Structuralism Or Criticism?: Thoughts On How We Read
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Condition: Good to fair. Paperback. Page Condition: Good - possible tanning. Markings: possible previous owner inscription.
At the heart of one of literary theory's most enduring debates stands a deceptively simple question: how do we actually read? Geoffrey Strickland's Structuralism or Criticism? mounts a rigorous and incisive argument against the growing dominance of structuralism in literary studies, presenting a passionate defence of traditional criticism as the most honest and intellectually responsible way of engaging with literature. Written during the height of structuralism's ascent in academic circles, the book challenges the claim that a systematic, quasi-scientific framework can adequately account for the richness and complexity of literary experience. Strickland argues with clarity and conviction that genuine criticism demands personal judgment, historical awareness, and a living relationship between the reader and the text — qualities he sees as fundamentally incompatible with structuralist methodology. Drawing on a wide range of literary examples, he illustrates how abstract theoretical systems risk reducing literature to mere linguistic mechanism, severing the very connections that give reading its meaning. Part of the Cambridge Paperback Library, this work remains a vital touchstone for anyone grappling with the question of what it truly means to read — and whether theory can ever fully answer it.
Author: Geoffrey Strickland
Format: Paperback
Genre: Literary theory
Condition remarks:
Condition: Good to fair. Paperback. Page Condition: Good - possible tanning. Markings: possible previous owner inscription.
At the heart of one of literary theory's most enduring debates stands a deceptively simple question: how do we actually read? Geoffrey Strickland's Structuralism or Criticism? mounts a rigorous and incisive argument against the growing dominance of structuralism in literary studies, presenting a passionate defence of traditional criticism as the most honest and intellectually responsible way of engaging with literature. Written during the height of structuralism's ascent in academic circles, the book challenges the claim that a systematic, quasi-scientific framework can adequately account for the richness and complexity of literary experience. Strickland argues with clarity and conviction that genuine criticism demands personal judgment, historical awareness, and a living relationship between the reader and the text — qualities he sees as fundamentally incompatible with structuralist methodology. Drawing on a wide range of literary examples, he illustrates how abstract theoretical systems risk reducing literature to mere linguistic mechanism, severing the very connections that give reading its meaning. Part of the Cambridge Paperback Library, this work remains a vital touchstone for anyone grappling with the question of what it truly means to read — and whether theory can ever fully answer it.