In the Beginning: Making History

Section Objectives IconSection Objectives

After you have completed this section, you will be able to:

  1. Identify the key questions historic criticism seeks to answer.
  2. Identify themes, values, and ideas that reflect the historical period in which a literary text was written.
  3. Analyze the literature from a historical period for ideas, themes, and values which reflect the period.
  4. Compare and contrast works from major historical periods that cut across cultures and genres.
  5. Compare the language patterns, diction, and idioms used in historic and contemporary literary texts.