Terry Eagleton is one of the most important--and most radical--theorists
writing today. His witty and acerbic attacks on contemporary culture and
society are read and enjoyed by many, and his studies of literature are
regarded as classics of contemporary criticism.
In this new edition of his groundbreaking treatise on literary theory,
Eagleton seeks to develop a sophisticated relationship between Marxism
and literary criticism.
Ranging across the key works of Raymond Williams, Lenin, Trotsky,
Brecht, Adorno, Benjamin, Lukacs and Sartre, he develops a nuanced
critique of traditional literary criticism while producing a compelling
theoretical account of ideology.
Eagleton uses this perspective to offer fascinating analyses of
canonical writers, including George Eliot, Charles Dickens, Joseph
Conrad, Henry James, T.S. Eliot, W.B. Yeats, James Joyce and D.H.
Lawrence.
The new introduction sets this classic book in the context of its first
appearance and Eagleton provides illuminating reflections on the
progress of literary study over the years.