Biographical:  The author's life affects his or her work

Central Biographical Questions:

• What biographical facts has the author used in the text?

• What biographical facts has the author changed?  Why?

• What insights do we acquire about the author’s life by reading the text?

• How do these facts and insights increase (or diminish) our understanding of the text?

• In what ways does the author seem to consider his or her own life as "typical" or significant?

Historical:  Historical events help shape a work

Central Historical Questions:

• What specific historical events were happening when the work was being composed? (See timelines in history or literature texts.)

• What historical events does the work deal with?

• In what ways did history affect the writer's outlook?

• In what ways did history affect the style?  language?  content?

• In what ways and for what reasons did the writer alter historical events?

Geographical:  
Settings limit and define what writers can produce

Central Geographical Questions:

• Which geographical features in the text are actual?

• What aspects of the geography are essential to the story? And which are nonessential?

• To what extent has the geography limited the kind of story that can happen?

• In what ways has the writer altered the geography to suit his or her purposes?  Has the writer made any geographical errors?

Political:  
Prevailing Political conditions often modify 
a literary work

Central Political Questions:

• What political events are significant in the text?

• What political events were occurring at the time the text was written?   (See timelines in history or literature texts.)

• What political events were occurring at the time the text was written? 

• What political beliefs does the author seem to have?  And how are those beliefs shown?

• What political beliefs does the author seem to dislike?  How can you tell?

Philosophical and Religious:  
The religious and ethical climate 
influences writers and their texts.

Central Philosophical/Religious Questions:

• What religious or ethical beliefs does the text deal with directly?  Are any religions or philosophies mentioned specifically in the text?

• What religious or ethical beliefs or philosophies does the author seem to favor?  How can you tell?

• What religious or ethical beliefs or philosophies does the author seem to disfavor?  How can you tell?

• What behaviors do the characters display that the author wants us to think are “right”?  How can you tell?

• What behavior is “wrong”?  How can you tell?

Sociological/Anthropological:  
Social conditions and notions of the origins and cultures of humanity affect literature.

Central  Sociological/Anthropological Questions:

• What sort of society does the author describe?  (How is it set up?  What rules are there?  What happens to people who break them?  Who enforces the rules?)

• What does the writer seem to like or dislike about this society?

• What changes do you think the writer would like to make in the society?  And how can you tell?

• What sorts of pressures does the society put on its members?  How do the members respond to this pressure?

Psychological:  
Prevailing theories of human behavior 
find their way into literature.

Central Psychological Questions:

• Are there any specific psychologists or psychological theories mentioned in the text?  In what ways?

• What theories of human behavior does the writer seem to believe?  How can you tell?

• What theories of human behavior does the writer seem to reject?  How can you tell?

• How do people’s minds work in the text?  How do people think?  How are their thoughts shown?

• In what ways do the structure and organization of the text indicate the writer’s beliefs about the workings of the mind?