Now in its fourth edition, A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature has become a standard introduction to the close reading of literature. It offers students and other readers a variety of ways to interpret a piece of literature, ranging from traditional approaches through the formalist, the psychological, the mythic and archetypal, and into such contemporary approaches as feminist criticism and cultural studies. Applying these diverse approaches to the same five works, the book shows students how various methods offer different insights, enriching their response to and understanding of the individual work. This fourth edition features a new chapter on cultural studies and the inclusion and interpretation of Alice Walker's singularly rich short story, "Everyday Use."