Synopses & Reviews
Adopted at more than 1,000 colleges and universities, Bedford/St. Martin's innovative Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism series has introduced more than a quarter of a million students to literary theory and earned enthusiastic praise nationwide. Along with an authoritative text of a major literary work, each volume presents critical essays, selected or prepared especially for students, that approach the work from several contemporary critical perspectives, such as gender criticism and cultural studies. Each essay is accompanied by an introduction (with bibliography) to the history, principles, and practice of its critical perspective. Every volume also surveys the biographical, historical, and critical contexts of the literary work and concludes with a glossary of critical terms. New editions reprint cultural documents that contextualize the literary works and feature essays that show how critical perspectives can be combined.
Table of Contents
About the Series About This Volume
PART I. HEART OF DARKNESS: THE COMPLETE TEXT
Introduction: Biographical and Historical Contexts
The Complete Text [1921 Heinemann Edition]
PART II. HEART OF DARKNESS: A CASE STUDY IN CONTEMPORARY CRITICISM
A Critical History of Heart of Darkness
Reader-Response Criticism and Heart of Darkness
What Is Reading-Response Criticism?
Reader-Response Criticism: A Selected Bibliography
A Reader-Response Perspective:
Peter J. Rabinowitz, Reader Response, Reader Responsibility: Heart of Darkness and the Politics of Displacement
Feminist and Gender Criticism and Heart of Darkness
What Are Feminist and Gender Criticism?
Feminist and Gender Criticism: A Selected Bibliography
A Feminist and Gender Perspective:
Johanna M. Smith, "Too Beautiful Altogether": Ideologies of Gender and Empire in Heart of Darkness
Deconstruction and Heart of Darkness
What Is Deconstruction?
Deconstruction: A Selected Bibliography
A Deconstructive Perspective
J. Hillis Miller, Heart of Darkness Revisited
New Historicism and Heart of Darkness
What Is New Historicism?
New Historicism: A Selected Bibliography
A New Historicist Perspective:
Brook Thomas, Preserving and Keeping Order by Killing Time in Heart of Darkness
Cultural Criticism and Heart of Darkness
What is Cultural Criticism?
Cultural Criticism: A Selected Bibliography
A Cultural Perspective:
Patrick Brantlinger, Heart of Darkness: Anti-Imperialism, Racism, or Impressionism?
Glossary of Critical and Theoretical Terms
About the Contributors