Wholesale Literary Theory For Beginners

Here Mary Klages takes you into her classroom, cuts through the jargon, and explains the ABCs in terms you can understand. Her unique skills as a teacher, and the delightful illustrations of Frank Reynoso help us understand why literature matters, how it affects us, and how it reflects history, culture, and diversity. Here are ways of thinking about literature--not just reading it--methods of study and frameworks of interpretation from classical humanism all the way up to psychoanalysis, gender and queer theory, race, postcolonialism, and, yes, postmodernism. With wit and wisdom, Klages takes on the two most frequently asked questions about literature and makes it all fun: ·What does the work MEAN? (What is the hidden or symbolic meaning? Did the author intend these meanings are they equally valid?) What does the work DO? (Why is literature important? What effect does it have on the reader? How can it be a force for social change?) So sit back, relax, and take it all in!