Readings: Acts of Close Reading in Literary Theory

Through a series of short essays, Readings traces the consideration given to the act of close reading in literary criticism and theory over the last thirty years. Focusing on short passages from a number of critical works, including those by Barthes, Cixous, de Man, Derrida, Foucault, Kristeva, Lacan and J. Hillis Miller amongst others, the essays enact close readings of the trope of reading - its movements and performances in each of the passages in question - so as to offer a more detailed comprehension of the nature of reading, and the ways in which critical thinking has transformed our understanding of what it means to read. Readings addresses in a lively and engaging manner the varying rhythms and articulations made possible through the careful tracing of the process of critical reading which literary theory has made available.

Author: Julian Wolfreys
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
Published: 05/27/2000
Pages: 192
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.59lbs
Size: 9.21h x 6.14w x 0.39d
ISBN: 9780748613526

About the Author

Julian Wolfeys is Professor of English Literature at the University of Portsmouth, where he is also Director of the Centre for Studies in LIterature. He is author and editor of more than 40 books on nineteenth- and twentieth-century English literature and literary theory. Most recently he has published Dickens's London and The Derrida Wordbook, both with Edinburgh University Press. He recently published his first novel, Silent Music.