A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature (Paperback)

by Wilfred L. Guerin (Author), Earle Labor (Author), Lee Morgan (Author), Jeanne C. Reesman (Author), John R. Willingham (Author), John Willingham (Author) "It may come as a surprise to contemporary students to learn that well into the nineteenth century, courses in British and American literature were not..." (more)
Key Phrases: precritical response, formalistic critics, formalistic criticism, New York, Huckleberry Finn, Coy Mistress (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"An outstanding text!"--Scot Lahaie, Baylor University

"Accessible to my students without watering down the concepts they are required to study."--Mindy Williams, California State University, Chico

"Consistently smart, even-handed, even-tempered, and interesting--a fine introduction to literary studies."--Gardner Campbell, Mary Washington College

"The classic of its kind. I recommend it to all English majors."--Hebert V. Fackler, University of Southwestern Louisiana

"Though called a handbook, this text in reality is a comprehensive survey of the most important and popular approaches to literary criticism of the past century. Ideal as an introduction and for in-depth studies of criticism, this significantly revised edition is both teacher- and scholar-friendly. Excellent model essays of criticism are the norm in this most thoughtful and rewarding book."--Earl J. Wilcox, Executive Director, College English Association

"A familiar guide for students that is better than ever. Indeed, with this edition, A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature attains the status of a classic textbook, where it rubs elbows with the likes of Brooks and Warren's Understanding Poetry and Perrine's Sound and Sense."--Donald D. Kummings, University of Wisconsin-Parkside

"This internationally renowned book in its fourth edition is one of the best introductions to criticism. From traditional to recent criticism, with abundant practical application to literary texts, it provides students and general readers with all of the basic knowledge of ways to read literature." --James R. Bennett, Professor Emeritus, University of Arkansas

"With attention both to the various forms of applied literary criticism and to their theoretical foundations, this carefully updated edition of a long-familiar classic will serve the needs of a variety of students and readers: beginning students of literature will find the mysteries of literary interpretation unveiled, advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students will find a coherent framework in which to place their continued study, the general reader will find an accessible introduction to the diverse vitality of literary studies today, and perhaps even the seasoned literature professor will discover again the intellectual excitement which attracted him or her to the field in the first place."--John S. Hardt, Associate Dean of the College and Professor of English, Ferrum College

"What a wonderful, useful text....It worked like a charm for me."--Sarah Dangelantonio, Franklin Pierce College

"Provides thorough discussion of the issues involved in reading literature at the turn of the century. Students are taken from naive, common-sense responses through sophisticated ways of reading."--Tom Smith, Penn State

Product Description
A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature, Fourth Edition offers readers and students a variety of ways of looking at a piece of literature, ranging from traditional approaches through the formalist, the psychological, the mythic and archetypal, and into some of the most helpful and rewarding approaches in contemporary criticism, including the feminist approach and that of cultural studies. In most of its chapters, the particular approach under discussion is applied to each of the five works treated throughout the book. The result is an eclectic arrary of readings that shows how different approaches offer different insights, while enriching the total response to and understanding of the individual work.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 4 edition (October 8, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195099559
• ISBN-13: 978-0195099553
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #288,234 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 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

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.

14 of 15 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

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.

8 of 8 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 (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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.