Literary Theory: A Beginner's Guide

Beginner's Guide (Oneworld Publications)

by Clare Connors

Rescuing the subject from dry theorists and “isms”, Clare Connors considers the real questions that emerge when studying literature, such as how we find meaning and how it relates to its historical context. Using selections from works including Annie Proulx’s “Brokeback Mountain”, this unpretentious introduction highlights how enjoyable it is to think about reading.

Genres: Nonfiction, Literary Criticism, Academic, Theory

240 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2010

Reviews

[Amine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really nice well rounded guide to literary theory.
I appreciated the focus on applying the literary theories on different works, and the selection made is also quite refreshing.
I would highly recommend this to any casual reader who wants to delve deeper in analyzing literary works but do not know where to start.
I do think this book could've benefited from being longer, but maybe that would have made it less accessible to some.

[Ben Doeh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book's outstanding merit is that it engages in fun, rewarding and sustained readings of texts, while exploring the practical and ethical implications of the reading process. Elegantly structured, it effortlessly blends a friendly conversational tone with vivid illuminating insights into six works of literature.

After the initial introductory chapter, each chapter applies a series of critical strategies to a particular text; it thus demonstrates the developments of literary theory on certain major questions that occupy all readers of literature (e.g. 'what is literature', 'what's it mean?' and 'literature and gender'). Clare Connors delves into the exact mysteries of Conrad's 'The Secret Sharer', making uncannily clear why this text is irresolvable even if you tried. She pays care to the ethics and dynamics of friendship in Annie Proulx's 'Brokeback Mountain', revealing why even if you disagree with Freud's insights, they have opened up reading possibilities that few people would wish to retract. And she relishes the sweets of 'Goblin Market', and why feminist theorists have fought heard to earn a true reading of fruitful, sexually ambiguous texts such as this.

Above all, this is a superb work of criticism and a highly accessible model of what literary criticism should be - sustained reading, underpinned by lucid theoretical insights. This is what all good critics do.

[Grace Mc · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best introduction to theory you will ever read. I highly recommend for anyone studying an English degree or interested in theory. It provides real examples of application to literature so that the theories do not remain in a vacuum. Accessible, funny, informative and sophisticated. Five stars.

[chloe · Rating 4 out of 5]

slightly dry at points but v useful + informative; successfully explained a lot of concepts that i’d struggled to understand when explained in other similar introductory books; however i did feel like the quotes and concepts from derrida could have done with a little more explanation

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting, well written, and informative. This book was much easier to follow than most other theory books. I enjoyed seeing how Connors applied the theories to works of literature, teasing out new meanings and readings of these texts.

[Ollie Rumsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a useful read. It's impressive to encorporate such a broad span of knowledge without the book feeling heavy or slow to read. The examples used to illustrate specific theories were perfectly chosen and were a good way of reinforcing understanding.

[Faisal · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just too obtusely written for my taste.
Hence, had to give up on it after the introduction and first chapter.
I'll stick to youtube videos and moocs on literary theory and criticism.

[Tanmay Tathagat · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very helpful book, especially for its clear, uncomplicated approach to the linguistic mess that is modern theory and the remarkable abundance of the examples detailing actual literary application of theory, something that one is hard-pressed to find in other books on the matter. Let me go on and say that I actually enjoyed reading this. Well done and thank you, Ms Connors.

[Marissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really great introduction to Lit Theory. The chapters are split into different relationships between literature and other topics like gender, empire, and others. This works really well to introduce the various theories and expand on their various lenses into literature. I'd definitely recommend this for someone just starting to become interested in the topic.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a topic I've ever read about before but I got enough out of this to make it worthwhile. It will definitely take me another reading or two to get my head around it all!