The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism 2e

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Offering 185 pieces (31 of them new) by 148 authors (18 of them new), The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism , Second Edition, is more comprehensive, and more varied, in its selection than any other anthology. There's also a great sample of disability in literature that's presented in such an interesting way. I say that despite the fact that it's seriously skimpy on texts written before 1900 (all of which are crammed into the first third of the book) and in Latin America (none, unless you count Gloria Anzaldúa, an American). The pages do crumple and fold somewhat readily, although some might suggest that a well loved book needs a little wear and tear. Goes beyond what you might expect in a textbook, serving as a very useful class resource or as the ultimate home library reference for the consumate home reader.

As with all Norton anthologies, this one s well annotated and introduced; additionally, each theorist and critic has his or her own introduction, along with a helpful primary and secondary bibliography. A foremost historian of contemporary literary criticism and theory, he is the author of the standard history, American Literary Criticism from the 1930s to the 1980s as well as Deconstructive Criticism and Cultural Criticism , Literary Theory , Poststructuralism (all three books published by Columbia UP), Postmodernism: Local Effects, Global Flows (SUNY Press), Theory Matters (Routledge), Living with Theory (Blackwell), and American Literary Criticism since the 1930s , 2nd edition (Routledge).Compared with the Longman 20th century lit crit Anthology, this criticism anthology seems heavy on the white guys, doing little to dispel the "totalitarian tinkerbell" thing. This book has LOADS of critical and theoretical texts and is going to be invaluable as I move into my third and final year. Hope my grades climb up a bit now as I finally have a chance of understanding the more obscure theory references! I personally enjoyed the opportunity to experience some new (and in some cases improved) translations of familiar works, particularly a selection of wonderfully eloquent excerpt from Nietzsche's 'Birth of Tragedy' translated by Ronald Spiers which was a refreshing change from my Kauffmann and Hollingdale editions.

I liked the course very much but it's a little hard for me to rate "how good" this Norton Anthology is; the excerpts were sometimes highly chopped up versions of much larger works. The Norton Anthology provides a very good biography of each author, which then gives you sufficient background knowledge to be able to understand the primary texts.Toss away any notions of easy reading and delve into the introductions of most of the main theoretical arguments beginning with Plato and rounding out with "Theory is dead" criticism. I have to give the Norton Anthology a 'really liked' it rating even though it was intensely painful to read and to carry around twice a week. For me, the largest weakness of this anthology is that aside from a very brief synopsis (that at times confuses more than elucidates) in the introductions, each essay or section(s) from a book is simply given with no further explanation. Forty-eight NEW selections—concentrated mostly on the twentieth and twenty-first centuries—make the book not only the best overview of the history of theory, but also a remarkably up-to-date portrait of the state of theory today. The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism is the gold standard for anyone who wishes to understand the development and current state of literary theory.