An initial proposition is made that literary theory is divided into two broad, antithetical camps - one where the focus is purely textual, the other where the focus is on context. Section One is devoted to resolving this central dichotomy by examining issues that are highly contentious within literary theory (the author, intention, value, postmodernism and history). Section Two critiques theory as a whole within the arts and discusses its possible existence in this non-rational environment. It articulates a number of possible responses with consequences for future research and education.

STEVEN EARNSHAW

Acknowledgements - Chapter Outlines - Introduction - PART 1 - Making The Author Function: The Wives of Thomas Pynchon and Paul de Man - Murder Case Man's 'Threat' to Shoot Teddy Bears: Intention in Literary Theory - Well and Truly Fact: Postmodernism and History - About Value - PART 2 - Thanks for the Theory - Alterity: Martin Buber's 'I-Thou' in Literature and the Arts - Impossibility Fiction? If Only... -Despair, Enchantment, Prayer: A Conclusion - Appendix: 'Impossibility Fiction' Conference Blurb - Notes - Works Cited - Index