4 Ergebnisse.

Over the last twenty years, the humanities and social sciences have become peculiarly preoccupied with the limitations of language--especially what language cannot do. Rather than ask whether communication is possible, this study explores how it occurs. Drawing on a variety of fields that have contributed to literary theory--including discourse analysis, sociolinguistics, philosophy of language, and rhetorical theory--Harris defines the goal o...

In this clearly written and accessible book, (Wendell) Harris sets out to expose the inadequacies of current methods and trends in literary criticism. . . . The book's greatest strength is its lucid presentation of critical works, which are then shown to be compromised by fallacies and flaws".-- CHOICE.

Treats 70 fundamental and overarching concepts from "allegory" and "allusion" to "tragedy" and "unity". By concepts is meant broad terms that designate modes of thought about, approaches to, or major classifications of literature that are of central importance to the pursuit of literary criticism.

Literary theory, according to Wendell Harris, has over the last twenty-five years become increasingly characterized by illogical arguments, an esoteric vocabulary, and gnomic references to what various authority figures are presumed to have demonstrated. Arcane modes of argument and unargued assumptions leave the reader of contemporary theorists frustrated, little of the resulting criticism entices the reader to seek out the literary work itse...