The history of literary criticism dates back to Plato and Aristotle. Both philosophers expressed ground breaking opinions about literature, specifically on the issues of literary mimesis (imitation and representation) and didacticism. Literary mimesis asks the question, "Does literature imitate life, or does life imitate literature?" Didacticism in literature asks the question, "How does the text lend itself as an instructional or moral guide to life?"
The tools with which a literary critic uses to interpret a text are literary theories. A literary theory is a method for analyzing a literary work. Some critical theories include New Criticism, Psychoanalytic Criticism and Marxist Criticism.
New Criticism is characterized by its emphasis solely on the text. A New Critic approach to a literary work is only concerned with the meaning, irony, ambiguity, symbols and universal themes of the text, without any regard to authorial intent, historical or cultural contexts.
Psychoanalytic Criticism uses psychoanalysis as a means of explaining the behavior and motives of the characters in a literary work. Psychoanalytic Criticism also explores how the psyche of the author informs the text.
Marxist Criticism approaches a literary work from a socioeconomic standpoint. A Marxist critique of a literary work explores how the text intentionally or unintentionally supports capitalism, imperialism or other philosophies.