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Review
The quality of essays is consistently high, with outstanding contributions by Timothy Clark on hermeneutics, Chris Baldick on criticism and the academy, Chris Snipp-Walmsley on post-modernism, and Sean Burke on the responsibilities of the writer. (THES )
Review
The quality of essays is consistently high, with outstanding contributions by Timothy Clark on hermeneutics, Chris Baldick on criticism and the academy, Chris Snipp-Walmsley on post-modernism, and Sean Burke on the responsibilities of the writer. THES
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In 1936, the comparativist scholar-critic Rene Wellek called for a sustained and systematic effort to clarify the basic theoretical problems underpinning the relatively new, but expanding, academic profession of criticism. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
In 1936, the comparativist scholar-critic Rene Wellek called for a sustained and systematic effort to clarify the basic theoretical problems underpinning the relatively new, but expanding, academic profession of criticism. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Recently having become a student of literature, I have been snowed under with lists of books on theory and prosody, as well of course as those of actual texts, recommended I read. Theory is to the uninitiated a bewildering and multiplicitous subject in itself, and a decent introduction is essential.
This guide is far and away the best I have come across. It is attractively and sensibly set out, with 37 essays written by scholars on disparate aspects of theory and its developement. The essays are intelligent and do not patronize or oversimplify some quite complex issues, yet manage to be clear and accessible to the new reader, should he give his time to their study. The essay on, for example, deconstruction is elucidatory rather than self-referential and ironic, as some I have seen. The book also benefits from coming from an apparently neutral position, as opposed to some guides, notably Terry Eagleton's often recommended unashamedly Marxist "Literary Theory: An Introduction".
It is of considerable length, and is pricey, but this allows for sufficient exposition that one does not need any further such introductions. Shorter works may be concise, but this compression is at the expense of the reader's better understanding of the subject.
With theory it is better to start with a secondary source such as this, and then move on to, short of consulting a full text, a work like Ryan and Rivkin's "Literary Theory: An Anthology", another weighty book, but one which complements this. Derrida and co can be incomprehensible without primers. This is the one to go for.
This guide is far and away the best I have come across. It is attractively and sensibly set out, with 37 essays written by scholars on disparate aspects of theory and its developement. The essays are intelligent and do not patronize or oversimplify some quite complex issues, yet manage to be clear and accessible to the new reader, should he give his time to their study. The essay on, for example, deconstruction is elucidatory rather than self-referential and ironic, as some I have seen. The book also benefits from coming from an apparently neutral position, as opposed to some guides, notably Terry Eagleton's often recommended unashamedly Marxist "Literary Theory: An Introduction".
It is of considerable length, and is pricey, but this allows for sufficient exposition that one does not need any further such introductions. Shorter works may be concise, but this compression is at the expense of the reader's better understanding of the subject.
With theory it is better to start with a secondary source such as this, and then move on to, short of consulting a full text, a work like Ryan and Rivkin's "Literary Theory: An Anthology", another weighty book, but one which complements this. Derrida and co can be incomprehensible without primers. This is the one to go for.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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2 reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
A Thorough and Balanced Survey of the Subject
6 Feb 2011
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Another reviewer has commented on the expense of the volume at its full list price (and gives it a corresponding low rating which I think unjustified).
Setting aside the question of 'how to get it at a reasonable price' (my excellent copy set me back $18 on the aftermarket), I rate this as just about the best available true GENERAL BUT ADEQUATELY DETAILED SURVEY of its field (with respect to historic roots, development, and current status).
When you examine the offerings in theory and criticism, there are many (generally very good to excellent) basic introductions that I think appropriate for instructing first- and second-year undergraduates. Books by Barry, Klages, Bertens, Bressler, Ryan, Tyson, and many others fall into this category; the approaches are generally similar, and they offer varying 'levels' of textual complexity. These are brief enough to be dispatched in a single semester course, with or without supplemental material. I would forego Eagleton or Culler, though they have their charms.
There are also the boat-anchor source volumes like Norton, Hazard (pre- and post-1965), Rivkin/Ryan, Richter, which contain source texts with short explanatory essays and run from 1000 to 2500 pages; these have their place for upper-level undergraduate or graduate teaching, and demand much more of the reader.
The Oxford volume seems to me to fit a very small niche: Per its claim on the very first page, it aspires to present a thorough and accessible history of developments in theory and criticism, and does so in the form of expert essays that focus on particular authors or periods. Its approximately 560 pages do an admirable job of covering the territory--and by comparison with the brief essays or discussions found in most other source texts or introductions, offer generously detailed summaries. The editor's expectations for organization, clarity, and readability have, I think, been properly observed by the contributors, and the reading level should be within the reach of motivated 3rd- and 4th-year undergraduates, and certainly by graduate students.
Patricia Waugh's introductory essay (which I think exceptionally good) is a thorough, clear, and balanced summary of the terrain, and judging from the selection of essays that make up the volume (and by way of full disclosure, I have not read all of them), this is both a thorough survey of major topics as well as historic developments and controversies. A careful reading should give the student a very good and balanced grasp of how literary theory and criticism have developed over the centuries and recent decades, and I consider it a very good choice for a certain approach to teaching and a certain set of learners. I would not use it for young college students, but think it of very high quality for upper division and graduate students. Pair this with your boat-anchor source text, and with the "must have" copy of Theory's Empire: An Anthology of Dissent, and you can feel confidently equipped to acquire the basic foundation to launch into detailed graduate studies.
The only remaining consideration is how to find a copy at less than the publisher's listed price, which I do agree is excessive.
Setting aside the question of 'how to get it at a reasonable price' (my excellent copy set me back $18 on the aftermarket), I rate this as just about the best available true GENERAL BUT ADEQUATELY DETAILED SURVEY of its field (with respect to historic roots, development, and current status).
When you examine the offerings in theory and criticism, there are many (generally very good to excellent) basic introductions that I think appropriate for instructing first- and second-year undergraduates. Books by Barry, Klages, Bertens, Bressler, Ryan, Tyson, and many others fall into this category; the approaches are generally similar, and they offer varying 'levels' of textual complexity. These are brief enough to be dispatched in a single semester course, with or without supplemental material. I would forego Eagleton or Culler, though they have their charms.
There are also the boat-anchor source volumes like Norton, Hazard (pre- and post-1965), Rivkin/Ryan, Richter, which contain source texts with short explanatory essays and run from 1000 to 2500 pages; these have their place for upper-level undergraduate or graduate teaching, and demand much more of the reader.
The Oxford volume seems to me to fit a very small niche: Per its claim on the very first page, it aspires to present a thorough and accessible history of developments in theory and criticism, and does so in the form of expert essays that focus on particular authors or periods. Its approximately 560 pages do an admirable job of covering the territory--and by comparison with the brief essays or discussions found in most other source texts or introductions, offer generously detailed summaries. The editor's expectations for organization, clarity, and readability have, I think, been properly observed by the contributors, and the reading level should be within the reach of motivated 3rd- and 4th-year undergraduates, and certainly by graduate students.
Patricia Waugh's introductory essay (which I think exceptionally good) is a thorough, clear, and balanced summary of the terrain, and judging from the selection of essays that make up the volume (and by way of full disclosure, I have not read all of them), this is both a thorough survey of major topics as well as historic developments and controversies. A careful reading should give the student a very good and balanced grasp of how literary theory and criticism have developed over the centuries and recent decades, and I consider it a very good choice for a certain approach to teaching and a certain set of learners. I would not use it for young college students, but think it of very high quality for upper division and graduate students. Pair this with your boat-anchor source text, and with the "must have" copy of Theory's Empire: An Anthology of Dissent, and you can feel confidently equipped to acquire the basic foundation to launch into detailed graduate studies.
The only remaining consideration is how to find a copy at less than the publisher's listed price, which I do agree is excessive.
4 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Insanely expensive
15 July 2010
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a really, really good collection of essays that introduce a wide variety of topics to novice readers, and I have used previous editions of the collection in a number of college courses. However, nothing about the book is good enough to justify the ridiculous price. Previous editions were nowhere near this expensive. There are many other books out there that are almost as good as this one for one quarter the price. Get one of those instead.
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