Literary Criticism In Theory And Practice

The second edition of Literary Criticism by Charles E. Bressler is designed to help readers make conscious, informed, and intelligent choices concerning literary interpretation. By explaining the historical development and theoretical positions of eleven schools of criticism, author Charles Bressler reveals the richness of literary texts along with the various interpretative approaches that will lead to a fuller appreciation and understanding of such texts.

Beginning with approaches familiar to students and then gradually introducing schools of criticism that are more challenging, THEORY INTO PRACTICE provides extensive step-by-step guidance for writing literary analyses from each of the critical perspectives. This brief, practical introduction to literary theory explores core literary theories in a unique chronological format and includes an anthology of relevant fiction, poetry, and nonfiction to help bring those theories to life for students. Remarkably readable and engaging, the text makes even complex concepts manageable for those beginning to think about literary theory, and example analyses for each type of criticism show how real students have applied the theories to works included in the anthology. Now updated with the latest scholarship, including a full discussion of Ecocriticism and increased emphasis on American multicultural approaches, THEORY INTO PRACTICE provides an essential foundation for thoughtful and effective literary analysis. Important Notice: Media content referenced within the product description or the product text may not be available in the ebook version.

Advanced Students Of Literary Criticism Would Definitely Find This Book Stimulating As Well As Illuminating As It Presents A Penetrating Analysis Of The Major Theories And Practices Of All The Dominant Groups Of Literacy Critics Of Our Times. In The Course Of The Critical Survey Of The Critical Principles And Methods Of All The Major Cities, The Chicago Critics Attempt A Critique Of Contemporary Criticism In Their Monumental Work, Critics And Criticism: Essays In Method Of The Chicago Critics. Hence, The Focus Of This Book Is On The Pluralistic Approach Of These Critics Who Were Aware Of The Powers And Limitations Of All The Critical Methods. Each Critical Method, Even The Aristotelian Method For Which They Developed A Bias, Addresses A Certain Range Of Questions Beyond Which It Loses Its Utility. No Critical Method, As They Point Out, Is All Embracing Critical System Of Critical Philosophy. Critics Having Exclusive Commitment To A Particular Critical System Are Bound To Be Partial Critics. So A Pluralistic Approach Should Be The Ideal One But, In Order To Be A Pluralistic Critic, A Student Of Literary Criticism Must Be Conversant With All The Major Critical Approaches. The Present Book Is Significant In The Sense That It Has The Capacity To Train Teachers And Students Of Literature In The Art Of Literary Appreciation That Enhances The Enjoyment Of Literary Works. Since Every Literary Piece Is A Constructed Whole, Aristotle S Method Provides Clues To Its Specific Constructive Principle Through A Process Of Regressive Reasoning The Aposteriori Approach. The Special Discussion Of The Chicago Method In This Book Explains The Aristotelian Bias Of The Chicago Critics Who Were Actually Neo-Aristotelians In A Limited Sense. They Began Where Aristotle Left Off To Pursue Similar Lines Of Study In The Poetics Of Modern Literature.As The Chicago School Of Criticism Is A Brilliant Exercise In Remedial Criticism, This Book May Serve As Materia Medica Of Critical Theories And Practices For Students And Teachers Of Literary Criticism.

Students of literary theory have been well provided for by the publication of various Readers in literary theory. However, the relation between theory and critical practice still presents a problem to the general reader. This book brings together essays by major critics which apply theory to practice in an accessible way. This will help a general literary readership gain a better understanding of the various types of theoretical criticism, see theory being applied to practice powerfully and persuasively, and encourage students to use theory in their own critical writing.

Critical Teory and Practice answers lots of questions, but also stimulates new ones. Its tailor-made combination of survey, reader and workbook is ideal for the beginning - perhaps even bewildered - student of literary theory. The work is divided into seven chapters, each of which contains guiding commentary, examples from literary and critical works, and a variety of exercises to provoke and engage you. Each chapter includes a glossary and annotated selection of suggested further reading. There is also a full bibliography. The authors cover the key issues and debates of literary theory, including: * Language, Linguistics and Literature * Structures of Literature * Literature and History * Subjectivity, Psychoanalysis and Criticism * Reading, Writing and Reception * Women, Literature and Criticism * Literature, Criticism and Cultural Identity Critical Theory and Practice is an refreshingly clear, up-to-date and eminently readable introduction to the subject. It not only guides you through the terminology and gives you a selection of the key passages to read, it also helps you engage with the theory and apply it in practice.

Affect Theory and Literary Critical Practice develops new approaches to reading literature that are informed by the insights of scholars working in affect studies across many disciplines, with essays that consider works of fiction, drama, poetry and memoir ranging from the medieval to the postmodern. While building readings of representative texts, contributors reflect on the value of affect theory to literary critical practice, asking: what explanatory power is affect theory affording me here as a critic? what can the insights of the theory help me do with a text? Contributors work to incorporate lines of theory not always read together, accounting for the affective intensities that circulate through texts and readers and tracing the operations of affectively charged social scripts. Drawing variously on queer, feminist and critical race theory and informed by ecocritical and new materialist sensibilities, essays in the volume share a critical practice founded in an ethics of relation and contribute to an emerging postcritical moment.

Why does literature matter? What is its human value? Historical approaches to literature have for several decades prevailed over the idea that literary works can deepen our understanding of fundamental questions of existence. This book re-affirms literature's existential value by developing a new critical vocabulary for thinking about literature's human meaningfulness. It puts this vocabulary into practice through close reading of a wide range of texts, from The Second Wakefield Shepherds’ Play to Mohsin Hamid’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist. Individual chapters discuss: Literature’s engagement of the emotions Literature’s humanisation of history Literature’s treatment of universals and particulars The depth of reflection provoked by literary works Literature as a special kind of seeing and framing The question at the heart of the volume, of why literature matters, makes this book relevant to all students and professors of literature.

Many people associate 'practical criticism' with a short-sighted brand of literary analysis which kills a student's interest in literature by drilling him to concentrate narrowly on verbal detail. Handled properly, however, practical criticism can play a vital part in a literature course, especially in the crucial stages in the last years at schools or first university year when many students are coming to literature seriously for the first time. This 1968 book is a useful introduction to practical criticism for students. It offers an impressive range of closely analysed passages and exercises, in prose and verse. Mr Rawlinson considers the problems of the beginner, and discussed the mistakes an misconceptions that sometimes spoil practical criticism courses. In his general discussion of topics such as rhythm, tone and imagery, the author is careful not to be too abstract; throughout the book precept is reinforced by example, theory by practice.