Archetypal Criticism looks for universal symbols, characters, and story patterns that appear across cultures and time. It focuses on recurring heroes, quests, and themes that reflect shared human experiences.
Feminist Criticism examines how gender roles and power affect literature. It explores the portrayal of women and men, challenges stereotypes, and highlights voices that have been ignored or marginalized.
Genre Criticism studies the type or category of a story like Romance, Comedy, Tragedy, or Satire to understand its patterns, themes, and how characters develop. It also explores identity and human experience within these story types.
Genre Criticism started with Aristotle’s Poetics. He believed that stories are more than just entertainment. They help us understand people, their feelings, and how they act in different situations. This idea laid the foundation for studying different types of stories and what they can teach us about life.