Literary Theory for Beginners

Have you heard the terms structuralism and deconstruction and postmodernism but aren’t really sure what they mean? Have you taken a whole course on literary criticism but are still feeling lost? Here’s the book you need to sort it all out! Mary Klages takes you into her classroom, cuts through the jargon, and explains the fundamentals in terms you can get your head around. Her breadth of knowledge, 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.