Arts criticism in the context of "Art criticism"

A genre of arts criticism, literary criticism or literary studies is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical analysis of literature's goals and methods. Although the two activities are closely related, literary critics are not always, and have not always been, theorists.

Whether or not literary criticism should be considered a separate field of inquiry from literary theory is a matter of some controversy. For example, The Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism draws no distinction between literary theory and literary criticism, and almost always uses the terms together to describe the same concept. Some critics consider literary criticism a practical application of literary theory, because criticism always deals directly with particular literary works, while theory may be more general or abstract.

Theatre criticism is a genre of arts criticism, and the act of writing or speaking about the performing arts such as a play or opera.

Theatre criticism is distinct from drama criticism, as the latter is a division of literary criticism whereas the former is a critique of the theatrical performance. Dramas or plays as long as they stay in the print form remain a part of literature. They become a part of the performing arts as soon as the written words of the drama are transformed into performance on the stage or any arena suitable for viewers to see. So the literary craft gives birth to a stage production. Likewise a criticism of a written play has a different character from that of a theatre performance.