Bringing together Mary Klages's bestselling introductory books Literary Theory: A Guide for the Perplexed and Key Terms in Literary Theory into one fully integrated and substantially revised, expanded and updated volume, this is an accessible and authoritative guide for anyone entering the often bewildering world of literary theory for the first time. Literary Theory: The Complete Guide includes: · Accessible chapters on all the major schools of theory from deconstruction through psychoanalytic criticism to Marxism and postcolonialism · New chapters introducing ecocriticism and biographies · Expanded and updated guides to feminist theory, queer theory, postmodernism and globalization · New and fully integrated extracts of theoretical and literary texts to guide students through their use of theory · Accessible coverage of major theorists such as Saussure, Freud, Lacan, Foucault, Cixous, Deleuze and Guattari and Bhabha Each chapter now includes reflection questions for class discussion or independent study and a cross-referenced glossary of key terms covered, as well as updated guides to further reading on each topic. Literary Theory: The Complete Guide is an essential starting point for students of critical theory.

Bringing together Mary Klages's bestselling introductory books Literary Theory: A Guide for the Perplexed and Key Terms in Literary Theory into one integrated, expanded and updated volume, this is an accessible and authoritative guide for anyone entering the often bewildering world of literary theory for the first time.

Literary Theory: The Complete Guide includes accessible chapters on all the major schools of theory from deconstruction and feminist theory through psychoanalytic criticism to Marxism and postcolonialism, as well as new chapters on ecocriticism and affect theory. The book includes reflection questions for class discussion and a glossary of key terms covered.

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.