Theory into Practice: An Introduction to Literary Criticism, 3rd Edition

by Ann B. Dobie

Beginning with approaches familiar to students and then gradually introducing schools of criticism that are more challenging, THEORY INTO PRACTICE provides extensive step-by-step guidance for writing literary analyses from each of the critical perspectives. This brief, practical introduction to literary theory explores core literary theories in a unique chronological format and includes an anthology of relevant fiction, poetry, and nonfiction to help bring those theories to life for students. Remarkably readable and engaging, the text makes even complex concepts manageable for those beginning to think about literary theory, and example analyses for each type of criticism show how real students have applied the theories to works included in the anthology. Now updated with the latest scholarship, including a full discussion of Ecocriticism and increased emphasis on American multicultural approaches, THEORY INTO PRACTICE provides an essential foundation for thoughtful and effective literary analysis.Kindle textbooks are functionally equivalent to the print textbook. In some cases, individual items such as ancillary images or multimedia have been removed for digital delivery due to rights restrictions.

Genres: Nonfiction, Criticism, Literature, School, Textbooks, Read For School, Reference

400 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2001

Reviews

[Michael]

This is a good book to help students work on various schools of criticism with a sense of depth. I teach this in my Literary Criticism course, and appreciate the flexibility and clarity of the book. New third edition adds Bakhtin and ecocriticism.

[Abbey S.]

I struggled through this long enough to count. I liked the Faulkner parts! And nothing else! :)

[Ahmed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly, I did not read all the 376 pages of this book since I already read a big file full of literary theories which I studied in college. However, this book is amazing. It has literary section of short stories and poems to apply the theories on. It has also this section called "Information at a Glance" which gives brief straight-forward explanations of each theory and of each reading-strategy. Moreover, it has this glossary of terms used in literary criticism.
Nice book. Easy for students.
Fantastic book to be an authentic reference.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great for an introduction to literary criticism. If experienced in critical analysis, the book is a little too simple theoretically.

[Brent Barnhart · Rating 2 out of 5]

An expensive textbook that introduced me to the fun world of literary criticism. That says it all, really.

[Mashael · Rating 4 out of 5]

the 1st chapter so far talks about the relationship b/t reading a writing... the book is easy to read as it its into the point.

[Martine Gjermundsen Ræstad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very useful for what it was written for! Gives a good overview of schools of literary criticism, and provides a practical, step-by-step guide for writing analyses within them. Could sometimes be a bit hand-holding and doesn't skip any part of the process, but the attention to detail would probably actually be very useful if you're not that experienced with practicing literary criticism - and it provides answers to most questions you might have.

[Owais · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent book in literary criticism especially modern literary criticism....

[Erika · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was very similar to the Literary Criticism book I read for my other English class.

[Stephanie Falck · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book gets 5 stars from me because Ann Dobie did an amazing job with it. I love how concise her explication of each school of literary criticism is. If you want a well though out book that will help you learn about the different categories of manuscripts that exist, this is the book to use because there is a piece of literature that accompanies each criticism, or you can choose your own and use it as a companion guide.

[Fachrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an English major, I found this book to be very useful. It charts the development of literary criticism, from the earliest school of criticism to the most recent one. Beside providing explanations of the many theories available, this book also gives guiding questions that will help in applying the theories. I myself often struggle with theory application and with not digging deep enough in my essays, so those questions really help me in understanding what it is that I am supposed to be doing.

[Ava · Rating 5 out of 5]

While Bressler's Literary Criticism confused me, this book shed light on what I could not understand in the shortest amount of time. It is the simple and straightforward explanations that make this book one of my favorites.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Textbook, No Comment.

[Carmen Miranda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to understand and a good selection of literary works.