A pocket guide to the key concepts of literary theory, explaining them in clear, accessible language. Cutting through the often confusing welter of peripheral writing on what can be an enormously unwieldy subject, David Carter covers the key thinkers, writers and theories in current lit-crit use, including Derrida; Baudrillard; Habermas; Postmodernism; Deconstruction; Formalism; Hermeneutics; and Reception Theory. An invaluable resource for students and readers.