An Introduction to Criticism: Literature - Film - Culture

Written in a highly accessible style, this book offers an up-to-date and thorough introduction to literary theory and contemporary critical practice. Taking in traditional approaches from formalism and structuralism to psychology and history, it also covers more recent developments in criticism, such as evolutionary theory, cognitive studies, ethical criticism, and ecocriticism.

An Introduction to Criticism offers a step-by-step approach to acquiring the skills to write analytically, and in doing so teaches readers how to think theoretically about the world and to become more aware of the cultural assumptions, values, and ideas on which they rely.

With practical examples, a focus on logical reasoning, and an innovative combination of literary and film studies, this book is an essential resource for beginning students of literary criticism.