Modern Criticism and Theory: A Reader

'In our era, criticism is not merely a library of secondary aids to the understanding and appreciation of literary texts, but also a rapidly expanding body of knowledge in its own right.' (David Lodge)

This new edition of David Lodge's Modern Criticism and Theory is fully revised and expanded to take account of the developments of theoretical and general interest in contemporary literary criticism since publication of the first edition in 1988.

Building on the strengths of the first edition, the volume is designed to introduce the reader to the guiding concepts of present literary and cultural debate by presenting substantial extracts from the period's most seminal thinkers.

David Lodge is Honorary Professor of Modern English Literature at the University of Birmingham, where he taught from 1960 until 1987, when he became a full-time writer. He is well-known as a novelist, and has also written screenplays and stageplays. He edited 2oth Century Literary Criticism (Longman, 1972) which has become a companion volume to Modern Criticism and Theory.

Nigel Wood is Professor of Eighteenth-Century Literature at De Montfort University.