previous culture’s language and society • Comparisons between past and present

6. Disadvantages • Author’s political bias • Religious and political influences from society • Content may be inaccurate • Censorship • Limits reader’s creativity • Accuracy of timeline

7. Use in Past ClassesHow have these techniques been used in past classes, and with what materials • English Class- • A Thousand Splendid Suns- Historical Context (Turmoil in Afghanistan in the late 20th Century). By Khaled Hosseini • Tweak – Biography of a struggling drug addict. By Nic Sheff • History Class- • The Jungle- Historical Context (Chicago Meatpacking plants in 1906) By Upton Sinclair. Read a 4 page section of the book. • “The Gettysburg Address” by Abraham Lincoln- Lincoln’s speech delivered to the nation after the bloody battle of Gettysburg. Reflected the nation’s chaos at the time, and was short and concise, just over two minutes. (1863) • Math- • The Pythagorean Theorem- In every math book that deals with this type of arithmetic there is a short piece on the origination of the method. Pythagoras of Samos published the method in the late 6th century B.C.

8. ExamplesIn Literature and The Real World • The Catcher in The Rye by J.D. Salinger • My Pet Virus by Shawn Decker • Boardwalk Empire HBO Television Series • Enemy at the Gates – Movie, The Battle of Stalingrad • Saving Private Ryan Academy Award Winning Movie, Based on a platoon in WWII • American Gangster- Movie, Famous drug dealer Frank Lucas • Gladiator­- Move, Graphic depiction of the late Roman Empire • Night by Elie Wiesel • Columbine by Dave Cullen • To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee • The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

9. ApplicationHow or where would one apply the Historical Approach • When reading • When studying history • During research • Determining author’s purpose • Relating text to time period • During critical analysis

10. Works Cited • http://www.wikipedia.org/ • http://mgshapenglish12.blogspot.com/2008/05/biographical-historical-literary-lens.html • http://home.olemiss.edu/~egjbp/spring97/litcrit.html • www.classjump.com/eball/documents/9256264647.doc • http://english23405.tripod.com/english234.html • http://www.mccd.edu/faculty/pirov/Engl1B/Historical_files/frame.htm • http://www.ci.maryville.tn.us/mhs/studyskills/compguide/AppLitCrit.htm