A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature [Paperback]

Wilfred L. Guerin (Author), Earle Labor (Author), Lee Morgan (Author), Jeanne C. Reesman (Author), John R. Willingham (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0195160177 | ISBN-13: 978-0195160178 | Publication Date: December 30, 2004 | Edition: 5

Now in its fifth edition, A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature has become both a standard introduction to the close reading of literature and an invaluable resource for English graduate students. It offers students and other readers a variety of ways to interpret a piece of literature, ranging from historical/biographical and moral/philosophical approaches through the formalist, the psychological, the mythic and archetypal, and into such contemporary perspectives as feminist criticism and cultural studies. The book applies these diverse approaches to the same six classic works--"To His Coy Mistress," Hamlet, Huckleberry Finn, "Young Goodman Brown," "Everyday Use," and, new to this edition, Frankenstein--showing students how various methods offer different insights and enriching their response to and understanding of the individual works. The fifth edition is enhanced by the addition of Frankenstein, a complex work that lends itself to multiple levels of interpretation and is familiar in both its cinematic and literary forms. The coverage of Frankenstein incorporates material on popular culture--discussions of various fiction, stage, film, and television appearances of the work--as well as several photographs. This edition also features organizational and content changes that bring the volume up-to-date with contemporary literary criticism. Offering a valuable combination of theory and practice, A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature, Fifth Edition, is ideal for courses in literary criticism or theory and can also be used in introduction to literature courses.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"From the first edition on, I have chosen this Handbook over all the other 'writing about literature' texts in competition with it because of the authors' basic methodology of explaining the theory, then following through with models of each theory applied to a cross section of literary genres (with Frankenstein, now including popular culture and film). Each audience finds this text to be so helpful and accessible that the most common response is 'I wish I had known about this sooner!'"--Alan S. Loxterman, University of Richmond

"[T]he descriptions of the various approaches are succinct, thoughtful, and incisive. The authors get right to the point with no confusing vocabulary or terms that might discourage students. . . . At the end of the term we ask for course evaluations from our students, and one suggestion I have found asks me to spend more time in class discussing the assigned chapters in A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature. . . . This handbook does all I want and I have had no reason to choose another text."--Harry Rusche, Emory University

"Features of the book that led to my adopting it are the sensible, clear, and non-eccentric explanations of the major critical approaches and equally sound analyses of sample texts. . . . A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature is at the head of the class in every way. It is accurate, clear, and illustrative."--George Hahn, Towson University

About the Author

Wilfred L. Guerin is at Louisiana State University, Shreveport (Emeritus).

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 5 edition (December 30, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195160177
• ISBN-13: 978-0195160178
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #491,170 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bible for English Graduate Students, July 28, 2003

By 

Erica L Shadd (Richmond, Ky United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature (Paperback)

I highly recommend this book to anyone who plans to complete graduate work in English. During my undergraduate career, I learned nothing about theory, and therefore found myself oblivious to the subject when I attended a different school for graduate work, where such a background was required of undergraduates. This book is a comprehensive guide to the application of theory (e.g. psychoanalytic, marxist, feminist, structuralism, etc.) to literary works. The book thoroughly introduces each theory, along with its various subtheories, and provides examples on how to apply each theory to literary works. It also includes the do's and don'ts of work in the area. Literary theory can be quite exhaustive. This is the perfect place to start and you will find that it is a book you will refer to again and again.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Clear, precise, and easy to use, August 13, 2000

By 

Bibliomaniac "kamkelia" (Coastal Carolina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature (Paperback)

I used this text to teach introductory literary criticism to my high school seniors for over six years. The examples in the text are excellent, and the characteristics of each approach are clearly established. It is my first choice as a teaching tool, and I think it would be equally effective for a college student working independently. I give it my highest rating.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Place To Begin, June 5, 2005

By 

Martin Asiner (jersey city, nj United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature (Paperback)

There are easy books that discuss critical literary theory and there are dense ones. A HANDBOOK OF CRITICAL APPROACHES TO LITERATURE falls under the 'easy' category. A barometer for distinguishing the two can often be found in how often the author uses the terms 'dialectic' and 'mythopoetic' within the same sentence. Fortunately for the novice, authors Guerin, Labor, Morgan, Reesman and Willingham have written a text clearly designed for those who will be taking their first undergraduate course in literary theory. This text was originally written in 1966, when twentieth century critical theory was more or less limited to what the authors call the 'traditional' approaches, which then encompassed the New Criticism (only the text itself counted--no biographical or autobiographical material was deemed relevant), the Freudian/Psychoanalytic (the dim recesses of the author's psyche and personality were indelibly rooted in the work), the Mythical/Archetypal (enduring images or 'archetypes' transcended all cultures to emerge in all works), and Feminist (gender emasculation and castration were unconsciously infused into any work written by a male).

The explanations given to these discrete variations are well explained and bedrock. For the literary novice who wishes to know a feminist interpretation of say, Marvel's "To His Coy Mistress," this novice could do worse than to study the two pages given to this poem. The problem with this text is that it gives scant attention to recent approaches. The authors lump together in one chapter called "Additional Approaches" the following: Aristotelian Criticism, Genre Criticism, Marxist Criticism, Structuralism, Postructuralism, Deconstruction, Phenomenological Criticism, and Reader-Response Criticism. What I got from this chapter was a sort of Monarch Notes version, which, considering the level of difficulty involved in each, is not necessarily a bad thing. On the whole, Guerin et al have written and updated a valuable first text on critical theory that invites the reader to pursue the sort of inquiry that is required on the graduate level. Recommended.