This is a useful and realistically priced item for the student at (above all) college and first-/second-year university levels, and will hold its own against numerous competitors (above all in the area of philosophical ideas ... A successful attempt has been made to guide students in what class discussions might offer them, how themes might be followed-up in personal research; and beyond that, how tutors and teachers might develop and incorporate ideas and research inquiries into their teaching programmes.

Reference Reviews

Klages's third work on literary theory combines, often word-for-word, text from her first two works, Key Terms in Literary Theory (CH, Dec'12, 50-1817) and Literary Theory: A Guide for the Perplexed (CH, Sep'07, 45-0121). The present work is “complete” in the sense that, as the author writes, it acts as "a complete guide to literary theory" (italics hers) as she teaches it at the University of Colorado, Boulder. In the five-page introduction, Klages deftly condenses thousands of years of literary theory into an easy-to-understand explanation. Klages goes on to examine particular literary theory movements from the 19th century to the present. Chapters (which are roughly 20 pages) discuss key ideas and thinkers of each movement. The most useful addition to this volume are the teacher's notes that accompany each chapter. In these notes Klages analyzes Shakespeare's Hamlet through the lens of the theory discussed. The two concluding sections offer biographies of literary theorists and definitions of literary theory terms … Summing Up: Recommended.

CHOICE

This book provides a very comprehensive and approachable overview. It reads easily and it does not fall prey to jargon. The 'teacher's notes' are also quite clear and illustrate aptly how critical theory may be used.

Anne Goarzin, Université Rennes 2, France