His numerous books include the pdf meaning of life, how to read a poem, and after theory. Terry eagleton literary theory an introduction anniversary editio. Noted for its clear, engaging style and unpretentious treatment, literary theory has become the introduction of choice for anyone interested in learning about the world of contemporary literary thought. An introduction, that works instead to decimate most literary theory. His historical materialist approach makes him a marxist critic. Terry eagleton and marxist literary theory literary theory. In the english late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. A readers guide to contemporary literary theory 5th edition. An introduction terry eagleton this concise and lucid volume offers a satisfying survey of all the major theories, from structuralism in the 1960s to deconstruction today, that have made academic criticism both intriguing and offputting to the outsider. His writing includes a wide range from the 19th and the 20th centuries to 1970s marxist tradition and from marxist literary cultural analysis to the need for theory. Pdf literary theory an introduction by terry eagleton.
While his earlier writing examined in some depth certain marxist categories of literarycultural. Eagleton adds a third, marxistleninist, imperative, namely a commitment to the theory and practice of political revolution. This is also true of literary students and critics. Still, anyone reading an introductory book on literary theory has a. The footnotes in that edition have been transposed here from endofbook to endofchapter while the pagenumbers have been omitted.
His widest general prominence, though, came as a popularizer of critical theory, with eagleton writing numerous influential primers and guides underpinning many of the developments in the teaching of literary criticism in universities over the past forty years. Literary theory has the kind of racy readability that one pdf associates more often with english critics who have set their faces resolutely against theory. Eagleton s idea for this volume resulted from her desire to furnish her own students with an introduction to the central issues of feminist criticism and to make some of the main texts often originally. Literary theory by terry eagleton overdrive rakuten. Perhaps literary criticism and literary theory just mean any kind of talk of a certain level of competence. Literary theory the rise of english a summary of chapter 1 of eagletons book. Vlll preface to the secondedition theory is the very reverse of elitist.
By literary theory we refer not to the meaning of a work of literature but to the theories that reveal what. Or perhaps this is more of an essay on theory from a marxist slant. The work elucidated the emerging literary theory of the. He has also written a novel, saints and scholars, several plays and a memoir, the gatekeeper.
Terry eagleton is professor of cultural theory and john rylands fellow at the university of manchester. An introduction 1983 is still the best one till nowadays. Eagleton argues that as long as the public considers factual works as literature, the claim that literature is fiction cannot hold. Author of a prodigious number of comprehensive works on literary theory, including marxism and literary criticism 1976 and literary theory. Terry eagleton is one of the most importantand most radicaltheorists writing today. Get an answer for what does terry eagleton want to explain to us in introduction. This classic work covers all of the major movements in literary studies in this century. Terry eagleton and marxist literary theory by nasrullah mambrol on january 6, 2018 4 terry eagletons contribution to marxist cultural theory is broad in its range. Properly understood, literary theory is shaped by a democratic impulse rather than an elitist one. An introduction by terry eagleton in djvu, epub, fb3 download ebook. Dec 10, 2010 the literary work, indeed, is a continual generating and violating of expectations, a complex interplay of the regular and random, norms and deviations, routinized patterns and dramatic defamiliarizations.
An introduction 1983, which has sold over 750,000 copies. Chapterwise summary of terry eagletons literary theory. Pdf literary theory an introduction download full pdf. It is designed for students at the undergraduate level or for others needing a broad synthesis of the long history of literary theory. Terry eagleton is john edward taylor professor of english literature at the university of manchester. Terence francis eagleton fba born 1943 is a british literary theorist, critic, and public intellectual. Born to a workingclass family in salford, northern england. An introduction is a critical overview of the history of literary theory starting just before the emergence of the romantic movement in eighteenthcentury england and ending with the poststructuralists in 1970s and 1980s. There is no such thing as a literary work or tradition which is valuable in itself. Terry eagleton and marxist literary theory literary. An introduction, terry eagleton english literature. Eagleton spends approximately three paragraphs discussing literary theory. If there is such a thing as literary theory, then it would seem obvious that there is something called literature which it is the theory of.
I just finished reading terry eagletons literary theory. Literature, most generically, is any body or collection of written works. The babys mouth becomes not only an organ of its physical survival but an erotogenic zone, which the child might reactivate a few years later by sucking its thumb, and a few years later than that by kissing. Have you ever had a teacher, friend, or parent tell you that what you are read. A paraphrase, summary, and adaptation of the opening chapter of terry eagleton s introduction to literary theory the problem literature is imaginative writing have you ever felt ashamed or secretive about books you like because they are not on approved reading lists.
An introduction psychoanalysis first dawning of sexuality. His witty and acerbic attacks on contemporary culture and society are read and enjoyed by many, and his studies of literature are regarded as classics of contemporary criticism. Eagleton is known both as a marxist theorist and as a popularizer of theory by means. A readers guide to contemporary literary theoryis a classic introduction to the everevolving field of modern literary theory, now expanded and updated in its fifth edition. Eagleton has added a new preface to this anniversary edition to address more recent developments in literary studies. Literary criticism general the ode less travelled, stephen fry how novels work, john mullan the art of fiction, david lodge literary theory beginning theory. An introduction 1983, revised 1996, eagleton surveys the history of theoretical approaches to literature, from its beginnings with matthew arnold, through formalism, psychoanalysis, and structuralism, to poststructuralism. Opens with a brilliant essay on how the concept of literature cannot be objecively defined. Youre better off reading the purdue owls barebones intro to literary theory and schools of criticism than this inside baseball. This book presents the full range of positions and movements in contemporary literary theory.
On the twentyfifth anniversary of literary theory s debut, terry eagleton reflects on the state of. If literary theory is a kind of metacriticism, a critical reflection on criticism, then it follows that it too is a nonsubject. Pdf terry eagleton, literary theory david forgacs academia. More restrictively, literature refers to writing considered to be an art form or any single writing deemed to have artistic or intellectual value, and sometimes deploys language in ways that differ from ordinary usage its latin root literaturalitteratura derived itself from littera. He is currently distinguished professor of english literature at lancaster university eagleton has published over forty books, but remains best known for literary theory. According to many of his examples, history has long been showing this claim as flawed. Literary theory, an introduction second edition staff uny. The very fact that you are supposed to have read certain books makes you feel like you have already read them long before you read them, so you do not in fact ever read them. Eagleton s introduction addresses the question made necessary by the study of literary theory, which is a system or systems for critically understanding literature. His writing includes a wide range from the 19th and the 20th centuries to 1970s marxist tradition and from marxist literarycultural analysis to the need for theory. Find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate. A superbly argued text, though a bit verbose in parts.
Like barthes and other socialists, he grounds reality in lived history. An introduction 1983, new edn 1996, he is also a trenchant critic of the assumptions of postmodernism. All content included on our site, such as text, images, digital downloads and other, is the property of its content suppliers and protected by us and international laws. An introduction still conjures the subversion, excitement and exoticism that characterized theory through the 1960s and 70s, when it posed an unprecedented challenge to the literary establishment. Perhaps, then, the unity of literary studies is to be sought elsewhere. We left american literary theory at the end of the introduction in the grip of new criticism, honing its increasingly sophisticated techniques and fighting a rearguard action against modern science and industrialism. A readers guide to contemporary literary theory raman selden peter widdowson peter brooker fifth edition a readers guide to contemporary literary theoryis a classic introduction to the everevolving field of modern literary theory, now expanded and updated in its fifth edition. Chapter 1 will set out the development of english as a field of serious scholarly inquiry and the development of literature into what we generally understand by that term today. The literary work, indeed, is a continual generating and violating of expectations, a complex interplay of the regular and random, norms and deviations, routinized patterns and dramatic defamiliarizations.
An introduction, heathcliff and the great hunger, and after theory. An introduction provides an accessible overview of major figures and movements in literary theory and criticism from antiquity to the twentyfirst century. Literary theory the rise of english chapter 1 will set out the development of english as a field of serious scholarly inquiry and the development of literature into what we generally understand by that term today. Eagleton has added a new preface to this anniversary edition to address more recent developments in literary studies, including what he. Hostility to theory usually means an opposition to other peoples theories and an oblivion of ones own seems ironic in a book, though innocuously entitled literary theory. Many introductions to literary theory describe a series of schools of. A quarter of a century on from its original publication, literary theory. Literary theory an introduction terry eagleton with a new preface anniversary edition m in ne so ta.
It has helped me make sense of a variety of theoriesincluding the opacity of poststructuralism, the fertile ground where jacques derrida and deconstruction reigned. Edgar allan poes literary theory and its application in the fall of the. But it does mean that the socalled literary canon, the unquestioned great tradition of the national literature, has to be recognized as a construct, fashioned by particular people for particular reasons at a certain time. What is truly elitist in literary studies is the idea that works of literature can only be appreciated by those with a particular sort of cultural breeding. In this new edition of his groundbreaking treatise on literary theory, eagleton seeks to develop a sophisticated relationship between marxism and literary criticism. But since it declarers itself a general history of the englishbritishirish novel, it was continuously disappointing. In the process, he demonstrates what is the thesis of the book. A concise, but useful introduction to marxist literary criticism. Ifthere is such a thing as literary theory, then it would seem ob vious that there is something called literature which it is the theory of. On the twentyfifth anniversary of literary theorys debut, terry eagleton reflects on the state of theory in academia today, the growth of antitheory itself an interesting theoretical subject, its commonif problematicplace among survey coursework, and theorys continued relevance to scholarly pursuits. An introduction structuralism and semiotics 2 3 structuralism and semiotics we left american literary theory at the end of the introduction in the grip of new criticism, honing its increasingly sophisticated techniques and fighting a rearguard action against modern science and industrialism.
Terry eagleton literary and critical theory oxford. Eagleton shows that we must analyse texts through their historical forces, and not take some sort of transcendental ideas of genius, but situate works in their totality, demonstrating how the characters and author reflect the genuine consciousness of their class, and their dialectical relation to the means and mode of production. The rest of the book is a list of his grievances with the state of literary criticism in the academy. Pdf on jan 1, 1997, damaso lopez garcia and others published literary theory. Eagleton is a socialist critic, and in this groundbreaking book, he argues that all literary theory is ultimately political. Jan 06, 2018 home cultural studies terry eagleton and marxist literary theory. There are soine who complain that literary theory is impossibly esoteric who suspect it asan arcane, elitist enclave somewhat akin to nuclear physics. Terry eagleton s literary theory has been a most useful book to me. Terry eagleton literary theory summary born in a workingclass family in england, terry eagleton was a marxist literary theorist and critic.
There have been various attempts to define literature. Eagleton has added a new preface to this anniversary edition to address more recent developments in literary studies, including what he describes as the growth of a kind of anti theory, and the idea that literary theory has been institutionalized. An introduction still conjures the subversion, excitement and exoticism that characterized theory through the 1960s and 70s. Literary theory has the kind of racy readability that one associates more often with english critics who have set their faces resolutely against theory. He has written more than forty books, including literary theory. An introduction remains the essential guide to the field. On this theory, literature is a kindofwritingwhich, in the words of the russian critic roman jakobson, represents an organized violence committed on ordinary speech. Ranging across the key works of raymond williams, lenin, trotsky, brecht, adorno, benjamin, lukacs and sartre, he develops a nuanced critique of traditional literary criticism. Porter institute for poetics and semiotics literary theory. An introduction by terry eagleton this concise and lucid volume offers a satisfying survey of all the major theories, from structuralism in the 1960s to deconstruction today, that have made academic criticism both intriguing and offputting to the. Through the analyses both offered of a poem by john donne, the canonization, ideological issues as well as conflicting views on the relationship between a formal engagement and a content commitment, and more generally between an intrinsic and an extrinsic approach to the study of literature wellek warren, are retraced and contextualized.
621 1030 1498 1196 770 281 121 526 293 939 142 951 76 762 1037 1259 798 377 233 253 516 449 124 255 673 389 924 200 1288 785 1489 329 1079 785 588 823 1077 181 97 1286 445 782 65 1304