Cognitive poetics is a new way of thinking about literature, involving the application of cognitive linguistics and psychology to literary texts. This book is the first introductory text to this growing field.In Cognitive Poetics: An Introduction, the reader is encouraged to re-evaluate the categories used to understand literary reading and analysis. Covering a wide range of literary genres and historical periods, the book encompasses both American and European approaches. Each chapter explores a different cognitive-poetic framework and relates it to a literary text. Including a range of activities, discussion points, suggestions for further reading and a glossarial index, the book is both interactive and highly accessible.Cognitive Poetics: An Introduction is essential reading for students on stylistics and literary-linguistic courses, and will be of interest to all those involved in literary studies, critical theory and linguistics.