Literary Theory : The Basics

by Bertens, Johannes Willem

• ISBN13: 9780415186643
• ISBN10: 0415186641
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-06-01
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Tackling literary theory for the first time can seem a daunting task, it but it can be rewarding. This accessible guide provides the ideal first step in understanding theory, as the author:
-- leads you through the major approaches to literature which are signaled by the term "literary theory"
-- places each critical movement in its historical (and often political) context
-- illustrates theory in practice with examples from much-read texts
-- suggests further reading for those especially interested in a particular critical approaches
-- shows not only that theory can make sense but that it can radically change the way you read.

Covering all the basics and much more, this is the ideal book for anyone interested in how we read and why that matters.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Acknowledgements	xi
Reading for meaning: practical criticism and new criticism	1	(30)
Reading for form I: formalism and early structuralism, 1914-1960	31	(22)
Reading for form II: French structuralism, 1950-1975	53	(26)
Political reading: the 1970s and 1980s	79	(38)
The poststucturalist revolution: Derrida, deconstruction, and postmodernism	117	(30)
Poststructuralism continued: Foucault, Lacan, and French feminism	147	(24)
Literature and culture: the new historicism and cultural materialism	171	(22)
Postcolonial criticism and theory	193	(24)
Sexuality, literature, and culture	217	(20)
Bibliography	237	(10)
Index	247