Litteraturhistoriens grundbegrepp

Order, systematics and classification are the beginning of all science. Like every discipline, literary history has its own way of organizing the material and its own store of terms and concepts. Period, genre, national literature, trochee, baroque and tragedy - what do these words actually mean? How are they and hundreds of others used?
While the Basic Concepts of Literary History provides answers to these questions, it shows the varying and sometimes contradictory nature of the terminology and approaches of different periods and scholars.
Much has happened since Staffan Bergsten published the first edition of this book. The revision of the present edition is the responsibility of a younger scholar, Lars Elleström, who adds a contemporary approach to old issues, such as the literary-historical canon. He has also ensured that more recent fictional texts have been included as illustrative examples.
The approach is consistently argumentative and analytical, but thanks to an extensive index, the book can also serve as a reference book.
The book is intended for students of literature at universities and colleges.