By the time students get to their junior and senior years of high school English, they often feel like they have been there, done that. Because of Common Core, we have New Criticism-ed them to death. So teaching them how to use other styles of literary theory is a must to keep them engaged and growing as readers.
These nine sources of literary theory will help you to inform your practice and allow you to introduce your students to new literary lenses.
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9 Literary Theory Books for High School English Teachers
Perdue University On-line Writing Lab (OWL)
Okay, not a book, but definitely the best resource for a crash course in all the schools of literary criticism. Each page gives an overview and some guiding questions.
Doing Literary Criticism by Tim Gillespie
If you are an AP® Literature teacher, you should not pass go, not collect $200, but instead head directly to your favorite book seller to acquire this text. Gillespie wrote this book based on the way he uses literary theory in his classroom. It includes essays that you can print for you students (a long form and short form) to give them the history and background of each approach.
Readings and Feelings: An Introduction to Subjective Criticism by David Bleich
This is book I read in my Masters Degree program (back in the dark ages), but it is still relevant. It goes deep into Reader Response Approaches of literary theory. (For more on Reader Response, be sure to check out this post.)
A Sea of Trouble: Pairing Literary and Information Texts to Address Social Inequity by Elizabeth James and BH James
I was asked to review this book a while back. It is a quick read that dives into reading with an eye to social justice. This book does a great job of pairing classic texts, sometimes troubling texts (*ahem*, The Merchant of Venice. *ahem* To Kill a Mockingbird) which may be required in your district with texts that help to address the text through Feminist Criticism, Gender Criticism and Critical Race Theory.
The Uses of Enchantment by Bruno Bettelheim
An oldie, but goodie. This was actually the first literary theory book that I read as an undergrad (the really dark ages). This book introduced me to the concept of psychological criticism through original Grimm’s Fairy Tales. I used ideas from this book with my honor English 10 students and they loved it.
The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers
This is the book that introduced me to archetypal criticism. It is the transcript of the interviews between Moyers and Campbell on Moyers’s PBS program from the late 1980s. The book allows you to hone in on Campbell’s literary theory without the technical language of the The Hero with a Thousand Faces.
How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster
I can’t imagine there are many English teachers out there who are not at least familiar with Foster’s quintessential text. However, if you are not familiar, Foster takes you through over 25 critical approaches to literature. This text is a combination of archetypal criticism and formalist criticism, making it perfect for both high school teachers and high school students. Many AP® Literature teacher have students read all or part of this text.
My favorite way to use this text is through literature circles. For more check out Reading Like a Professor Book Clubs.
How to Read Novels Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster
Much like Literature Like a Professor, Novels like a Professor is great background. I love the chapters on point of view. I think they give students a great overview of the importance of listening to the voice telling the story.
Twenty-Five Books that Shaped America by Thomas C. Foster
In this Foster book, he takes more of a historical criticism approach which is one that students need more exposure to. It’s also fun to see how many of these texts that he deems most important are in your already read list! For me it was a little more than half.
Literary Theory Books for Personal PD
As we are heading into summer, it is a perfect time to hit your personal professional development with some literary theory books. These books are great because they are not specifically written for teachers, but have so much that high school English teachers can use to inform their instruction. Be sure to let me know in the comments below if you have any favorites that I missed.
Related Resources for Literary Theory
Want to know more about Reader Response Theory, check out this post: Teaching High School Students to Write Reader Response.
Looking for more personal profession development: The Best English Teacher Books: 7 Terrific Nonfiction Texts, or if you feel like you don’t have the time to read, Discover 7 Binge Worthy Podcasts for English Teachers.
From An ELA Experience: The Best English Teacher Books for Teaching Grammar and Mechanics.
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Tie your book clubs to to How to Read Literature Like a Professor with Reading Like a Professor Book Clubs.
Give your students all the foundations with Literary Criticism Anchor Charts and Task Cards.
This post may contain affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission at not cost to you. Your purchases help to keep McLaughlin Teaches English up and running.
The Uses of Enchantment by Bruno Bettelheim
Doing Literary Criticism by Tim Gillespie
A Sea of Trouble: Pairing Literary and Information Texts to Address Social Inequity by Elizabeth James and BH James
Readings and Feelings: An Introduction to Subjective Criticism by David Bleich
The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers
How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster
2 Responses
Very interesting site! Love it as well as I’ ve always loved Lierature!!!!
Thank you!