Literary Criticism from Plato to Post-Theory

Provides a comprehensive account of the evolution of literary criticism from antiquity to the present Spanning more than two millennia of intellectual history, Literary Criticism from Plato to Post-Theory: An Introduction offers the most thorough and accessible survey of Western literary theory available today. M.A.R. Habib presents a lucid and detailed chronological account of key movements, texts, and thinkers—from Plato and Aristotle to posthumanism and digital studies—making complex ideas intelligible without sacrificing scholarly rigor. This second edition is expanded to address the rapidly evolving landscape of contemporary criticism, including new and revised chapters on affect theory, cognitive literary studies, gender theory, world literature, and digital humanities. For students and scholars of literature, theory, and cultural studies, Literary Criticism from Plato to Post-Theory provides indispensable insight into how literary criticism has responded to—and helped shape—major intellectual and political developments throughout history. With clear attention to philosophical foundations and cultural context, Habib explores not just what key theorists believed, but why their ideas emerged when they did and how they continue to resonate today. Enabling readers to trace the deep roots and dynamic shifts in literary thought with clarity and critical depth, Literary Criticism from Plato to Post-Theory: Situates literary theory within historical and philosophical developments across cultures and eras Emphasizes contextualization, helping readers understand criticism in relation to its time and place Introduces lesser-known thinkers alongside canonical figures, offering a broad intellectual spectrum Highlights the connections between literary criticism and political, cultural, and social change Bridges classical traditions and emerging technologies/ media in literary analysis Encourages close textual reading while maintaining attention to philosophical underpinnings Ideal for use alongside anthologies or as a stand alone text, Literary Criticism from Plato to Post-Theory: An Introduction, Second Edition remains a foundational resource for understanding the traditions and transformations of literary criticism. It is ideal for undergraduate and graduate students taking courses in English, comparative literature, cultural studies, or critical theory. It is particularly suited to core courses such as Introduction to Literary Theory, Foundations of Criticism, and World Literature in English, Liberal Arts, and Interdisciplinary Humanities programs.

Acknowledgments xi Introduction 1 Part I Classical Literary Criticism and Rhetoric 7 1 Classical Literary Criticism 9 Introduction to the Classical Period 9 Plato (428– ca. 347 BC) 10 Aristotle (384– 322 BC) 15 2 The Traditions of Rhetoric 23 Greek Rhetoric 23 Roman Rhetoric 27 The Subsequent History of Rhetoric: An Overview 30 The Legacy of Rhetoric 31 3 Greek and Latin Criticism During the Roman Empire 35 Horace (65– 8 BC) 35 Longinus (First Century AD) 37 Neo- Platonism 39 Part II The Medieval Era 47 4 The Early Middle Ages 49 Historical Background 49 Intellectual and Theological Currents 51 5 The Later Middle Ages 57 Historical Background 57 Intellectual Currents of the Later Middle Ages 58 The Traditions of Medieval Criticism 60 Transitions: Medieval Humanism 71 Part III The Early Modern Period to the Enlightenment 77 6 The Early Modern Period 79 Historical Background 79 Intellectual Background 80 Confronting the Classical Heritage 86 Defending the Vernacular 89 Poetics and the Defense of Poetry 91 Poetic Form and Rhetoric 94 7 Neoclassical Literary Criticism 98 French Neoclassicism 100 Neoclassicism in England 102 8 The Enlightenment 114 Historical and Intellectual Background 114 Enlightenment Literary Criticism: Language, Taste, and Imagination 119 9 The Aesthetics of Kant and Hegel 129 Immanuel Kant (1724– 1804) 129 Hegel (1770– 1831) 134 Part IV Romanticism and the Later Nineteenth Century 143 10 Romanticism 145 Germany 148 France 151 England 153 America 160 11 Realism, Naturalism, Symbolism, and Aestheticism 168 Historical Background: The Later Nineteenth Century 168 Realism and Naturalism 169 Symbolism and Aestheticism 174 12 The Heterological Thinkers 181 Arthur Schopenhauer (1788– 1860) 181 Friedrich Nietzsche (1844– 1900) 182 Henri Bergson (1859– 1941) 185 Matthew Arnold (1822– 1888) 185 Part V The Twentieth Century: A Brief Introduction 189 Introduction 189 13 From Liberal Humanism to Formalism 193 The Background of Modernism 194 The Poetics of Modernism: W. B. Yeats, Ezra Pound, and T. S. Eliot 196 Formalism 197 Russian Formalism 197 The New Criticism 202 14 Socially Conscious Criticism of the Earlier Twentieth Century 206 F. R. Leavis 206 Marxist and Left- Wing Criticism 207 The Fundamental Principles of Marxism 208 Marxist Literary Criticism: A Historical Overview 210 Early Feminist Criticism: Simone de Beauvoir and Virginia Woolf 212 15 Phenomenology, Existentialism, Structuralism 219 Phenomenology 220 Existentialism 220 Heterology 223 Structuralism 224 16 The Era of Poststructuralism (I): Later Marxism, Psychoanalysis, Deconstruction 230 Later Marxist Criticism 231 Psychoanalysis 233 Deconstruction 240 17 The Era of Poststructuralism (II): Postmodernism, Modern Feminism, Gender Studies 247 Jürgen Habermas (b. 1929) 250 Jean Baudrillard (1929– 2007) 251 Jean- François Lyotard (1924– 1998) 252 bell hooks (Gloria Jean Watkins; b. 1952) 253 Modern Feminism 253 Gender Studies 258 18 The Later Twentieth Century: New Historicism, Reader-Response Theory, Postcolonial Criticism, Cultural Studies 264 The New Historicism 265 Reader- Response and Reception Theory 268 Postcolonial Criticism 270 Cultural Studies 276 Part VI The Twenty- First Century: A Brief Introduction 279 19 Criticism and the Public Sphere 283 A New Liberalism 283 The New Theorists of Revolution 284 Critical Race Feminism 287 20 The Aesthetic (Re)Turn 291 Introduction 291 The New Aestheticism 291 Surface Reading 294 21 Post- Freudian Perspectives 299 Trauma Theory 299 Affect Theory 304 Cognitive Literary Studies 312 Evolutionary Literary Theory 315 22 Developments in Gender Studies 322 Queer Theory 322 Transgender Studies 328 23 World Literature and Globalization 336 World Literature: Definitions and Developments 336 The Phenomenon of Globalization 337 World Literature in the Context of Globalization 340 24 Posthumanism 346 Donna Haraway 349 Rosi Braidotti 351 25 The Digital Era 354 Digital Literary Studies 354 New Media Studies 361 A Note on AI 368 Epilogue: Post-Theory? 372 Index 381