An Introduction to Literature, Criticism and Theory

392 Pages·2009·1.67 MB·English

by  Andrew Bennett

‘An exceptional book. It is completely different from anything else cur-
rently available, refreshing, extremely well-written and original in so
many ways . . . It is just the sort of book I would want my students to
read . . . It is quite the best introductory book that I have ever come
across.’ Philip Martin, De Montfort University
‘Fresh, surprising, never boring, and engagingly humorous, while
remaining intellectually serious and challenging . . . This is a terrific
book, and I’m very glad that it exists.’ Peggy Kamuf, University of
Southern California, Los Angeles
‘This excellent book is very well-written and an outstanding introduc-
tion to literary studies. An extremely stimulating introduction.’ Robert
Eaglestone, Royal Holloway College, University of London
‘I am convinced that Bennett and Royle have written a pathbreaking
work and I suspect that this book – so full of laughter, suspense, secrets
and pleasure – will have an appeal beyond a strictly academic audience.’
Alan Shima, University of Gothenberg
‘All the chapters in the volume are illuminating, informative and ori-
ginal.’ Robert Mills, King’s College London
‘Bennett and Royle offer a different kind of introduction, which directly
involves the reader in the problems and pleasures of thinking about
literature – its distinctiveness, its strangeness, its power, its inexhaust-
ibility . . . They succeed brilliantly in encouraging readers who are
new to theory to appreciate its importance, enjoy its revelations, and
understand some of its conceptual apparatus without diminishing the
centrality of literary writing itself. This is a book which students in
every introductory course on criticism and theory would benefit from
having.’ Derek Attridge, University of York
‘The best introduction to literary studies on the market’ Jonathan
Culler, Cornell University
‘The most un-boring, unnerving, unpretentious textbook I’ve ever
come across’ Elizabeth Wright, University of Cambridge
‘It is by far the best and most readable of all such introductions that I
know of… The treatment of the various topics is masterful, even-
handed and informative. I cannot think of a better introduction for
undergraduates, to be sure, but for many graduate students too.’
Hayden White, University of California at Santa Cruz
‘I don’t know of any book that could, or does, compete with this one. It
is irreplaceable’ Richard Rand, University of Alabama
‘[Bennett and Royle have] cracked the problem of how to be introduc-
tory and sophisticated, accessible but not patronising.’ Peter Buse,
English Subject Centre Newsletter
‘This excellent book is very well-written and an outstanding intro-
duction to literary studies. An extremely stimulating introduction.’
Robert Eaglestone, Royal Holloway, University of London
‘Bennett and Royle offer a different kind of introduction, which
directly involves the reader in the problems and pleasures of think-
ing about literature – its distinctiveness, its strangeness, its power, its
inexhaustibility… They succeed brilliantly in encouraging readers
who are new to theory to appreciate its importance, enjoy its revela-
tions, and understand some of its conceptual apparatus without
diminishing the centrality of literary writing itself, This is a book
which students in every introductory course on criticism and theory
would benefit from having.’ Derek Attridge, University of York
‘I am convinced that Bennett and Royle have written a pathbreaking
work and I suspect that this book – so full of laughter, suspense, secrets
and pleasure – will have an appeal beyond a strictly academic audience’.
Alan Shima, University of Gothenburg
‘All the chapters in the volume are illuminating, informative, and origi-
nal.’ Robert Mills, King’s College London
An Introduction to
Literature, Criticism
and Theory
Fourth edition
ANDREW BENNETT AND
NICHOLAS ROYLE
First published in 1960
Fourth edition published in Great Britain in 2009 by Pearson Education Limited

Published 2014 by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY, 10017, USA

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

© International Book Distributors Limited 1995
© Andrew Bennett (1960–) and Nicholas Royle (1957–) 1995, 2009

The rights of Andrew Bennett and Nicholas Royle to be identified as authors of this work
have been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any
form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publishers.

Notices
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broaden our understanding, changes in research methods, professional practices, or medical treatment
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Application submitted

ISBN-13: 978-1-4058-5914-1 (pbk)

Set by 35 in 11/13pt Bulmer MT
Contents
Acknowledgements vii
Preface to the first edition viii
Preface to the second edition ix
Preface to the third edition x
Preface to the fourth edition xi
1 The beginning 1
2 Readers and reading 9
3 The author 19
4 The text and the world 28
5 The uncanny 35
6 Monuments 44
7 Narrative 54
8 Character 63
9 Voice 71
10 Figures and tropes 80
11 Creative writing 88
12 Laughter 96
13 The tragic 106
14 History 117
15 Me 129
16 Eco 138
17 Animals 151
18 Ghosts 160
19 Moving pictures 169
20 Sexual difference 179
vi Contents
21 God 188
22 Ideology 199
23 Desire 207
24 Queer 216
25 Suspense 226
26 Racial difference 234
27 The colony 242
28 Mutant 252
29 The performative 262
30 Secrets 270
31 The postmodern 279
32 Pleasure 289
33 War 299
34 The end 311
Glossary 319
Select bibliography of other introductory texts, reference works
and anthologies 328
Literary works discussed 330
Bibliography of critical and theoretical works 335
Index 364
Acknowledgements
W
e are grateful to Michael Ayres for permission to reproduce his poem
‘Bittersweet’ published in Poems, 1987–1992by Odyssey Poets.
In some instances we have been unable to trace the owners of copyright
material and we would appreciate any information that would enable us to
do so.
Preface to the first edition
T
his is a new kind of book. It offers new ways of thinking about literature
and about what is involved in reading critically. It is designed to be clear
and accessible to those who are beginning to study literature, as well as to more
advanced students. Although written with university students in mind, we
dare to hope that it might also be of interest to other readers.
Literary theory is an unavoidable part of studying literature and criticism.
But theory – especially when it takes the form of ‘isms’ – can often be intimid-
ating or else, frankly, boring. We have tried to avoid simply giving potted
summaries of isms. Instead we present brief essays on a range of key critical
concepts all of which have more or less familiar names. We put these concepts
into practice through readings of particular literary texts. Our primary focus,
in other words, is on what is powerful, complex and strange about literary
works themselves. Our aim is to explain, entertain, stimulate and challenge.
The book is divided into 24 chapters and looks as if it has a certain order or
progression. It begins with ‘The beginning’ and ends with ‘The end’. But it
has been put together in such a way that it can also be read starting from any
one chapter. ‘The end’, for example, is not a bad place to begin. Each chapter
concludes with some suggestions for further reading. There is a glossary of
critical and theoretical terms at the back of the book, plus a full bibliography of
the texts discussed.
Preface to the second
edition
T
his new edition of An Introduction to Literature, Criticism and Theory
has been thoroughly revised and, we hope, improved. We have revised
all existing chapters, updated and expanded the further reading sections,
the glossary and the bibliography, and also added four new chapters:
‘Monuments’, ‘Ghosts’, ‘Queer’ and ‘The colony’. These additional chapters
reflect the importance of certain new or emerging areas of literary studies,
such as queer theory, postcolonial theory, debates about ‘the canon’ and spec-
trality. We also hope, however, that the new chapters may complement and
reinforce what we believe was already distinctive about the first edition of
this book, namely its preoccupation with literature and the literary as such.
Our foremost desire has been to explore and analyse the strange, protean
forms and effects of the literary and of literature as an institution. This second
edition, then, attempts to make explicit in new ways our continuing fascina-
tion with literary works themselves – with, for example, their monumental,
ghostly, queer and colonizing power.