Now in its fourth edition, Literary Theory: The Basics is an essential guide to the complicated and often confusing world of literary theory. Readers will encounter a broad range of topics from Marxist and feminist criticism to postmodernism, queer studies and ecocriticism. Literary Theory: The Basics shows how literary theory and practice are connected in an always lucid and accessible style, and considers key theories and approaches including: - Humanist criticism; - Structuralist and Poststructuralist theory; - Postcolonial theory; - Posthumanism, ecocriticism, and animal studies; - Digital humanities and print culture studies. Literary theory has much to say about the wider world of humanities and beyond, and this guide helps readers to approach the many theories and debates with confidence. Expanded with updates throughout, this is the go-to guide for understanding literary theory today"

IntroductionChapter 1 Reading for Meaning: Practical Criticism and New CriticismChapter 2 Reading for Form and Function: Formalism and Early Structuralism, 1914-1960Chapter 3 Reading for Form II: French Structuralism, 1950-1975Chapter 4 Political Reading: Class, Gender, and Race in the 1970s and 1980sChapter 5 The Poststructuralist RevolutionChapter 6 Literature and Culture: Cultural Studies, the New Historicism, Cultural MaterialismChapter 7 Postcolonial Criticism and TheoryChapter 8 Sexuality, Literature, Culture and Queer StudiesChapter 9 Decentring the Human: Posthumanism, Ecocriticism, New Materialism, Animal StudiesChapter 10 ‘Theory’, Post-Theory, New ChallengesBibliographyIndex