Literary Criticism: An Introduction to Theory and Practice [Paperback]

Charles E. Bressler (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0130333972 | ISBN-13: 978-0130333971 | Publication Date: July 1, 2002 | Edition: 3rd

A core text for introductory courses in Literary Criticism or for first-year-graduate courses in Literary Theory; a supplementary text for introductory courses in Literature. This text is designed to make literary theory and criticism accessible to those with no previous knowledge of the subject. It presents the eleven basic schools of twentieth-century literary theory and criticism in their historical and philosophical contexts. Unlike other introductions, it explicitly presents the philosophical assumptions of each school of criticism, provides a clear methodology for writing essays according to each school's beliefs and tenets, and features accessible student-generated sample essays.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

This introduction to literary theory and criticism -- its historical development and the variety of theoretical positions or schools of criticism -- is designed to help students make conscious, informed, and intelligent choices concerning their own methods of literary interpretation. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Back Cover

The third edition of Literary Criticism: An Introduction to Theory and Practice by Charles E. Bressler presents the eleven basic schools of twentieth-century literary theory and criticism in their historical and philosophical contexts. Unlike other introductions to literary criticism, this text explores the philosophical assumptions of each school of criticism, provides a clear methodology for writing essays according to each school's beliefs and tenets, and features accessible student-generated sample essays.

PICK A PENGUIN! Prentice Hall is delighted to offer select Penguin Putnam titles at a substantial discount to your students when you request a special package of one or more Penguin titles with any Prentice Hall text. Contact your Prentice Hall sales representative for special ordering instructions.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 319 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall; 3rd edition (July 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0130333972
• ISBN-13: 978-0130333971
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #541,694 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must-Have for Anyone with an interest in Literary Criticism, May 17, 2001

By 

TCC-O "k_cchua" (Philippines) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Literary Criticism: An Introduction to Theory and Practice (2nd Edition) (Paperback)

Literary Criticism is one field of study that, no doubt, confuses most people with all the "-isms". Charles Bressler's book is a very useful tool in sorting out all these "-isms". This is a well-organized book: each chapter focuses on a different theory and discusses the theory's historical development, assumptions, methodology and even has questions for analysis (great help when writing a paper). The chapter culminates in two essays of application of that particular theory. This is the most popular and widely-circulated book among Lit Majors in my university. And this is one that you should definitely own.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent guide for beginners., April 2, 2005

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Hesper23 "Grad student" (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Literary Criticism: An Introduction to Theory and Practice (2nd Edition) (Paperback)

4 years of English studies, and I never once sat down to read literary theory until I had to take a course in it. Bressler's book helped me immensely to sort out the confusing mass that is theory. He lists a dozen or so major movements, such as formalism, reader-response criticism, structuralism, and post-structuralism, and also includes "additional" chapters on individual theorists such as Barthes, Levi-Strauss, etc. The explanations are concise. I also like how this professor turned author looks at theory from the student's perspective: he breaks down complicated ideas into manageable parts, without losing the essential point of the theory.

Another book that I found helpful was *Literary Theory: An Anthology* ed. Julie Rivkin. Unlike Bressler's book, this one is HUGE and very heavy, but nonetheless useful.

Actually, after reading more about literary theory, I'm no longer scared of it. So, if you're like me, a "newbie" to literary theory, you'd do well to start with this book.

26 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars too many typos in 4th edition, September 29, 2006

By 

Mark Trevor Smith "MarkTrevorSmith" (Seattle) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Literary Criticism: An Introduction to Theory and Practice (Paperback)

After looking at the third edition, I ordered this book for a class that I teach. The fourth edition contains many changes, all of them for the worse. The literary selections in the 4th edition are not as well chosen; the added paragraphs in the chapters on New Criticism and feminism are stylistically awkward and often confusing and repetitive, not to mention factually questionable (the claim that there were no voices in feminism between Pisan and Wollstonecraft!). Most distressing of all, this edition was apparently rushed to press in time for classes in fall 2006, for it contains typos about every five or six pages. The chapter on feminism alone has at least ten errors, e.g., "one in the same," "least" instead of "lest" (that mistake was carried over from the third edition), "lastest"!!!, inconsistency in verb number after "a variety of [plural nouns]," etc. The publisher should send an apology to all purchasers of this book, along with a list of errata. On the bright side: I tell my students that I can't penalize them too much for small errors, when the textbook contains so many!