The document discusses plasticity theory and yield criteria. It introduces Hooke's law and its limitations under large strains. Generalized Hooke's law is presented for isotropic and anisotropic materials. Common stress-strain curves are shown including elastic-plastic and strain hardening responses. Several yield criteria are covered, including maximum principal stress, Tresca, and von Mises criteria. The von Mises criterion uses a second invariant of stress to predict yielding of ductile materials. An example compares predictions of yielding using Tresca and von Mises criteria for a given stress state in aluminum.