20世纪80年代的理论热在很大程度上得益于大量优秀文学理论教材的出现。通过对过去几十年来影响最大的几部文学理论教材进行对比分析后可以看到，其背后反映出不同的编写理念。有的编者主要把理论理解为一种批判性话语，也有编者把它理解为一套批评工具。人们对于文学理论的本质和功能的不同理解影响了教材编写的不同路径选择。文学理论不同于科学意义上的“理论”，它虽然也不能脱离实践，却并非对批评实践的归纳概括，而是对它的反思甚至是批判。理论当然也应该对批评实践具有启发和指导作用，但其功能却不局限于此，而是为了能够让我们的文学研究活动更加具有反思意识。

The rise of theory in the 1980s benefited greatly from the emergence of many excellent literary theory textbooks. Through a comparative analysis of the most influential literary theory textbooks in the past few decades, this essay explains their different understandings of the function of theory. Some textbook authors mainly understand theory as a kind of critical discourse, while others view it as a set of critical tools. The different understandings of the essence and function of literary theory led to varying compilations of textbooks. Literary theory is different from scientific theory. While it cannot be uprooted from practice, it is not an induction from critical practices, but a reflection and critique of it. Though theory should shed light on the practice of criticism, its function is not limited to this, but to make our literary research activities more reflective.