Modern Literary Theory and Ancient Texts: An Introduction

How do classical literary texts convey meaning; who interprets that meaning; and how does it relate to things historical, social, political, or personal?

This book provides students and scholars of classical literature with a practical guide to modern literary theory and criticism. Using a clear and concise approach, it navigates readers through various theoretical approaches, including Russian Formalism, structuralism, deconstruction, gender studies, and New Historicism.

The text offers a cohesive and structured account of the developments of theory during the twentieth century. Designed specifically for readers engaged with the classics, the volume applies theoretical approaches to examples from ancient literature.

Suitable for advanced students, the book’s extensive bibliographies and index also make it a useful resource for scholars in the field.

Thomas A. Schmitz is Professor of Greek Language and Literature at the University of Bonn, and is one of the founding members of the Centre for the Classical Tradition. He has previously held positions at Paris, Harvard, Heidelberg, and Frankfurt. He is the author of over 40 books and articles including Bildung und Macht: Zur sozialen und politischen Funktion der zweiten Sophistik in der griechischen Welt der Kaiserzeit (1997) and Moderne Literaturtheorie und antike Texte: Eine Einfuhrung (2002).