A History of Literary Criticism: From Plato to the Present

Copyright © 2005 by M. A. R. Habib

A History of Literary Criticism: From Plato to the Present

Editor(s): M. A. R. Habib

Published Online: 17 DEC 2007

Print ISBN: 9780631232001

Online ISBN: 9780470752142

DOI: 10.1002/9780470752142

About this Book

Product Information

About The Product

This comprehensive guide to the history of literary criticism from antiquity to the present day provides an authoritative overview of the major movements, figures, and texts of literary criticism, as well as surveying their cultural, historical, and philosophical contexts.


  • Supplies the cultural, historical and philosophical background to the literary criticism of each era
  • Enables students to see the development of literary criticism in context
  • Organised chronologically, from classical literary criticism through to deconstruction
  • Considers a wide range of thinkers and events from the French Revolution to Freud's views on civilization
  • Can be used alongside any anthology of literary criticism or as a coherent stand-alone introduction

Table of contents

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      Frontmatter (pages i–ix)

    1. Introduction (pages 1–6)

  3. Part I: Ancient Greek Criticism

    1. Classical Literary Criticism: Intellectual and Political Backgrounds (pages 7–18)

    2. Chapter 1

      Plato (428-CA. 347 BC) (pages 19–40)

    3. Chapter 2

      Aristotle (384-322 BC) (pages 41–65)

  4. Part II: The Traditions of Rhetoric

    1. Chapter 3

      Greek Rhetoric (pages 66–79)

    2. Chapter 4

      The Hellenistic Period and Roman Rhetoric (pages 80–102)

  5. Part III: Greek and Latin Criticism During the Roman Empire

    1. Chapter 5

      Horace (65-8 BC) (pages 103–117)

    2. Chapter 6

      Longinus (First Century AD) (pages 118–126)

    3. Chapter 7

      Neo-Platonism (pages 129–148)

  6. Part IV: The Medieval Era

    1. Chapter 8

      The Early Middle Ages (pages 149–165)

    2. Chapter 9

      The Later Middle Ages (pages 166–214)

    3. Chapter 10

      Transitions: Medieval Humanism (pages 215–226)

  7. Part V: The Early Modern Period to the Enlightenment

    1. Chapter 11

      The Early Modern Period (pages 227–272)

    2. Chapter 12

      Neoclassical Literary Criticism (pages 273–310)

    3. Chapter 13

      The Enlightenment (pages 311–346)

  8. Part VI: The Earlier Nineteenth Century and Romanticism

    1. Introduction to the Modern Period (pages 347–356)

    2. Chapter 14

      The Kantian System and Kant's Aesthetics (pages 357–381)

    3. Chapter 15

      G. W. F. Hegel (1770-1831) (pages 382–407)

    4. Chapter 16

      Romanticism (I): Germany and France (pages 408–427)

    5. Chapter 17

      Romanticism (II): England and America (pages 428–466)

  9. Part VII: The Later Nineteenth Century

    1. Chapter 18

      Realism and Naturalism (pages 467–488)

    2. Chapter 19

      Symbolism and Aestheticism (pages 489–501)

    3. Chapter 20

      The Heterological Thinkers (pages 502–526)

    4. Chapter 21

      Marxism (pages 527–554)

  10. Part VIII: The Twentieth Century

    1. The Twentieth Century: Backgrounds and Perspectives (pages 555–570)

    2. Chapter 22

      Psychoanalytic Criticism (pages 571–601)

    3. Chapter 23

      Formalisms (pages 602–630)

    4. Chapter 24

      Structuralism (pages 631–648)

    5. Chapter 25

      Deconstruction (pages 649–666)

    6. Chapter 26

      Feminist Criticism (pages 667–707)

    7. Chapter 27

      Reader-Response and Reception Theory (pages 708–736)

    8. Chapter 28

      Postcolonial Criticism (pages 737–759)

    9. Chapter 29

      New Historicism (pages 760–771)

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      Epilogue (pages 772–776)

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      Selective Bibliography (pages 777–790)

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      Index (pages 791–838)

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