"This guidebook introduces readers to the sometimes forbiddingly arcane world of literary theory, focusing on its fundamental concepts, and the most prominent and influential theoretical figures and movements." "The Blackwell Guide to Literary Theory explores the rise of literary theory from the late nineteenth century to the dawning of the twenty-first; outlines the major movements of literary theory, among them Deconstruction, Marxist theory, New Historicism, and Reader-Response theory; includes alphabetically organized biographies of key figures, from Adorno to Zizek; offers a number of theoretical readings of literary texts, including Jane Eyre, Heart of Darkness, Ulysses, To the Lighthouse, and Midnight's Children; and features an in-depth glossary of complex theoretical terms, and useful suggestions for further reading."--Jacket.