A Future for Criticism considers why fiction gives so much pleasure, and the neglect of this issue in contemporary criticism. Offers a brief, lively, and accessible account of a new direction for critical practice, from one of Britain's most prominent literary theorists and critics Proposes a new path for future criticism, more open to reflecting on the pleasures of fiction Written in a clear, jargon-free style, and illustrated throughout with numerous examples

A Future for Criticism considers why fiction gives so muchpleasure, and the neglect of this issue in contemporarycriticism.* Offers a brief, lively, and accessible account of a newdirection for critical practice, from one of Britain's mostprominent literary theorists and critics* Proposes a new path for future criticism, more open toreflecting on the pleasures of fiction* Written in a clear, jargon-free style, and illustratedthroughout with numerous examples

Preface xi1 Pleasure: Have we neglected it? 1Fiction for pleasure 1The case of tragedy 3The English curriculum 6Cries of joy 7'Aesthetic' pleasure 9The Pleasure of the Text 12Modernist unpleasure 14Gaiety 152 Piety: Haven't we overdone it? 18Criticism on the defensive 18Classic defences 22The advent of theory 24Law 28The superego 29Neurosis 30Complacency 31Culture and Anarchy 32Artefacts and pleasure 33Critical writing 343 Biography: Friend or foe? 37Life and art 37Biography in theory 39What the authors say 42New Historicism 43Shakespeare's life 44Fact or fiction? 46Shakespeare's memory 47Romance 51The death of the reader 524 Realism: Do we overrate it? 54A disputed value 54The default genre 55Imitation 57Insight 60Totalization 62Suspicion 63Objections 64The radical view 66Recuperation 68A counter-example 705 Culture: What do we mean by it? 72Cultural criticism 72Twin perils 75Culture as meanings 76Meanwhile, in Paris ... 80Anthropology 80Another culture 83Perils circumvented 85Work to do 886 History: Do we do it justice? 90Official usage 90Cultural difference 91History and criticism 93Customary knowledge 94Dissonance 97An example 99The old historicism 101Criticism as cultural history 103The uses of criticism 103Critical skills 1057 Desire: A force to reckon with 107Pleasure revisited 107Orpheus 108Loss 109The desire of the protagonist 111Stand-ins 113The desire of the reader 114The desire of the text 116Substitution 118Pacification 119Defiance 120Breaking the rules 123And so ... 126Criticism 126Notes 128Index 140