Literary Theory: An Introduction by Terry Eagleton

Great great introduction to literary theory. Eagleton moves swiftly through various approaches, summarizing and problematizing each the major theoretical developments in each approach, deconstructing both "literature" (the object of study) and eventually, "literary theory" (by demonstrating the lack of a unified methodology). 

"We must conclude, then, that this book is less an introduction than an obituary, and that we have ended by burying the object we sought to unearth" (p. 204).

Eagleton shows throughout his comprehensive survey that literary theory is a product of historical/material conditions, and that what is considered as proper literary criticism is used as an ideological instrument of ruling class domination.

He proposes a strategic use of various approaches to investigate the material effects of texts (not limited to whatever the literary institution designates as canon), broadly termed Rhetoric.

I think I will refer to this book in the future for recommendations on lit crit books, although for the next few months I should be reading mostly into Barthes.

---