Indian Literary Criticism: Theory and Interpretation

Contemporary Indians", says G.N. Devy, "seem to be afflicted by a sense of amnesia in relation to literary history". The affliction is more severe, he feels, in the sphere of literary criticism, not only because older texts are generally unavailable, but also because modern India has lost touch with both the language and the ethos of the critical texts of ancient and medieval India. Students of Indian literature need to have access to India’s critical tradition. This volume takes a step towards providing it and giving teachers, students and scholars-in-the-making easy access to some of the key concepts and ideas in the Indian tradition of literary theorising. In doing so it brings together in one volume some of the most significant literary thinkers in the Indian tradition of the last two millennia.