Literary Theory

Literary theory in a strict sense is the systematic study of the nature of literature and of the methods for analyzing literature.[1] However, literary scholarship since the 19th century often includes—in addition to, or even instead of literary theory in the strict sense—considerations of intellectual history, moral philosophy, social prophecy, and other interdisciplinary themes which are of relevance to the way humans interpret meaning. In humanities in modern academia, the latter style of scholarship is an outgrowth of critical theory and is often called simply "theory." As a consequence, t ...more

Literary Theory: An Introduction
Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction
Poetics
Mythologies
The Pleasure of the Text
Mimesis: The Representation of Reality in Western Literature
Beginning Theory: An Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory
Anatomy of Criticism
The Dialogic Imagination: Four Essays
S/Z: An Essay
The Madwoman in the Attic: The Woman Writer and the Nineteenth-Century Literary Imagination
How to Read Literature
Aspects of the Novel
How Fiction Works
The Theory of the Novel
The Apparitional Lesbian by Terry CastleThe Safe Sea of Women by Bonnie ZimmermanChloe Plus Olivia by Lillian FadermanLesbian Texts and Contexts by Karla JaySurpassing the Love of Men by Lillian Faderman
Lesbian Literary Criticism
51 books — 6 voters
Seven Beyond by Stella AtriumThe Consolation of Philosophy by BoethiusPhilosophy of Evil by Lars Fredrik Händler SvendsenThe Art of War and Other Classics of Eastern Philosophy by Sun TzuMonty Python and Philosophy by Gary L. Hardcastle
books with ‘philosophy’ in title
250 books — 15 voters

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction by John CluteArchaeologies of the Future by Fredric JamesonCritical Theory and Science Fiction by Carl Howard FreedmanThe Dreams Our Stuff is Made Of by Thomas M. DischThe Seven Beauties of Science Fiction by Istvan Csicsery-Ronay Jr.
Science Fiction Criticism
134 books — 21 voters
The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien by J.R.R. TolkienThe Road to Middle-Earth by Tom ShippeyJ.R.R. Tolkien by Tom ShippeyThe Monsters and the Critics and Other Essays by J.R.R. TolkienJ.R.R. Tolkien by Humphrey Carpenter
Tolkienology
75 books — 38 voters

C.S. Lewis
A clever schoolboy's reaction to his reading is most naturally expressed by parody or imitation. ...more
C.S. Lewis

Jeffrey Eugenides
Reading a novel after reading semiotic theory was like jogging empty-handed after jogging with hand weights. What exquisite guilt she felt, wickedly enjoying narrative! Madeleine felt safe with a nineteenth century novel. There were going to be people in it. Something was going to happen to them in a place resembling the world. Then too there were lots of weddings in Wharton and Austen. There were all kinds of irresistible gloomy men.
Jeffrey Eugenides, The Marriage Plot

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3pm Sundays Book club at Cigar Republic
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Lit and Wit Podcast The Books being read for the Lit and Wit Podcast. Follow along or catch up with what we've been …more
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The Solidarity Circle A book club to unite fiction lovers & make theory accessible for everyone, created by Reena and …more
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