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87th out of 150 books
—
87 voters
Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions #4)
What is literary theory? Is there a relationship between literature and culture? In fact, what is literature, and does it matter? These questions and more are addressed in Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction, a book which steers a clear path through a subject which is often perceived to be complex and impenetrable.
Jonathan Culler, an extremely lucid commentator and...more
Jonathan Culler, an extremely lucid commentator and...more
Paperback, 144 pages
Published
June 15th 2000
by Oxford University Press, USA
(first published 1997)
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La Rochefoucault said that no one would ever have thought of being in love if they hadn’t read about it in books. I don’t believe that, do you?
No. Not true at all.
But that’s not what we’re here to discuss.
So -, it’s been said before and I’ll say it again
LITERARY THEORY – huuuagh! What is it good for? Absolutely nuthin.
Theory is a body of thinking and writing whose limits are exceedingly hard to define.
Theory is works that succeed in challenging and reorienting thinking in fields other than t...more
No. Not true at all.
But that’s not what we’re here to discuss.
So -, it’s been said before and I’ll say it again
LITERARY THEORY – huuuagh! What is it good for? Absolutely nuthin.
Theory is a body of thinking and writing whose limits are exceedingly hard to define.
Theory is works that succeed in challenging and reorienting thinking in fields other than t...more
This book was my first in the "Very Short Introduction" series, and I picked one in a field where I had a little bit of background. Where I went to college it was impossible to take a humanities class and not have someone mention Foucault or Althusser. The school newspaper once ran an article "The Next Person Who Says 'Derrida' Gets Dropkicked". Reading this book, I couldn't help but wish I had it back then, for while every professor loved to spout critical theory, the acting assumption was that...more
I loved that Culler organized the work thematically rather than by critical schools. Given that many of the best theorists overlap in many fields--is Judith Butler a psychoanalyst or feminist? is Althusser a structuralist or Marxist? and what is Foucault?--I think Culler's approach best represents how theory actually works. After all, poststructuralism, Marxism, and psychoanalysis tend to do much the same thing in a theoretical context: they all call 'the natural' (of language, of the state and...more
Take it in increments. It covers the broadest topics of literary theory in a very thorough treatment that makes it cumbersome at times. Wisely, the author chose to write short chapters. I could see turning to this book to gather launch points for future literature papers.
However, the author seems to have the wrong audience in mind. The vocabulary and sentence structure is rather stilted and the prose reads more like a philosophical treatise than an introductory text. Had I been a freshman in an...more
However, the author seems to have the wrong audience in mind. The vocabulary and sentence structure is rather stilted and the prose reads more like a philosophical treatise than an introductory text. Had I been a freshman in an...more
Kaj je TEORIJA?
Knjiga zbistri pogled na literarno teorijo, katere se pogosto bojimo, o kateri mnogi pišejo, ki jo mnogo preučujejo, mnogim pa ni točno jasno, za kaj gre.
Teorija književnosti, pravi, NISO sistematične refleksije o naravi literature ali razprave o značilnostih literarnega jezika. Teorija je ena sama, in sicer gre za množico diskusij in diskurzivnih pisanj o popolnoma različnih temah iz popolnoma različnih področij, npr. diskusije o neliterarnih zadevah, preveč razprav o splošnih vp...more
Knjiga zbistri pogled na literarno teorijo, katere se pogosto bojimo, o kateri mnogi pišejo, ki jo mnogo preučujejo, mnogim pa ni točno jasno, za kaj gre.
Teorija književnosti, pravi, NISO sistematične refleksije o naravi literature ali razprave o značilnostih literarnega jezika. Teorija je ena sama, in sicer gre za množico diskusij in diskurzivnih pisanj o popolnoma različnih temah iz popolnoma različnih področij, npr. diskusije o neliterarnih zadevah, preveč razprav o splošnih vp...more
It's hard to know whether this book is a comprehensive introduction to literary theory, as it's the first whole book I've read on the subject. My motivation was to better understand the literary theoretic ideas being used in software studies and game studies papers I read. Besides that, I always enjoyed English lit at school and I figured it would be nice to say hi again.
The book has its flaws, including indulging in the pompous habit (with which I had already become familiar) of placing literar...more
The book has its flaws, including indulging in the pompous habit (with which I had already become familiar) of placing literar...more
A wonderful overview of literary theory, which sidesteps the usual presentation by schools of thought in favor of a discussion of what literature is, and what questions theory seeks to answer. Culler himself is a structuralist, which comes through in his discussion of semiotics, but the rest of the book is presented so fairly that it's difficult to pick up any bias in his presentation.
This is an excellent introduction that makes the reader hungry for more theory and criticism.
This is an excellent introduction that makes the reader hungry for more theory and criticism.
Things this book is not: a comprehensive survey of notable theorist or important kinds of theory (although there's a brief appendix that concisely defines things like "post-structuralism" and "feminist theory").
Instead, it's an exploration of some of the big questions/tensions in literature/theory/literary theory and some different approaches to answering/resolving them. While most of it didn't blow my mind, it was nice to see a simple, down-to-earth discussion of things like, what is theory? w...more
Instead, it's an exploration of some of the big questions/tensions in literature/theory/literary theory and some different approaches to answering/resolving them. While most of it didn't blow my mind, it was nice to see a simple, down-to-earth discussion of things like, what is theory? w...more
Oxford University Press did an interesting thing with these tiny books that introduce intrepid readers to a variety of any possible subject: from The European Union to Molecules to Jazz to Mandela; the idea being to enlighten the future Jack-of-all-trades to an introductory lesson in any given discipline. I cannot vouch for the others, but the book here on Literary Theory is very user unfriendly, and does not offer a perspective into the discourse that an average reader could appreciate.
I have...more
I have...more
This summary of trends in higher level criticism of literature sets aside the basics to focus on what’s sometimes called the postmodern critique. That’s to say, it gives readers an introduction to the many modern perspectives by which they might evaluate a literary work: the Marxist critique, the feminist critique, the Freudian critique and so on.
Readers also get a brief introduction to various schools of what’s broadly called “theory,” an endeavor characterized by its multi-disciplinary applic...more
Readers also get a brief introduction to various schools of what’s broadly called “theory,” an endeavor characterized by its multi-disciplinary applic...more
Like others, I also dug this thematic approach over a more general schools-based survey as a way to introduce theory. I liked the fact that this approach gave me a feel for theory as a 'do' as much as an 'is'. By the end, I felt as if I could try to think using the principles of theory (a mistrust of 'common sense' and the 'natural' as being socially/culturally constructed) without necessarily really knowing a lot of positions in detail.
I was also pleased to see that Culler didn't completely en...more
I was also pleased to see that Culler didn't completely en...more
Among the Very Short Introductions, I count this one as one of the best entries. It’s nice to see Jonathan Culler take the task seriously, and not merely as an excuse to write an essay on a select area of the subject (Catriona Kelly’s ‘Russian Literature’ entry comes to mind), but to actually put together an engaging overview of the field’s major themes and divisions. Culler is obviously very comfortable in the topic, and he reads in the way that makes me think his lectures (at Cornell, from wha...more
Having little experience in literary theory outside of this book (which I was required to a few chapters of in college, then decided to re-read because I found those chapters interesting), I can't give a very authoritative review on how well it does introduce you to literary theory. What I can say is that it poses a lot of questions and gives few straight answers to anything. However, since the introduction and conclusion tell us straight-up that that is what the book will do, it was to be expec...more
This is good if you just need a quick reference guide. The writing is clean and straight-forward. There's nothing really thought provoking in here, but it'll get you warmed up for better books.
This is a fantastic li'l Lit Theory book. It is short, but rather than superficially skimming the surface of as many theoretical schools as possible, Culler takes a more interesting (and page appropriate) approach by encountering those different schools through an exploration of lit theory's practical concerns. You get chapters like "What is Theory?" and "Language, Meaning, and Interpretation," and as a result of his method, you actually do end up coming across some of the main lines of thinking...more
Very short, very concise book about literary theory. I knew nothing about literary theory until I read this book. It gave some good summaries of deconstuction and structuralism, constative and performative sentences, for example. Some of the chapters made more sense to me than others. I was reading this in conjunction with The Marriage Plot as Madeleine takes some literary theory and semiotics classes.
I'd like to know more, this book was a little TOO concise but it was the one available at the l...more
I'd like to know more, this book was a little TOO concise but it was the one available at the l...more
Ah, literary conjecture: mostly fanciful, ultimately untenable. Here's the thing: theories are not interesting qua theories, as their utility lies in making specific, testable predictions. A theory that cannot be falsified is not a good theory (which is why research psychologists are much less interested in what Freud has to say than English professors are).
Anyway, this short introduction is helpful if you want to drop phrases like "intertextuality and discoures on gendering" at a cocktail party...more
Anyway, this short introduction is helpful if you want to drop phrases like "intertextuality and discoures on gendering" at a cocktail party...more
Written for the intelligent lay or scholarly reader who knows nothing, this book provides a concise and compelling introduction to some of the major questions with which literary theory grapples. I found particularly illuminating Culler's discussion of how theory is often used as a form of intimidation (i.e., "How can you *possibly* think talk about X topic if you haven't read Y piece of theory?") and of how, once this petty jostling is put to the side, theory can be an extremely useful tool in...more
I just skimmed this one. Pretty basic lit theory 101 stuff, although quite different from my theory text as an undergraduate (Wellek and Warren, Theory of Literature). Its chief virtue being all the rhetorical questions Culler asks; if you listed them out they would be a catalog of eternal debates, questions Aristotle thought he answered, yet we argue about them just as viciously today. Culler’s chapter on narrative is tight, a good summation of issues theorists like Bal have devoted hundreds of...more
An unusually clear and jargon-free discussion of the basics of literary theory, good for the beginner or for anyone who wants to review and order what s/he knows (or think about how to teach it to undergraduates who are new to theory). Chapters: What is theory?; What is literature and does it matter?; literature and cultural studies; language, meaning, and interpretation; rhetoric, poetics, and poetry; narrative; performative language (and performativity in general); identity, identification, an...more
Indispensable. I so, so wish I had read this as a freshman or sophomore, when I had barely even heard of capital-T Theory, much less knew anything about it. But even after graduating, I learned a huge amount from it. So incredibly lucidly written, and witty, and well-informed. The whole Very Short Introduction series is fantastic, but this is easily the best work I've come across. For anyone with even the slightest interest in theory, or poetry, or literature, or life as a human being. Seriously...more
Not a bad little book and a pretty straightforward read but if you're in the market for theory and criticism, I'd highly recommend The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism. But this is a good little book and while there are one or two rough spots that may leave you scratching your head, they are few and far between.
A novel approach to literary theory as the book begins by focusing on the kinds of interpretive 'moves' that happen in literary theory. Chapters cover what liverature is and why it matters; literature and cultural studies; language, meaning and interpretation; rhetorics, poetics and poetry; narrative; performative language; identity, indetification and subject. A final appendix covers theoretical schools and movements.
This is a gem of a little book. It summed up everything I needed in a way Barry could not. I think if you take both books together you have a fairly complete background of literary theory, or so I am currently assuming. I'll keep you posted on that, but I feel like I can keep up with my graduate classes fairly well now so that says something I think.
On maybe a slightly superficial note?? The cartoons rocked! :D
On maybe a slightly superficial note?? The cartoons rocked! :D
I had another edition and I have to tell you, this book is useless. It can't even serve as a paperweight. It tells you that you can never know anything and goes about explaining nothing in the most roundabout manner. You'll regret wasting your money on this. I know I did. So did my entire class. No joke. My professor was so shocked by the class' response that she stopped using it.
Definitivamente cumple un objetivo introductor uno al apasionante mundo de la Teoría Literaria. Ofrece al lector un recorrido histórico esencial para la comprensión de los distintos enfoques con respecto a la producción literaria. Si bien previamente a leer el libro acudí a una charla del Dr. Culler, me es sencillo recordar los ejemplos que citó en la misma
Solid introduction to literary theory, but rather daunting. It contains difficult language and linguistic problems for people "new" to literary theory (in such a way that I doubt it is meant for all audiences). I found it most helpful in order to think outside of the box. It was assigned for a class... and there were a few memorable topics presented that will give me some different perspectives as I read in the future.
This is a great little theory primer. It relys LESS on specific theorists and more on overviews of larger ideas. This is clear, interesting and well written. It's length is also nice because it doesn't scare one away, like many THICK theory books can. Good stuff to learn for the first time, or to reaquaint one's self with!
Not a bad little intro book on lit theory, especially for beginners. Has decent sections on minority discourse and queer theory, but I'm still waiting for a similar book that incorporates presentisim. Guess it's still a bit early. Not quite as thorough as Norton Theory & Crit Intros, but then, whatever is???
Well it really didn't teach me anything new, but it did help organize all the literary theory bits that I have bouncing around my brain that I get from listening to Steph complain about school. But I still don't care about learning thinkers' names and quoting from them.
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Culler's Structuralist Poetics: Structuralism, Linguistics and the Study of Literature won the James Russell Lowell Prize from the Modern Language Association of America in 1976 for an outstanding book of criticism.[1] Structuralist Poetics was one of the first introductions to the French structuralist movement available in English.
Culler’s contribution to the Very Short Introductions series, Lite...more
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Culler’s contribution to the Very Short Introductions series, Lite...more
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Says the landmark musical episode of the American teevee show about American teevee shows that the faculty of...more
updated Apr 26, 2013 03:28pm
updated Apr 26, 2013 03:57pm