Previously published in a diversity of magazines and books, these conveniently-gathered literary discussions deal with such authors as Sophocles, Chaucer, Shakespeare, Donne, Marvell, Milton, Defoe, Richardson, Jane Austen, Conrad, Hemingway, Graham Greene, William Golding, Samuel Beckett and Chinua Achebe. Topics include covert plotting, the conceit of the conceit, the fallacies of structuralist and post-structuralist literary theory, delayed decoding, Shakespeare's scepticism, Conrad' s opposition to racism and imperialism, and Hemingway's profoundly ambiguous style. Professor Watts's critical writings have been described as 'fearless', 'perceptive', 'provocative', 'incisive' and 'entertaining'.