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.
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 al:ways uses the terms together to describe the same concept. Some criti!cs con?sider literary criticism a pra?ctical application of literary theory, because criticism always deals directly with particular literary works, while theory may be more general or abstract.