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Preface
The main aim of the book is to introduce the methods and techniques of research in English literature to M.A., M.Phil. and Ph.D. students. In India, literary research is still confined to the interpretation and evaluation of a creative writer. In England and America it covers a much wider range and includes such areas as editing of texts, determination of authenticity and chronology, interpretation of literary terms, history of ideas and biography. Now that we have established authors like Aurobindo Ghosh, Sarojini Naidu, Toru Dutt, R.K. Narayan, Raja Rao, Mulk Raj Anand and many others, it will be really a fruitful research activity to edit their texts and determine their chronology. The day is not far away when we shall apply all the methods and techniques of research being applied in England and America and produce definitive editions and standard biographies. Secondly, a large number of research students do not define their critical stance and this is because they have not read modern theories of literature. Naturally, their analysis and interpretation of literary texts is usually muddled. To make them aware of the concepts in modern criticism, a brief summary of the main features of the more important critical theories is given in the chapter entitled Methods. Thirdly, the chapters “The Literary Thesis” and “Bibliographical References” will help students in collecting material and writing theses or doctoral dissertations in a more planned way. The book is not exhaustive and the researcher is advised to consult Richard D. Altick’s The Art of Literary Research, Chauncey Sanders’s An Introduction to Research in Literary History, MLA Handbook for the Writers of Research Papers and Thesis and Assignment Writing. The last two books are available in paperback edition. I am thankful to my wife Veena Sinha for her encouragement and help, and to Dr. K.R. Gupta, Chairman, Atlantic Publishers and Distributors, New Delh