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Critical Lens: A Critical Analysis

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By looking through various perspectives, we can use critical lens to read the world. Critical lens are a type of analytical view on a piece of work or literature ranging from a reader response to the author's history. Many different types of critical lens exist and are useful when used to further understand a novel. Mainly critics and students use critical lenses; however, all readers who appreciate the deeper messages in novels or want the full experience should use critical lens. Although many people argue that critical lens are distracting and do not aid in reading a novel, students need to learn how to read with a critical eye so they can further enrich their understanding and reading experience.
The New Historical lens is used to develop the connections between the author's …show more content…

In other words, personal experiences, ideas, and culture are all examples of connections that could be made through the New Historical lens. Historic critics discover the ways humans lived and grew in particular places through written work (“Historical Criticism” 36). Many critics even identify literary movements connected to historical writing. When asked the question, what language, characters, or events presented in a work reflect the current events in an author's day, the New Historical lens is used to relate the textual evidence back to the author. In novels, historical lens groups delve into the information presented and relate it to events of the author’s time. Another question lens groups ask is, are there words in the text that have changed their meaning from the time of writing? Many ideas and words portrayed in art are often viewed differently over time. Novels written in the 1920s are significantly different than those written today. Words like doppelganger and n***** were common then, but in today’s more modern culture, they are highly offensive. Knowledge helps enrich one’s reading experience (“Historical Criticism” 38). In most popular

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