How do literary critics distinguish between story and plot, or between a symbol and an image, or between tone and mood? This third edition answers these and other questions. Considerations of developments such as post-colonialism and cultural materialism are added to existing discussions of feminism, structuralism, post-structuralism, and other theoretical approaches. There is straightforward practical advice on such matters as the analysis of prose passages, and on taking notes and revision, and a section on the writing of essays and answering of examination questions is included. A new section on the novel in an international context enlarges the cultural scope of the book.