English Literature Companion

JULIAN WOLFREYS is Professor of Modern Literature and Culture at Loughborough University, UK. He was previously Professor in Literature at the University of Florida, USA. His teaching and research is concerned with 19th- and 20th-century British literary and cultural studies, literary theory, the poetics and politics of identity, and the idea of the city. He is the series editor of Transitions and his publications include Introducing Literary Theories (ed.), Readings: Acts of Close Reading in Literary Theory, Critical Keywords in Literary and Cultural Theory, Thinking Otherwise: Difference and Pedagogy and Literature, in Theory: Tropes, Subjectivities, Responses and Responsibilities.

• AcknowledgementsPreface: How to use the bookPART I: ABOUT LITERATURELiterature: Fundamental QuestionsIntroduction; J.WolfreysWhat is Literature?; B.OvertonWhy Study Literature?; K.WomackYour Literature CourseWhat to Expect from your English Course; J.WolfreysTypical Structure and Content; J.WolfreysLiterature and Language; J.WolfreysLiterature and Creative Writing; J.CookeComparative Literature; D.BremmGetting the Most from your Course: J.WolfreysStudy Skills for LiteratureIntroduction: J.WolfreysStudy Skills: C.RingroseWriting and Presentation; J.WolfreysPART II: LITERATURE MODULESLiteratureIntroductionCritical Studies: an Example of a Core Module; J.WolfreysPeriodsOld English Literature; P.SemperMedieval Literature; D.GriffithThe Sixteenth Century; J.FitzpatrickThe Seventeenth Century; H.AdlingtonThe Eighteenth Century; B.OvertonRomanticism and Gothic; I.McCormickThe Nineteenth Century and the Victorians; C.KelleyModernism; A.MurrayForms, Genres and Other Popular ModulesTragedy; J.WolfreysComedy; J.WolfreysThe Novel; H.WrightPoetry; B.OvertonDrama; N.Swettenham & R.J.BrocklehurstEpic; N.WoodLyric; N.WoodSatire; N.WoodRealism; L.PhillipsFiction; L.PhillipsContemporary and Postmodern Fiction; A.MurrayGender; D.BremmClass; N.FreemanColonial and Postcolonial Literature; J.RamoneSubjectivity; M.Becker-LeckroneChidren's Literature; J.BavidgeFilm Studies; A.DixPopular Fiction; J.BaetensAmerican Literature; B.Jarvis & A.DixContemporary Literature; J.WolfreysPART III: CRITICAL APPROACHES AND SCHOOLS OF THOUGHTCritical ApproachesIntroduction; J.WolfreysFormalism; M.Becker-LeckroneArchetypal Criticism; D.BremmNew Criticism; M.Becker-LeckroneBakhtin and Dialogic Criticism; K.ZbindenFeminism; R.RobbinsMarxism; A.MurrayStructuralism; A.MurrayPsychoanalysis; B.JarvisDeconstruction; M-D.DickPostcolonialism; J.RamoneNew Historicism; C.RingroseCultural Materialism; A.MurrayAfrican American Criticism; A.DixChicano/a Studies; J.RamoneGay Studies and Queer Theory; H.DaviesCultural Studies; B.JarvisEcocriticism; J.BavidgePostmodernism; A.DixPART IV: KEY TERMS AND CONCEPTS; R.Robbins, J.Wolfreys & K.WomackPART V: CAREER PATHWAYSIntroduction; J.WolfreysCareers for English Graduates; R.RobbinsThe Experience of a Degree in English; C.BowditchInterview, Conducted by Claire BowditchConclusion; J.WolfreysPART VI: LEARNING RESOURCE; J.WolfreysChronologyList of ContributorsIndex.

'This is a Guide that I would recommend to beginning students, without any doubt.' - Jean-Michel Rabate, Professor of English and Comparative Literature, University of Pennsylvania, USA 'The English Literature Companion would be useful for anyone considering studying or already studying for a degree or just interested in the subject...Although made up of essays by different contributors it is easy to read and the quick reference sections of terms and events definitely support understanding.' - Claire Buckley, Assistant Librarian, The Leeds Library, Leeds, Language and Literature