Literary Criticism: An Introduction to Theory and Practice

So far I have yet to find a better introduction to literary theory than Charles E. Bressler's Literary Criticism: an introducction to theory and practice. I teach advanced spanish in High School and I was looking for a good book on literary theory to prepare my classes. Unlike other books on the subject (Terry Eagleton's book on literary theory comes to mind), Mr. Bressler's book is not only clear in its summaries of the different schools of literary criticism, but it does what few books on the subject have done so far: it presents detailed and concise summaries of the main tenets of each school of criticism followed by actual analyses of literary texts based on the principles of each one of these schools. I took a whole semester of literary theory in college as a graduate student, and I am learning more with Mr. Bressler's book than I learned in that class. I cannot think of a better book for teachers of reading classes and for undergraduate and graduate students of literature in any language. I praise Mr. Bressler for clarifying a subject that has the reputation of being obscure and only for a few enlighten ed individuals. With his book literary theory, in my judgement, becomes accessible to just anybody interested in the subject.

This is an absolutley brilliant book; not only does it break Literary Criticism into it's most basic components, the text is easy to follow, and won't put the reader to sleep. I love it.

The number of user-friendly guides for introductory level literary theory is no more than three or four. LITERARY THEORY: AN INTRODUCTION TO THEORY AND PRACTICE by Charles E. Bressler is happily one of them. For a text on theory designed for the novice, the author must include a number of basic concepts. First, the text must minimize the inevitable influx of dense jargon while maximizing a clear explication of that jargon. Second, the author must set his survey of theory in a meaningful context that allows the uninitiated to trace the evolution of theory from its starting point--usually with the Greeks--up to the present day. Third, the author must define the nature of theory--no easy task there--so that the reader can connect the various strands of allied disciplines like linguistics, psychology, and economics into a coherent whole. Fourth, the text must include close analyses and summaries of the major schools of theory--again no easy task since there is considerable disagreement even among those who are recognized experts as to which strands of the web of theory deserve inclusion. And finally, that author ought to show the reader how to make the transcendent leap from the abstruseness that is theory to the concretization of the use of that theory by providing real-life examples of writing that illustrate that theory in action. Bressler does all this and does so with a flair that puts most of his academic competitors to shame. Part of the reason for his success is his simple yet not simplistic methodology that accompanies each school of theory. He begins each school with an introduction that foregrounds his analyses in a real-world application that makes sense even to the rank novice. He follows with an erudite historical development, which includes assumptions that proponents of that school hold. He then considers the methodology by which that proponent translates abstract assumption to concrete reality. What I found especially useful were his concluding questions for analyses and student-derived essays that examined a specific text under a designated literary lens. There are other introductory guides that do much of the preceding but only Bressler does it all so well. This text has use beyond the introductory undergraduate course in theory. For those in graduate seminars who need a refresher in the basics or wish to see theory reflected in the reality of everyday literary texts, LITERARY THEORY is a work that ought to achieve frequent perusal during a lifetime of reading that extends far beyond the requirements of a college course.

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.

This is truly a beautiful book- it should be a bestseller. I am very happy to have purchased and read it.