Literary Theory
An Introduction
by Terry Eagleton
The classic introduction to literary theory and a capable and somewhat subversive argument for Marxism.
Reading notes
On the question of what is literature
John M. Ellis has argued that the term “literature” operates rather like the word “weed”: weeds are not particular kinds of plant, but just any kind of plant which for some reason or another a gardener does not want around. Perhaps “literature” means something like the opposite: any kind of writing which for some reason or another somebody values highly.
Similarly:
New typography thus resisted the idea that literature should enjoy a separate, special status: it was another design problem. And perhaps more interesting than “literature” for new typographers were industrial catalogues and other texts with complex problems of ordering and configuration to be resolved.
Of course, what you value reveals a lot about who you are—and what you want of the world around you.