Fresh, original and compelling, An Introduction to Literature, Criticism and Theory is the essential guide to literary studies. Starting at 'the beginning' and concluding with 'the end', the book covers topics that range from the familiar (character, narrative, the author) to the more unusual (secrets, pleasure, ghosts). Eschewing abstract isms, Bennett and Royle successfully illuminate complex ideas by engaging directly with literary works - so that a reading of Jane Eyre opens up ways of thinking about racial difference, whilst Chaucer, Raymond Chandler and Monty Python are all invoked in a discussion of literary laughter. Each chapter ends with a narrative guide to further reading and the book also includes a glossary and bibliography. The fourth edition has been revised to incorporate two timely new chapters on animals and the environment. A breath of fresh air in a field that can often seem dry and dauntingly theoretical, this book will open the reader's eyes to the exhilarating possibilities of both reading and studying literature.

Table of Contents

1. The beginning 2. Readers and reading 3. The author 4. The text and the world 5. The uncanny 6. Monuments 7. Narrative 8. Character 9. Voice 10. Figures and tropes 11. Creative writing 12. Laughter 13. The tragic 14. History 15. Me 16. Eco 17. Animals 18. Ghosts 19. Moving pictures 20. Sexual difference 21. God 22. Ideology 23. Desire 24. Queer 25. Suspense 26. Racial difference 27. The colony 28. Mutant 29. The performative 30. Secrets 31. The postmodern 32. Pleasure 33. War 34. The end Glossary. Select bibliography of other introductory texts and reference works Literary works discussed Bibliography of critical and theoretical works

Author Biography

Andrew Bennett is Professor of English at the University of Bristol, UK. Nicholas Royle is Professor of English at the University of Sussex, UK.