In this section of Readings in Literary Theory, we will focus on the relationship between theory and a handful of well-defined literary issues.  Accordingly, the course will be structured around four concerns: the nature of metaphor, of allusion, of the literary canon, and of literature itself.  Our readings will include various approaches to each of these literary issues, but the course will stress the explanatory power (and explanatory limitations) of individual theories rather than the preoccupations of theoretical schools.  Students will read one essay for each class meeting, and  evaluation will be based on two exams and four short response papers.  The only prerequisite for this course is a budding interest in literature—no experience with literary theory is required.