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Preface xiii
1 An Introduction, Theoretically 3
Textual Tours 3
Checking Some Baggage 5
"Is there one correct interpretation of a literary work?" 6
"So, are all opinions about literature equally valid?" 6
Anything to Declare? 9
Theory enables practice 9
You already have a theoretical stance 10
This is an introduction 11
Here's the plan 11
Recommended Further Reading 12
2 Critical Worlds: A Selective Tour 15
Brendan Gill, from Here at "The New Yorker" 16
New Criticism 17
Reader-Response Criticism 19
Structuralist and Deconstructive Criticism 22
Historical, Postcolonial, and Cultural Studies 24
Psychological Criticism 29
Political Criticism 31
Other Approaches 34
Works Cited 35
Recommended Further Reading 35
3 Unifying the Work: New Criticism 37
The Purpose of New Criticism 37
Basic Principles Reflected 38
Archibald MacLeish, Ars Poetica 38
Radicals in Tweed Jackets 42
How to Do New Criticism 45
Film and Other Genres 47
The Writing Process: A Sample Essay 49
Gwendolyn Brooks, The Mother 49
Preparing to Write 50
Shaping 52
Drafting 53
Practicing New Criticism 55
Lucille Clifton, forgiving my father 55
Questions 56
Stephen Shu-ning Liu, My Father's Martial Art 56
Questions 57
Ben Jonson, On My First Son 57
Questions 58
The Parable of the Prodigal Son 58
Questions 60
Useful Terms for New Criticism 60
Checklist for New Criticism 61
Works Cited 62
Recommended Further Reading 62
4 Creating the Text: Reader-Response Criticism 65
The Purpose of Reader-Response Criticism 65
New Criticism as the Old Criticism 65
The Reader Emerges 66
Hypertextual Readers 70
How to Do Reader-Response Criticism 71
Preparing to Respond 71
Sandra Cisneros, Love Poem #1 71
Making Sense 72
Subjective Response 73
Receptive Response 75
The Writing Process: A Sample Essay 80
Preparing to Respond 80
Ernest Hemingway, A Very Short Story 81
Preparing to Write 85
Shaping 88
Drafting 88
Practicing Reader-Response Criticism 91
Michael Drayton, Since There's No Help 91
Questions 92
Judith Minty, Killing the Bear 92
Questions 96
Caroline Fraser, All Bears 97
Questions 98
Emily Dickinson, Through the Dark Sod 98
Questions 98
Useful Terms for Reader-Response Criticism 99
Checklist: Using Reader-Response Criticism 99
Works Cited 100
Recommended Further Reading 100
5 Opening Up the Text: Structuralism and Deconstruction 103
The Purposes of Structuralism and Deconstruction 103
Structuralism and Semiotics 104
Post-structuralism and Deconstruction 105
How to Do Structuralism and Deconstruction 111
William Butler Yeats, Sailing to Byzantium 111
The Writing Process: A Sample Essay 117
Amy Clampitt, Discovery 117
Preparing to Write 118
Shaping 123
Drafting 125
Practicing Structuralist and Deconstructive Criticism 129
Questions 129
William Blake, London 129
Cut through the anxiety, the unknown, the hassle . . . 130
Questions 131
Linda Pastan, Ethics 132
Questions 133
John Donne, Death Be Not Proud 133
Questions 134
Useful Terms for Deconstruction 134
Checklist for Deconstruction 136
Works Cited 136
Recommended Further Reading 136
6 Connecting the Text: Varieties of Historical Criticism 139
The Purposes of Biographical, Historical, Postcolonial, Ethnic, Marxist, and Cultural Studies 139
Biographical and Historical Criticism 140
John Milton, When I Consider How My Light Is Spent 140
Cultural Studies 144
New Historicism 147
History as Text 148
Marxist Criticism 150
Postcolonial and Ethnic Studies 155
How to Do Historical Criticism 158
The Writing Process: Sample Essays 160
John Cheever, Reunion 160
A Biographical Essay 163
Preparing to Write 163
Shaping 167
Drafting 170
A New Historical Essay 173
Preparing to Write 173
Shaping 174
Drafting 175
Practicing Historical Criticism 178
Useful Terms for Historical, Cultural, and Postcolonial Criticism 179
Checklist for Historical Criticism 185
Works Cited 185
Recommended Further Reading 186
7 Minding the Work: Psychological Criticism 191
The Purpose of Psychological Criticism 191
How to Do Psychological Criticism 196
William Wordsworth, A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal 197
The Writing Process: A Sample Essay 200
William Shakespeare, Hamlet 4.4.32-66 201
Preparing to Write 202
Shaping 205
Drafting 206
Practicing Psychological Criticism 211
Emily Dickinson, A Narrow Fellow in the Grass 211
Questions 212
Marianne Moore, O to Be a Dragon 212
Questions 213
Matthew Arnold, Dover Beach 213
Question 214
Your Dream Here 214
Useful Terms for Psychological Criticism 214
Checklist for Psychological Criticism 215
Works Cited 215
Recommended Further Reading 216
8 Gendering the Text: Feminist Criticism, Postfeminism, and Queer Theory 219
How to Do Feminist Criticism, Postfeminism, and Queer Theory 226
Mary Astell, from A Serious Proposal 229
The Writing Process: A Sample Essay 234
Samuel Johnson, To Miss _____ On Her Playing upon the Harpsichord . . . 235
Preparing to Respond 236
Shaping 237
Drafting 239
Revision: Gay and Lesbian Criticism 241
Practicing Feminist, Postfeminist, and Queer Theory Criticism 243
William Shakespeare, Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day? 243
Questions 244
Emily Dickinson, My Life had stood-a Loaded Gun 244
Questions 245
Tobias Wolff, Say Yes 245
Questions 249
Gender in the Movies 249
Useful Terms for Political Criticism 250
Checklist for Political Criticism 251
Works Cited 252
Recommended Further Reading 253
Appendix 1 254
The Canonization John Donne 254
Appendix 2 256
A Note on How Theories Relate 256
Credits 260
Index 262
| Price | Condition | Delivery | Seller | Action |
| $99.99 | Digital |
| WonderClub |
Anemos Soul
reviewed Texts and Contexts: Writing About Literature with Critical Theory on December 19, 2007
Texts and Contexts: Writing About Literature with Critical Theory
Lynn steers past the shoals that sunk my pedagogical interest in the Guide for the Perplexed lit theory survey, first, by providing clear examples of how each school of thought reads, and by anticipating objections to the weirdness and political engagement (or at least pretensions to political engagement) of each of these schools. His section on Freud, for example, congenially (which is the tone, throughout) explains that the concept of penis envy "continues even today to drive people up a wall." And the examples are superbly detailed: they walk students from the rudiments of simply understanding some work, to brainstorming, to research, and finally to several examples of good final papers.
I've only a few objections to it. The first is simply medieval crankiness: Hamlet and Milton anchor the--how did I end up with this nautical conceit?--they are the earliest writings, which means there's nothing from my field. Not a serious problem, by any means, since I wouldn't expect him to read Gerald of Wales in the way I want him read, anyhow. My second objection is more substantial. The Klages survey divided criticism into humanist (outmoded) and posthumanist (hip and with it since at least 1980) and rapidly dispensed with humanist approaches. Given the divisions, her explanations were much more sophisticated than Lynn, and they were generally in line with my own critical interests. Lynn, by contrast, gives us only Freud and provides nothing of Lacan. In fact, he tends towards humanist critiques: his example of a psychoanalytic reading is a character study of Hamlet rather than, say, a study of language and representation itself, and he devotes his explanation of "historicist" readings to doing a biographical exegesis of the relationship between John Cheever's life and a short story. In short, there's just not enough cultural critique.
These problems hardly sink the book, however, and I just might assign it next semester, if only because its explanations of New Criticism, poststructuralism, and feminist and gender critique are pretty good, and the last chapter on doing research is flawless. I can always victimize the Hamlet reading, and a few of the others, to create a communal (mis?)conception of sophistication in a class that would otherwise feel entirely victimized by the critical tradition.
==
Okay, I just checked the price. At 50$+, it's way too expensive.
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Add Texts and Contexts: Writing About Literature with Critical Theory, Here's how MyLiteratureLab can help you save time and improve results: Read - Over 200 selections are available through our interactive eAnthology. Students can search, annotate, and highlight while reading great works of literature. Analyze & C, Texts and Contexts: Writing About Literature with Critical Theory to your collection on WonderClub |
