DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH AND LITERARY STUDIES

UNIVERSITY OF CALABAR,

COURSE OUTLINE 372- CRITICAL THEORY

DEFINITION OF KEY TERMS

a) Literary Theory
b) Literary Criticism
c) Literature and Literary Theory
d) Literary Criticism and Literary Theory
e) Literary Traditions
f) Intention and Meaning
g) Work and Text
h) Narratology: Narrative and Narration
i) Literature and History
j) History of Literary Criticism

2. CLASSICAL THEORY OF ART

i. Plato
ii. Aristotle
iii. Horace
iv. Longinus

3. AUGUSTAN THEORY OF ART

John Dryden-Essay Dramatic Poessy

Alexander Pope-“Essay on Criticism”

4. ROMANTIC THEORY OF ART

i. William Wordsworth: Preface to Second Edition of Lyrical Ballads

ii. John Keats Selected Odes
iii. Mathew Arnold: “The Function of Criticism at the Present Time”

5. SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY OF ART

6. MARXIST THEORY AND CRITICISM

7. CONTEMPORARY CRITICAL THEORIES

a) New Criticism
b) Reader-Response Criticism

c) Structuralism/Post Structuralism Theory

d) Deconstruction
e) Psychoanalytic Criticism
f) Feminist Theory and Criticism
g) Historicism/New Historicism
h) Biographical Criticism
i) Postcolonial Theory and Criticism
j) Postmodernism
k) Eco-Criticism
l) Globalization

In each of these theories the following should be observed to guide the students.

(a) Introduction
(b) Practitioners of the theory
(c) Historical development of the theory
(d) Purpose/Basic assumptions of the theory
(e) Methodology
(f) A sample text for illustration

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Akung, Jonas Egbudu. The Western Critic and the Nigerian Novel Since 1952. Ibadan: Kraft Books, 2021

Altick Richard. The Art of Literary Research. New York Norton, 1963

Bate, Jackson Walter (ed) Criticism: The Major Text. New York Harcourt Book, 1952

Bressiler, Charles. Literary Criticism: Introduction to Theory and Practice. New Jersey: Prentice Hall 1994

Bowler, Charles Textual Criticism and the Literary Critic: Textual and Literary Theory. London Cambridge
University Press, 1971

Blamires, Harry A History of Literary Criticism. London: Macmillan, 1991

Elis John The Theory of Literary Criticism California: University of California Press, 1974

Felperin, Howard Beyond Deconstruction: The uses and Abuses of Literary Theory. Oxford: Colorendon
Press, 1988

Friedan Betty. The Second Stage. New York Submits Books, 1986

Foster F. M Aspect of the Novel .Middlesex: Penguin, 1974

Gane R. S (ed) Critics and Criticism Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1952

Gerrard, G. Ecocriticism: Abingdon: Routledge. 2004.

Glotfelty, Cheryll (ed) Ecocriticism Reader: Landmarks in Literary Ecology. Athens: University of Georgia
Press. 1996

Goldman, Lucie, Toward the Sociology of the Novel London: Tavestouk, 1925

Holma Hugh C. and Holman William A Handbook to Literature (5th ed). New York: Macmillan, 1988

Humm Maggie Feminist Criticism: Women as Contemporary Critics. Sessex: The Harvester, 1986

Lukacs George The Theory of the Novel. Cambridge: The Mit Press, 1978.
Lynn Steven. Text and Context: Writing about Literature and Critical Theory. New York: Harper 1994

Merchant, C. Death of Nature: Women, Ecology and the Scientific Revolution. San Francisco: Harper-
Collins, 1983

Miller, E. Richard &Spellmeyer Kurt The New Humanities Reader. New York Houghton Mifflin 2006

Rawlinson, D. H The Practice of Criticism. Cambridge; Cambridge University Press, 1971

Showalter, Elaine (ed) New Feminist Criticism: Essays on Women Literature and Theory. New York
Pantheon, 1985

Seldon and Raman A Readers Guide to Contemporary Literary Theory.

Wellek, Rene. The Attack on Literature and Other Essays. North Carolina: The Harvester Press, 1982

Watt, Ian The Rise of the Novel Harmonsworth: Penguin Book, 1982

Webster, Roger Studying Literary Theory London: Arnold, 1990 and 1966

There are a lot of other critical texts on this course, students should avail themselves with the
opportunity offered by the Unical Library, Bookshop and the internet to get these materials for their
benefit.