In the historical view, it is important to understand the author and his world in order to understand his intent and to make sense of his work. In this view, the work is informed by the author's beliefs, prejudices, time, and history, and to fully understand the work, we must understand the author and his age. An intertextual approach is concerned with comparing the work in question to other literature, to get a broader picture. Reader-Response is concerned with how the work is viewed by the audience. In this approach, the reader creates meaning, not the author or the work.
Mimetic criticism seeks to see how well a work accords with the real world.