A quarter of a century on from its original publication,Literary Theory: An Introduction still conjures the subversion, excitement and exoticism that characterized theory through the 1960s and 70s, when it posed an unprecedented challenge to the literary establishment. Eagleton has added a new preface to this anniversary edition to address more recent developments in literary studies, including what he describes as the growth of a kind of anti-theory, and the idea that literary theory has been institutionalized. Insightful and enlightening,Literary Theory: An Introduction remains the essential guide to the field.

25th Anniversary Edition of Terry Eagletons classic introduction to literary theory
First published in 1983, and revised in 1996 to include material on developments in feminist and cultural theory
Has served as an inspiration to generations of students and teachers
Continues to function as arguably the definitive undergraduate textbook on literary theory
Reissue includes a new foreword by Eagleton himself, reflecting on the impact and enduring success of the book, and on developments in literary theory since it was first published

Terry Eagleton is John Edward Taylor Professor of English Literature at the University of Manchester. His recent publications includeHow to Read a Poem (2006),The English Novel (2004),Sweet Violence: The Idea of the Tragic (2003),The Idea of Culture (2000),Scholars and Rebels in Nineteenth-Century Ireland (1999), andThe Illusions of Postmodernism (1996), all published by Blackwell Publishing.

Preface to the Anniversary Edition.

Preface to the Second Edition.

Preface to the First Edition.

Introduction: What is Literature?.

1. The Rise of English.

2. Phenomenology, Hermeneutics, Reception Theory.

3. Structuralism and Semiotics.

4. Post-Structuralism.

5. Psychoanalysis.

Conclusion: Political Criticism.

Afterword.

Notes.

Bibliography.

Index