It has been said, from the time of the invention of the printing press, books, and not kings, should rule the world. Weapons forged in the mind, sharp and brighter than a ray of sunlight, would supplant the sword and battleaxe. Books! lighthouses built on the sea of ​​time! Books! by whose magic the whole splendor of world history moves in solemn procession before our eyes. From their pages great souls look down in all their greatness, undimmed by the time-honored flaws and follies of earthly existence (Whipple 386). This particular description about the importance of books, as fantastic as it is, can also easily be applied to the broader spectrum to which books belong, literature. Therefore, it is easy to understand why such an emphasis is placed on “exegesis, interpretation, and evaluation [of literature]” otherwise called literary criticism and/or theory (Groden, Kreiswirth, and Szeman). The boundaries between the two, criticism and theory, according to Groden et al., are blurred, however the boundary between their approaches is much more distinguishable. New Criticism and Marxist theory are examples of two different approaches to literary criticism. Both approaches share the same goal in the sense that they seek to better understand the literature, but their paths diverge on how exactly they proceed in this regard. It is the disparity between the "hows" that is so crucial to point out in literary criticism and if it is not made the whole argument becomes disorganized and much less effective. A perfect representative of this disparity can be seen with a comparison between New Criticism and Marxist theories. An in-depth understanding of the differences, similarities, strengths and weaknesses of the two approaches enables anyone who studies literary criticism of...... middle of paper ...... approaches and consequently of literary criticism in the as a whole.Works CitedBarry, Peter . Early Theory: An Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory Third Edition. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2009. Groden, Michael, Martin Kreiswirth, and Imre Szeman. “The Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism.” 2005. Johns Hopkins University Press. Website. March 24, 2012. .Lisman, C. David. "Marxist Literary Theory: A Critique." Journal of Aesthetic Education (1988): 73-85.Spurgin, Tim. "Contemporary critical theory". October 3, 1997. Lawrence University. Website. March 27, 2012.Wellek, Rene. "The new criticism: pros and cons". Critical Inquiry (1978): 611-624. Whipple, Edwin Percy. Gilbert, Josiah Hotchkiss. Burningof Brilliant Writers Dictionary. New York: WB Ketcham, 1895. 386.