"Learning how to be a literary critic is, among other things, a matter of learning how to deploy certain techniques. Like a lot of techniques – scuba-diving, for example, or playing the trombone – these are more easily picked up in practice than in theory. All of them involve a closer attention to language than one would usually lavish on a recipe or a laundry list." (Terry Eagleton, How to Read Literature, 7)
In this course, students will learn to read literature critically, with close attention to language, form and the ways in which texts create meaning. Participants will be encouraged to engage with different traditions of literary criticism – including practical criticism and approaches informed by theory – and will have the opportunity to practise their critical reading skills on a range of primary texts.
Students may find it useful to familiarise themselves with the following introductory works ahead of the course:
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