Twentieth Century Literary Criticism (Paperback - 2017)

Considering the great popularity of the first six editions of the book, Twentieth Century Literary Criticism, and keeping in mind the valuable suggestions received from several quarters, the present sixth edition has been revised and enlarged by adding five new chapters. It now contains 60 chapters in all, organized into three parts. Part I of the book lays emphasis on various schools of criticism that are prevalent in India and the West. Each chapter contains an analysis of the theory in question and shows the trend and development as well as the methodology of literary criticism in the 20th century. Part II contains discussions on a large number of critical essays and covers critics such as Eliot, Richards, Leavis, Barthes, Derrida, Foucault and the Postcolonial critics. The seminal critical essays included in this section have influenced the critical trends in the twentieth century and changed the general perception of criticism. These chapters, apart from giving a comprehensive idea of the critical concepts, also provide an analytical study of the critical works. Part III contains ten new chapters that explain the meanings of terms like textuality, intertextuality, hypertextuality; study the application of cultural studies to literary texts; capture the important changes that have taken place in cultural studies in the present age of globalization; and give a brief historical perspective of literary theory. The five new chapters are on Culture Studies, Eco-Criticism, Interdisciplinarity, Political Correctness and Critical Fallacy. The theories and the texts have been explained with clarity and precision in a simple language and lucid style. This is an invaluable reference book for anyone interested in the field of literary criticism in the twentieth century.

Bijay Kumar Das, Ph.D., D.Litt., is a contributor to The Encyclopaedia of World Literature in the 20th Century (New York). He has published a number of reference books which include Perspectives on the Poetry of A.K. Ramanujan (2013); Twentieth Century Literary Criticism (2010, 2012); Critical Essays on Post-Colonial Literature (2007, 2010); The Poetry of Jayanta Mahapatra (2009) ; A Handbook of Translation Studies (2005, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013); Form and Meaning in Mahesh Dattani’s Plays (2008); Post-Modern Indian English Literature (2006); Critical Essays on Poetry (2003); A Handbook of Communication Skills and Functional English (2002); Shiv K. Kumar as a Post-Colonial Poet (2001); A Reader’s Guide to Ten Twentieth Century Indian Poets (1999); Aspects of Commonwealth Literature (1995); The Horizon of Nissim Ezekiel’s Poetry (1995); Perspectives on Indian English Poetry Criticism (1998); and Modern Indian English Poetry (1992). Dr. Das has edited four reference books: New Readings in Indian English Literature (2011); Comparative Literature (2000); Perspectives on the Poetry of R. Parthasarathy (1998); and Contemporary Indo-English Poetry (1992). He has also co-edited one reference book entitled Studies in Postcolonial Literature (2007), and several textbooks, including Nineteenth Century English Poetry (OUP, 1992, 1998). He has successfully guided 20 Ph.D. scholars and was the Chief Editor of The Indian Journal of English Studies for three years (2007-09). He is the Editor of The Critical Endeavour since 1995. Formerly a Reader in English at Ravenshaw College, Cuttack, Dr. Das is now a Professor of English at Burdwan University, Burdwan (West Bengal).