Psychoanalysis and Literary Theory introduces the key concepts, figures and movements of both psychoanalytic theory and the history of literary criticism and theory, engaging with Freud, Zizek, Plato, posthumanism, and beyond.
Divided into two parts - concepts and movements – the structure of the book is clear and accessible. Each chapter builds upon the one before, allowing the reader to progress from little or no background in psychoanalysis, philosophy, or literary theory to the ability to engage actively with the relatively sophisticated ideas presented in later sections of the work. Mathew R. Martin consistently directs attention to the task of interpreting texts by illustrating abstract theoretical points with literary texts and at apposite moments provides brief readings of selected texts.
This book will be essential reading for academics and students of psychoanalytic studies, literary criticism, and literary theory.
Biography
Mathew R. Martin is Professor in the Department of English Language and Literature at Brock University, Canada.
'There are many classic books on literature and psychoanalysis, but they tend to have been written twenty or thirty years ago. Mathew Martin’s Psychoanalysis and Literary Theory: An Introduction is a timely and perceptive study of a subject that has changed dramatically in the intervening years. In its depth and breadth of knowledge, its readability, and its new insights, it will be valuable for anyone who wishes to learn more about classical psychoanalytic literary theory, as formulated by Freud, Klein, Winnicott, and Lacan, as well as psychoanalysis’ profound impact on feminism, queer theory, postcolonialism, and trauma theory. Neither a Freud idealizer nor a Freud basher, Martin presents an admirably balanced view of the founder of psychoanalysis. The book is not only an excellent introduction but also a nuanced analysis that will be of interest to students and teachers of literature and psychoanalysis. Martin’s new book will become, I predict, the authoritative study for many years.'
Jeffrey Berman, Distinguished Teaching Professor at University at Albany, SUNY, USA
