Formalist Criticism and Reader-Response Theory

by Todd F. Davis, Kenneth Womack (Contributor)

This invaluable guide by Todd F. Davis and Kenneth Womack offers an accessible introduction to two important movements in the history of twentieth-century literary theory. A complementary text to the Palgrave volume Postmodern Narrative Theory by Mark Currie, this new title addresses a host of theoretical concerns, as well as each field's principal figures and interpretive modes. As with other books in the Transitions series, Formalist Criticism and Reader-response Theory includes readings of a range of widely-studied texts, including Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness , Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre , and F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby , among others.

Transitions critically explores movements in literary theory. Guiding the reader through the poetics and politics of interpretative paradigms and schools of thought, Transitions helps direct the student's own acts of critical analysis. As well as transforming the critical developments of the past by interpreting them from the perspective of the present day, each study enacts transitional readings of a number of well-known literary texts.

208 pages, Paperback

First published May 7, 2002

About the author

Todd F. Davis is an award-winning American poet, critic, and professor of English and Environmental Studies at Penn State Altoona. He has published eight poetry collections, including Ripe, The Least of These, Winterkill, and Ditch Memory: New & Selected Poems. His work has appeared in major journals such as The Iowa Review, Shenandoah, and The Gettysburg Review, and has been featured by Garrison Keillor and Ted Kooser. Davis has also co-edited literary anthologies and authored critical works on postmodern humanism. He lives in Pennsylvania with his wife and sons.

Reviews

[Matthew B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A reasonably good introduction to two schools of literary criticism. Its explanation of the history and practices of formalism is well-done, though its explanation of reader-response theory, and especially its chapter on Stanley Fish, sometimes verge on the unintelligible. This is mostly made up for, however, by the exemplars of formalist and reader-response criticism at the end of the book.