Short on Time? Pick and Choose the Articles You Need If you've arrived here hoping to just briefly buff up on one school of criticism or just one theorist in that school, you're in luck. Each article in the drop-down menu can easily stand alone as its own sub-chapter, as it was designed to be intelligible within each part. However, you will find references to other articles and theorists within each sub-chapter as well, and if you're not as familiar with those other references, you might find yourself falling down the rabbit hole of theory and linking from one page to the next...
Have Lots of Time to Spare? Follow the Story That's because this website, especially when it comes to the first several major schools of criticism listed in the menu, is designed to tell something like a story. This whole field developed in some kind of discernible chronological order, because before you can have post-structuralism and postmodernism, you had to have formalism first, and then structuralism, for example. So if you have more time and you start at the beginning -- with Formalism (although "theory" began long before this) -- and follow along in the order that I have listed in the menu, you will see this exciting theoretical picture develop in a more or less sequential way. You will see the relationships and progressions between each subsequent school of thought, how they used one another's ideas, how they kept some key points and rejected others.
What You'll Find Within each school of criticism, you will first encounter a "general introduction" to that field. This includes a brief description of a few of the most important developments that school made, a list of key theorists, a list of schools closely related to it, and finally a list of suggested reading and online resources specific to that school. I highly recommend visiting the introduction page for each section, then, as it will condense a lot of useful material into a very small package.
After the introduction, each category will contain separate pages for major theorists or areas of interest within that school. Whenever possible, these are listed in some kind of logical order -- for example, under structuralism, Saussure influenced all later theorists in this field, so he is listed first. So I would still recommend following along the provided order when you can.
Each of these sub-pages will include much more detailed descriptions of that theorist or theory's work. You will find helpful graphs and images that illustrate key points, as well as important terminology to know. At the end of each page you'll find a list of key terms and the sources from which I gathered that page's material.
Now, if you are new to this field of study, I have a few tips and suggestions you may find helpful as you proceed.
How to Study Literary Theory Effectively
Well, that's just the million dollar question, isn't it? I don't have all the answers for you here, as unfortunately studying this field is going to be challenging no matter how you approach it. But, after quite a few years of experience dealing with theory, I can at least tell you a few things that have helped me along the way.
Never try to read the original theoretical texts before you even know what that school of criticism is about. Unless you are some kind of genius, it's probably going to be way more difficult than it's worth. Read some kind of introduction to the material before diving into the original works themselves. Theorists write for each other to read their work, and not really for inexperienced students. We'll discover why that is along the way, but for now, suffice to say that you have to be familiar with their language (basically theoretical jargon) as well as what they're primarily concerned with before you will be able to unpack their writing.
Read introductory and original texts slowly and take really good notes. Take your time. Don't overwhelm yourself -- there's a lot out there, and if you try to learn it too quickly, you might find your brain occasionally telling you "nope, no way, I'm too full already." Write down what you're learning in your own words whenever possible. Keep lists of terms and what they mean. I can't tell you how important this step is for me, because it's often too easy for me to breeze through reading some introductory text without taking notes, only to find an hour later that I couldn't tell you even one thing that I read in that chapter. So keep track of what you read, and you'll retain it a lot better. This goes for anything you're studying, of course, but here it's especially important since the material is so difficult, and if you don't keep track of where you've been, you won't be able to figure out where you're going next.
Once you feel comfortable with the introduction to a theorist, try to read the original text. It's good to get practice doing this, even if you don't intend to go into this field as your career. It's a great mental work-out. Plus, you'll learn a lot of interesting details that you just can't get from reading brief summaries of a theorist's work.
Take breaks once in a while and try to map out what you've learned. Especially if you're following the story that progresses through this website, see if you can briefly explain or "map" how one theory or theorist led to another. Theorists are always in conversation with one another, as they add to, refine, or sometimes outright reject, each other's ideas and try to develop theories that more accurately describe human culture. Since we're entering this dialogue so late, figuring out the gist of this conversation is one of the most important tasks involved with learning theory, so don't forget about it as you go along.
Talk to others about what you're learning. Particularly if you're not taking a course in theory as you're exploring this website, I recommend finding someone else who is interested (or could be interested if you can convince them to be) in literature or culture, and talking to them about what you've read here and elsewhere. Class discussion is a great way to accomplish this, but talking to anyone who will listen will give you an opportunity to try to explain the theories you're becoming familiar with, and put the ideas into your own words. When you have to talk about these things yourself (or better yet, teach someone else), you will probably find that you a) know more about theory than you think you do, and b) will retain the information better if you have to tell someone else what it is. Plus, they will ask you questions, challenge you, and generally make things more interesting just by being there. It can get boring trying to learn this stuff on your own.
Relax, and don't get overwhelmed. There's a lot to this field, and you will never know everything, no matter how many years you study. You'll never be expected to have read every single text in the field, even if you become a professional theorist or academic. There are just only so many hours in the day! So take your time. Only do what you can, but challenge yourself all the same. Sometimes I like to think of theory as a gigantic puzzle, and each time I pick up a book or a chapter on an important theorist, I feel like I'm putting one more piece into that puzzle. I know I'll never complete it, but it can be fun to try nevertheless.
SO. With all that being said, are you ready to begin? If you are, our first stop is Formalism. See you there!