Contexts for Criticism

Contexts for Criticism by Donald Keesey, published by McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages in October 2002, is a comprehensive exploration of literary interpretation. This fourth edition, comprising 576 pages, introduces readers to essential issues in the field by examining significant literary works, including Keats’s “Ode on a Grecian Urn,” Melville’s Benito Cereno, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper, alongside Shakespeare’s The Tempest.

The book presents these texts through the lens of seven fundamental critical theories, including Historical, Formal, Reader-Response, Mimetic, Intertextual, and Poststructural approaches. Readers will find a structured analysis that encourages a deeper understanding of literature’s historical and critical contexts. This edition serves as a valuable resource for those interested in the intersections of criticism and English literature, providing insights into how various theoretical frameworks can shape literary interpretation.