Literary Theory Site

The story begins in Ancient Greece, where Aristotle's Poetics established the first rules for drama and tragedy. For centuries, the focus was on (imitation)—the idea that literature should reflect nature and provide moral instruction. Critics like John Dryden later expanded these ideas, but the primary goal remained evaluating a work’s beauty and its "universal" truths. The 20th Century Shift: The Text is a Machine

: In the mid-20th century, theorists like those discussed in Jonathan Culler's introduction began seeing literature as a system of signs and codes, much like language itself. The "Theory Wars": Questioning Everything Literary Theory

In the early 1900s, the focus shifted from what a story said to how it was built . The story begins in Ancient Greece, where Aristotle's