The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism
Our Price: $85.09
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $15.77 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Editor: Vincent B. LeitchEditor: William E. Cain
Editor: Laurie A. Finke
Editor: Barbara E. Johnson
Editor: John McGowan
Editor: Jeffrey J. Williams
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2001-06
ISBN: 0393974294
Number of pages: 2624
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Book Reviews of The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism
Book Review: Typically Norton--Mostly Good
Summary: 4 Stars
If one had to choose only one text to study literary theory, that would certainly be THE NORTON ANTHOLOGY OF THEORY AND CRITICISM. Its more than 2,500 pages cover the complete spectum of western literary theory from Plato to the present day. The editors Leitch, Cain, Finke, Johnson, McGowan, and Williams are both competent and lucid in their choices of authors and their introductions thereto. The Norton anthologies in general are written in the same massive style, which accentuates comprehensiveness at the cost of occasional lapses in structural integrity and reader involvement. This Norton is no different. First the good news. Whether a college professor wishes to cover the vast range of theory over the last two millennia, he has the option of selecting targeted theorists from classical antiquity to modern day. Now this is a good news bad news dilemma. The typical college theory course lasts but one semester of perhaps fifteen sessions. The vastness of this text is an illusion that dares the instructor to cover even a fraction of its contents. How does this instructor choose from such a bewildering array? Does he totally ignore the ancients like Plato, Aristotle, and Horace (which by the way occupy nearly the first 400 pages) or does he by necessity focus on 19th and 20th century theorists? This is no nitpicking question. Part of the problem in deciding how to structure a semester's syllabus lies in the typical strategy that most Norton editors follow. They try to include nearly everyone and everything with minimal follow up activities. The preliminary introductions are comprehensive although in this Norton, the editors chose to present a chronological listing of theorists. One simply follows the other with no attempt to place him in a cultural or paradigmatic context. By contrast, the Norton's chief anthology rival, LITERARY THEORY: AN ANTHOLOGY by Rivkin and Ryan arranges its selections by logical groupings based on their relevant school of criticism. Leitch et al clearly recognize this by trying to compensate by creating a multi-index approach. The first is a chronological listing of theorist, followed by an alternative table of contents, which is further subdivided by school, by genre, by historical period, and by issue and topic. The problem with this alternative index is that it is awkward to use in that one has to continually flip back and forth to track a targeted theorist or school of theory. There are other problems that I saw in this Norton. In my earlier review of THE NORTON ANTHOLOGY OF ENGLISH LITERATURE I lamented the omission of follow up questions and student-directed prompts that would facilitate their grasp of an arcane subject. The Norton editors seem unwilling to do what high school editors of literary texts have no problem doing--following each selection with thought-provoking essay questions that would require students to make a transcendental leap from abstractness to concretization. The reason for this lack is clear. Once the editors include their vast corpus of writer and work, there is no room remaining for follow-up topics. Now given that this text is designed (I think) mostly for a one semester course in theory, was it really necessary to include a wide range of ancient theorists like Quintilian, Augustine of Hippo, Macrobius, Hugh of St. Victor, Moses Maimonides, Geoffrey of Vinsauf, Christine de Pizan, Giambattista Giraldi, and Giacopo Mazzoni? Now I can just hear professors of Greek, Roman, and Renaissance literature rushing to defend these insertions, but my point is one of priorities. To include these lesser lights is to exclude commentary and follow up questions on all others, including those classic writers with whom I have no objection.
There is plenty I like about this Norton. The Introduction to Theory and Criticism is exactly what the novice needs to self-acclimatize. The concluding Selected Bibliography of Theory and Criticism is enormously useful--probably more so for the graduate student than the undergraduate. I suspect that the text mirrors the field of literary theory itself; its vastness precludes anyone from a comprehensive ingestion of a complex web of vocabulary and an abstruseness of thought. When that course of literary theory is over, the real education of a student will begin when that student now has the basics straight and wishes to plow ahead on his own. For such a student, THE NORTON ANTHOLOGY OF THEORY AND CRITICISM will be an invaluable and lifelong companion.
Summary of The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism
The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism presents a staggeringly varied collection of the most influential critical statements from the classical era to the present day.
Edited by scholars and teachers whose interests range from the history of poetics to postmodernism, from classical rhetoric to ériture féminine, and from the social construction of gender to the machinery of academic superstardom, The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism promises to become the standard anthology in its field.Reference Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Reference Books
The Oxford Handbook of TranscendentalismOxford University Press, USA; Published: 2010-04-16; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $119.94
Price in other shops:
Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)by Jonathan Culler
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2000-06-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.38
Price in other shops:
The Discovery of Poetry: A Field Guide to Reading and Writing Poemsby Frances Mayes
Mariner Books; Published: 2001-11-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.88
Price in other shops:
Rhetorical Terms & Concepts: A Contemporary Glossaryby George Y. Trail
Harcourt; Published: 2000; Paperback; Book
Best price: $17.00
Glossary of Literary Termsby M.H. Abrams
Wadsworth Publishing; Published: 1998-11-18; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.80
Price in other shops:
Penguin Dictionary of Epigrams (Penguin Reference Books)by M J Cohen
Penguin Press; Published: 2001-01-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $199.93
Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing Compact Value Package (includes MyLiteratureLab Student Access )by Edgar V. Roberts
Prentice Hall; Published: 2007-11-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $85.33
Classical Myth (5th Edition)by Barry B. Powell
Prentice Hall; Published: 2006-05-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $38.95
Price in other shops:
A Handbook to Literatureby William Harmon
Prentice Hall; Published: 2002-07-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.00
Price in other shops:
Companion to Narniaby Paul F. Ford
HarperSanFrancisco; Published: 1983-01-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.72
Similar Books and other products
Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity (Routledge Classics)by Judith Butler
Routledge; Published: 2006-05-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.99
Price in other shops:
The Complete Persepolisby Marjane Satrapi
Pantheon; Published: 2007-10-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.92
Price in other shops:
Illuminations: Essays and Reflectionsby Walter Benjamin
Schocken; Published: 1969-01-13; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.46
Price in other shops:
Dialectic of Enlightenment (Cultural Memory in the Present)by Max Horkheimer, Theodor W. Adorno
Stanford University Press; Published: 2007-03-13; Paperback; Book
Best price: $16.00
Price in other shops:
The Critical Tradition: Classic Texts and Contemporary Trendsby David H. Richter
Bedford/St. Martin's; Published: 1997-12-15; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $40.00
The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Termsby Ross C. Murfin, Supryia M. Ray
Bedford/St. Martin's; Published: 2008-11-18; Paperback; Book
Best price: $21.87
Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)by Jonathan Culler
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2000-06-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.38
Price in other shops:
Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)by Jonathan Culler
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2011-08-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.75
Price in other shops:
The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory (Penguin Dictionary)by J. A. Cuddon, C. E. Preston
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2000-02-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.30
Price in other shops:
Beginning Theory: An Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory, Third Edition (Beginnings)by Peter Barry
Manchester University Press; Published: 2009-03-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $14.37
Price in other shops: