Literary Theory ⚡ Secure

: 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

: Thinkers began treating literature like a machine with functioning parts. They practiced "close reading," arguing that the only thing that mattered was the text itself—not the author's biography or the historical context. Literary Theory

The "story" of literary theory is the history of how human beings have moved from simply asking what a story means to asking how language, power, and identity shape that meaning. It is a journey from the classical search for "truth" to a modern understanding of literature as a complex system of cultural forces. The Classical Roots: Art as Mirror : In the mid-20th century, theorists like those