‘Criticism’ or more specifically literary criticism, is the overall term for studies concerned with defining, classifying. Analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating works of literature. Theoretical criticism proposes an explicit theory of literature, in the sense of general principles, together with a set of terms, distinctions, and categories, to be applied to identifying and analyzing works of literature, as well as the criteria (the standards or norms) by which these works and their writers are to be evaluated.
‘Literary Criticism and Theory in the Twentieth Century’ is a work that tries to shade light on and take a review of the developments that took place in the field of major theories in literary criticism all over the world.