Literary Theory: An Anthology Author: Julie Rivkin | Language: English | ISBN:
1405106964 | Format: EPUB
Literary Theory: An Anthology Description
This anthology of classic and cutting-edge statements in literary theory has now been updated to include recent influential texts in the areas of Ethnic Studies, Postcolonialism and International Studies
- A definitive collection of classic statements in criticism and new theoretical work from the past few decades
- All the major schools and methods that make up the dynamic field of literary theory are represented, from Formalism to Postcolonialism
- Enables students to familiarise themselves with the most recent developments in literary theory and with the traditions from which these new theories derive
- Paperback: 1336 pages
- Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell; 2 edition (September 14, 2010)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1405106964
- ISBN-13: 978-1405106962
- Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.8 x 2 inches
- Shipping Weight: 3.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
It is no easy task to cover the full spectrum of modern critical theory and do so in a comprehensive and lucid fashion. In LITERARY THEORY: AN ANTHOLOGY, Rivkin and Ryan have succeeded admirably in fashioning a text that when combined with the similar NORTON ANTHOLOGY OF THEORY AND CRITICISM ought to review key areas that one might merely gloss over while the other is more detailed. There is much to like with Rivkin and Ryan's anthology. Both understand that critical theory is dense under the best of circumstances, but when even this denseness is presented in a logical manner, much of its abstruseness evaporates. First, I like how they organize the book into clear divisions based on literary school of thought, each of which begins with a perceptive introduction that is geared toward the typical undergraduate who though bright is unaware of the many tricky byways that afflict so much of theory. These introductions lead gracefully into the various essays by writers of that school. The Norton has its introductions too but its editors place them at the beginning of their text, thus making it cumbersome to flick back and forth to see how one theorist connects to his paradigmatic theory.
In judging any anthology, one looks at what was excluded, what was included, and what was covered in that inclusion. It is only too easy for me to second guess why Rivkin and Ryan left out theorists that I consider key (like Tzevetan Todorov and Northrup Frye) and inserted those whom I see as of a lesser rank (like Margaret Mahler, Sidney Blatt, and John Fiske) but theory is broad enough for me to welcome anyone who has anything germane to add to a literary stage that is not so overcrowded that there is no more room.
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