The Critical Tradition: Classic Texts and Contemporary Trends [Hardcover]

David H. Richter (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0312415206 | ISBN-13: 978-0312415204 | Publication Date: March 22, 2006 | Edition: Third Edition

This bestseller balances a comprehensive and up-to-date anthology of major documents in literary criticism and theory -- from Plato to the present -- with the most thorough editorial support for understanding these challenging readings.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

DAVID H. RICHTER (Ph.D., University of Chicago) is professor of English at Queens College and professor of English and comparative literature at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Richter publishes in the fields of critical and narrative theory, biblical interpretation, and eighteenth-century literature. His most recent critical books are The Progress of Romance: Literary Historiography and the Gothic Novel (1996) and Ideology and Form in Eighteenth-Century Literature (1999). Richter is currently at work on two critical books: a cultural history of identity theft and an analysis of difficulty in biblical narrative.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 2075 pages
• Publisher: Bedford/St. Martin's; Third Edition edition (March 22, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312415206
• ISBN-13: 978-0312415204
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.2 x 2.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #49,348 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Worthy Choice, April 5, 2006

By 

Q (Q Continuum) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Critical Tradition: Classic Texts and Contemporary Trends (Hardcover)

This is certainly one of the best comprehensive anthologies of Literary criticism from Plato to postmodernism available. The only other such anthology that is worthy of comparison is the NORTON ANTHOLOGY OF THEORY AND CRITICISM (2001). Which one you prefer will be largely a matter of personal taste. They are both equally massive in size. THE CRITICAL TRADITION leaves out Augustine, Moses Maimonides, Aquinas, Giraldi, Mazzoni, and Lessing, which the NORTON includes; so I would say the NORTON's coverage of the Ancient, Medieval and Renaissance is more comprehensive. THE CRITICAL TRADITION includes, however, Shklovky's great essay on "defamiliarization," as well as an essay by Brecht, glaring omissions of the NORTON. Both anthologies omit Rene Girard, one of the most important theorists of the 20th century. THE CRITICAL TRADITION includes Clifford Geertz's great essay on "Thick Description," lacking in the Norton. THE NORTON's coverage of African-American criticism is better though. But THE CRITICAL TRADITION includes an essay by Rey Chow, one of the major players in Post-Colonial criticism. Overall, the NORTON has more authors, but whether they are better authors will depend on personal preference. A notable feature of THE CRITICAL TRADITION is the inclusion of several "dialogues" between different authors, such as Frank Lentricchia's critique of Stephen Greenblatt's New Historicism. THE NORTON includes substantial introductions to individual authors; THE CRITICAL TRADITION gives substantial introductions to the older authors, but for the modern period, they take a different approach. For each major theoretical movement (such as Reader-response or Feminism), there is a substantial (10-15 pages) essay by the editor on the movement and its leading figures; but the introductions for individual authors are omitted, except for a brief list of books published.

Annoyingly, the table of contents is hard to find, coming only after a 15 page preface. What were the editors thinking?

Both THE NORTON and THE CRITICAL TRADITION are excellent anthologies with slightly different strengths and weaknesses. They both cover many of the same authors, but for modern theorists, the editors have often chosen different selections. Graduate students and Professors of English might well want to have both.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Comprehensive Critical Anthology, September 20, 2006

By 

Sherringford Clark (Mayor's Income, Tennessee) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Critical Tradition: Classic Texts and Contemporary Trends (Hardcover)

"The Critical Tradition" provides a comprehensive mixture of classic and contemporary literary criticism. However, another reviewer has already pointed out the book's deficiencies regarding some schools of contemporary criticism.

Other problems with this book are of a more incidental nature. Considering the great price of the book, the pages are far too thin and it is difficult to underline or highlight sections. You can see the text on the other side of the page even when it is lying flat.

Another big problem is the quality of the translations for those works not originally in English. Many of the translations, esp. of the classic texts, are outdated, and more readable, contemporary translations exist. These are relatively minor quibbles, though, and as a whole, "The Critical Tradition" is a comprehensive presentation of the history of literary criticism and of contemporary schools of theory. Moreover, Richter's introductions to the authors and schools of theory are insightful and concise, and possibly the most invaluable part of the book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Introduction, October 3, 2010

By 

Stella Leung "stellaxsnake" (NYC, NY) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Critical Tradition: Classic Texts and Contemporary Trends (Hardcover)

A comprehensive introduction to literary theory, arranged chronologically--starts with Plato, ends with Post-Modernism. Though the texts themselves can be dense, each is prefaced with extremely helpful introductions. This is an accessible and easy to navigate anthology and I highly recommend it.