How To Interpret Literature

"Distinguished in the market by its ability to mesh accessibility and intellectual rigor, How to Interpret Literature offers a current, concise, and broad historicist survey of contemporary thinking in critical theory. Ideal for upper-level undergraduate courses in literary and critical theory, this is the only book of its kind that thoroughly merges literary studies with cultural studies, including film. Robert Dale Parker provides a critical look at the major movements in literary studies since the 1930s, including those often omitted from other texts. He includes chapters on New Criticism, Structuralism, Deconstruction, Psychoanalysis, Feminism, Queer Studies, Marxism, Historicism and Cultural Studies, Postcolonial and Race Studies, and Reader Response. Parker weaves connections among chapters, showing how these different ways of thinking respond to and build upon each other. Through these exchanges, he prepares students to join contemporary dialogues in literary and cultural studies. The text is enhanced by charts, text boxes that address frequently asked questions, photos, and a bibliography"--

"Distinguished in the market by its ability to mesh accessibility and intellectual rigor, How to Interpret Literature offers a current, concise, and broad historicist survey of contemporary thinking in critical theory. Ideal for upper-level undergraduate courses in literary and critical theory, this is the only book of its kind that thoroughly merges literary studies with cultural studies, including film. Robert Dale Parker provides a critical look at the major movements in literary studies since the 1930s, including those often omitted from other texts. He includes chapters on New Criticism, Structuralism, Deconstruction, Psychoanalysis, Feminism, Queer Studies, Marxism, Historicism and Cultural Studies, Postcolonial and Race Studies, and Reader Response. Parker weaves connections among chapters, showing how these different ways of thinking respond to and build upon each other. Through these exchanges, he prepares students to join contemporary dialogues in literary and cultural studies. The text is enhanced by charts, text boxes that address frequently asked questions, photos, and a bibliography"--

This book introduces the reader to the literary work and to an understanding of its cultural background and its specific features, presenting basic topics and ideas in their historical context and development in Western culture.

This updated guide is perfect for self-study with 3 full-length practice exams, 3 free-response practice exams, detailed answers to all questions, test-taking strategies, powerhouse drills and study schedule. Exams cover prose, poetry, drama and theater, reading and comprehension, and identifying literary devices. Also features REA's popular software, TESTware, with full-length, timed, computerized practice exams and automatic.

A wide-ranging and refreshingly up-to-date anthology of primary readings, Critical Theory: A Reader for Literary and Cultural Studies presents a provocative mix of contemporary and classic essays in critical theory. From the foundational ideas of Marx and Freud to key writings by Fanon and Foucault, the essays in this collection represent the most influential ideas in modern critical thought and in the contemporary interpretation of literature and culture. This collection of seminal readings invites students to join in the ongoing debates and controversies of critical discussion, reading, writing, and interpretation.

In this delightfully witty, provocative book, literature professor and psychoanalyst Pierre Bayard argues that not having read a book need not be an impediment to having an interesting conversation about it. (In fact, he says, in certain situations reading the book is the worst thing you could do.) Using examples from such writers as Graham Greene, Oscar Wilde, Montaigne, and Umberto Eco, he describes the varieties of "non-reading"-from books that you've never heard of to books that you've read and forgotten-and offers advice on how to turn a sticky social situation into an occasion for creative brilliance. Practical, funny, and thought-provoking, How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read-which became a favorite of readers everywhere in the hardcover edition-is in the end a love letter to books, offering a whole new perspective on how we read and absorb them.

What does it mean when a fictional hero takes a journey?. Shares a meal? Gets drenched in a sudden rain shower? Often, there is much more going on in a novel or poem than is readily visible on the surface—a symbol, maybe, that remains elusive, or an unexpected twist on a character—and there's that sneaking suspicion that the deeper meaning of a literary text keeps escaping you. In this practical and amusing guide to literature, Thomas C. Foster shows how easy and gratifying it is to unlock those hidden truths, and to discover a world where a road leads to a quest; a shared meal may signify a communion; and rain, whether cleansing or destructive, is never just rain. Ranging from major themes to literary models, narrative devices, and form, How to Read Literature Like a Professor is the perfect companion for making your reading experience more enriching, satisfying, and fun.

Virginia Woolf dreamed of the Day of Judgment. The "great conquerors and lawyers and statesmen" come to receive their rewards - crowns, laurels, names carved on marble. But, when he sees people coming with books under their arms, God turns to Peter and says: "Look, those need no reward. We have nothing to give them here. "They have loved reading." And this is the essence of her essay - sheer love for the written word: a joy in exploring the thoughts and imaginings of the author. If you sometimes get bogged down in a book, Woolf has produced the perfect self-help manual and motivational guide to reading. If you enjoyed 'How Should One Read a Book?', try 'How to Read a Book: The Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading', by Mortimer J Adler. "To read a novel is a difficult and complex art," says Virginia Woolf. Adeline Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) made an impact during her life, but her fame grew in the decades after her death. The English writer helped launch the use of stream-of-consciousness in literature and was a pioneer of 20th century modernism. Arguably her greatest legacy, though, comes from how her writing helped to inspire the feminist movements of the second half of the 20th century. Along with members of her family and other authors, Woolf helped found the Bloomsbury Group. After she married the political theorist and author Leonard Woolf in 1912, they went on the found the Hogarth Press. Virginia also had a long relationship with the writer Vita Sackville-West. The affair featured in the 2018 movie Vita and Virginia', starring Gemma Arterton and Elizabeth Debicki, He best-known works include the novels 'Mrs Dalloway', 'To the Lighthouse' and 'Orlando'.