--- title: Literary Theory & Criticism description: This field examines the philosophical frameworks used to interpret literature. Learners will analyze major theoretical schools—such as formalism, feminism, and postcolonialism—to understand how different critical lenses alter the reading and evaluation of texts. category: social-sciences subcategory: literature difficulty: beginner, intermediate, advanced url: /subject/literary-theory-and-criticism --- # Literary Theory & Criticism This field examines the philosophical frameworks used to interpret literature. Learners will analyze major theoretical schools—such as formalism, feminism, and postcolonialism—to understand how different critical lenses alter the reading and evaluation of texts. ## Available Resources 2 Books • 1 Courses • 1 Websites ## Courses ### 1. Introduction to Theory of Literature Explore literary theory with Yale's Paul Fry! This introductory course covers key concepts and critical approaches to literature. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://oyc.yale.edu/english/engl-300 **Tags:** literary-theory, literary-criticism, structuralism, open-courseware ## Podcasts ### 1. The Critical **Author:** The New Yorker Critics at Large is a weekly culture podcast from The New Yorker. Every Thursday, the staff writers Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz discuss current obsessions, classic texts they’re revisiting with fresh eyes, and trends that are emerging across books, television, film, and more. The show runs the gamut of the arts and pop culture, with lively, surprising conversations about everything from Salman Rushdie to “The Real Housewives.” Through rigorous analysis and behind-the-scenes insights into The New Yorker’s reporting, the magazine’s critics help listeners make sense of our moment—and how we got here. Please help us improve N... **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** en | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.newyorker.com/podcast/critics-at-large **Tags:** literary-criticism, cultural-criticism, literature, books, film-and-television ## Books ### 1. Literary Theory: An Introduction **Author:** Terry Eagleton A polemical survey of twentieth-century criticism, moving from Russian Formalism and structuralism through psychoanalysis, feminism and post-structuralism. Readers finish able to place each school's assumptions about meaning and to question what counts as literature at all. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/0631132597?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** books, humanities-social-sciences, literature ### 2. Critical Theory Today **Author:** Lois Tyson Tyson's classroom guide walks through psychoanalytic, Marxist, feminist, structuralist, deconstructive and postcolonial criticism, then applies each to The Great Gatsby so students can see how one novel reads differently under different theoretical assumptions. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/0415974100?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** books, humanities-social-sciences, literature ## Websites ### 1. critical-theory.com Critical-Theory.com is an educational resource providing accessible overviews of literary and critical theory, including major theories, key terms, and influential thinkers. It offers introductory articles, analyses, and glossaries to help readers understand and apply critical theory in literary studies. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://critical-theory.com **Tags:** websites, humanities-social-sciences, literature --- *This content is part of Dantes.io - Your Treasure Map to Knowledge* *Curated by humans at Dantes.io. Personal study use welcome; republishing this curation requires permission (team@dantes.io).* View this page online: https://dantes.io/subject/literary-theory-and-criticism