- Paperback: 288 pages
- Publisher: Prentice Hall; 4 edition (16 Dec 1996)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0134919521
- ISBN-13: 978-0134919522
- Product Dimensions: 21.3 x 13.7 x 1.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 393,346 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Description
Review
The best of the many guides to literary theory that are currently available. Widdowson and Brooker chart a clear and comprehensively documented path through the full range of what is best in contemporary literary theory…indispensable for all students of literature…An impressive achievement!
John Drakakis, Stirling University
This Guide is as stimulating and instructive an introduction to [literary theory] as any reader might wish for.
John Kenny, Centre for the Study of Human Settlement and Historical Change, National University of Ireland, Galway
--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.Product Description
This edition of the bestselling guide retains the strong features of the original book; offering a comprehensive coverage of the main literary theories, further readings and bibliographies. At the same time, the new edition adds material on contemporary literary theories, such as: cultural materialism, post-colonial theory, feminist theory, black British, Afro-American, Asian, Caribbean theory, and gay, lesbian and queer theory. The book can be used in conjunction with Practising Theory and Reading Literature.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Professors Peter Widdowson and Peter Booker have again updated the late Raman Selden's extremely readable 'Guide'. It continues to be clear and concise, and is well laid out. At the end of each chapter there are extensive reading lists to help those who want to explore topics further, which are broken down into 'basic texts' and some more 'advanced' ones. The book is a useful introduction to contemporary literary theory for literature students, and is even comprehensible to general readers. This is an excellent addition to the library of students of English.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
6 reviews
22 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Excellent intro to literary theory
18 April 2000
Format:Paperback
This book is a must for any student of literature. It gives a brief but always clear description of all the major theories of contemporary criticism (except the myth criticism of Frye and Jung, which prevents my giving the book a five). Topics covered include New Criticism, Marxism, Russian Formalism, Structuralism, Poststructuralism, Psychoanalysis, New Historicism, Cultural Materialism, Feminism, Post-Colonialism, and Queer Theory. A study of these theories will help any student increase their appreciation for and understanding of literature and literary theory. The book, however, only covers the theories in their theoretical context and not in their practical applications to literature. That is covered in the companion book A Reader's Guide. The theories are covered in relation to the major theorists behind them (Leavis, Bakhtin, Todorov, Derrida, DeMan, Barthes, Lacan, Kristeva, Foucault, etc.)
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
A wonderful supplement to primary theory readings
18 Mar 2002
Format:Paperback
For some years I have used this book, in a number of its editions, as one of the texts in my college upper-division literary theory class. Each edition is better and more inclusive than the last. Selden sorts out literary theory into its logical categories (New Criticism, structuralism, poststructuralism, cultural theories). Chapters provide useful, clearly written, and accurate summaries of fields/schools/movements and brief summaries of the works and contributions of major theorists in each. The book works particularly well in a twentieth-century theory class in conjunction with a reader in primary theory, such as the wonderful Norton Anthology of Critical Theory (first published in 2001) and a glossary of critical terms (such as the terrifically useful Oxford Dictionary of Literary Theory). My students consistently end up liking Selden's book; they usually comment on how clearly it lays out major ideas in each theoretical camp and how it helps them to read the difficult primary texts by powerhouses such as Marx, Derrida, Foucault, Cixous. The companion reader is ok, but not as useful as this summary of theoretical positions.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
great to return to again and again for insight
13 May 2006
Format:Paperback
It is easy to fault any discussion of literary theory for being unclear or full of jargon. This book is clear in its explanations, and is as unbiased as it gets, given the subject and terminology. We should not confuse a subject full of obscurities and difficulties with the book that tries to explain them. This book is very basic and simple, (although it could seem difficult for a beginner), but I've found that literary theory takes a long time to really understand and there are many texts that one should know if one is to read widely in the subject. This book has been great to return to at various stages of my understanding and reading over the years. An indispensable, basic tool.
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