Reading and Writing About Literature A Portable Guide

by Gardner, Janet E.

• ISBN13: 9781457606496
• ISBN10: 1457606496
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-08-03
• Publisher: Bedford/St. Martin's

Summary

Far less expensive than comparable guides, Reading and Writing about Literature: A Portable Guideis an ideal supplement for writing courses where literature anthologies and individual literary works that lack writing instruction are assigned. This brief guideintroduces strategies for reading literature, explains the writing process and common writing assignments for literature courses, provides instruction in writing about fiction, poetry, and drama, and includes coverage of writing a research paper and of literary criticism and theory. This volume in the popular Bedford/St. Martin's series of Portable Anthologies and Guides offers a trademark combination of high quality and great value.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. v
Introduction to Reading and Writing About Literature	p. 1
Why Read Literature?	p. 2
Why Write about Literature?	p. 3
What to Expect in a Literature Class	p. 3
Literature and Enjoyment	p. 5
The Role of Good Reading	p. 6
The Value of Rereading	p. 6
Critical Reading	p. 7
The Myth of "Hidden Meaning"	p. 7
Active Reading	p. 8
Annotating	p. 8
"Because I could not stop for Death" (Annotated Poem)	p. 10
Note Taking	p. 11
Journal Keeping	p. 12
Using Reference Materials	p. 13
Asking Critical Questions of Literature	p. 14
Questions about the Text	p. 14
"On My First Son" (Annotated Poem)	p. 15
Questions about the Author	p. 15
Questions about the Cultural Context	p. 16
Questions about the Reader	p. 17
Checklist for Good Reading	p. 19
The Writing Process	p. 21
Prewriting	p. 21
Choosing a Topic	p. 21
Developing an Argument	p. 22
The Thesis	p. 23
Gathering Support for Your Thesis	p. 26
Organizing Your Paper	p. 27
Drafting the Paper	p. 29
Introductions, Conclusions, and Transitions	p. 29
Revising and Editing	p. 32
Global Revision	p. 32
Global Revision Checklist	p. 33
Local Revision	p. 34
Local Revision Checklist	p. 35
Final Editing and Proofreading	p. 35
Final Editing Checklist	p. 36
Peer Editing and Workshops	p. 38
Tips for Writing about Literature	p. 40
Using Quotations Effectively	p. 42
Adding to or Altering a Quotation	p. 43
Omitting Words from a Quotation	p. 44
Quotations within Quotations	p. 44
Quotation Marks with Other Punctuation	p. 44
Quoting from Stories	p. 45
Quoting from Poems	p. 46
Quoting from Plays	p. 47
Manuscript Form	p. 49
Common Writing Assignments	p. 51
Summary	p. 51
Response	p. 53
"Girl"	p. 53
"A Boy's View of 'Girl'"	p. 55
Explication	p. 56
"Upon Julia's Clothes"	p. 57
"Poetry in Motion: Herrick's 'Upon Julia's Clothes'"	p. 58
Analysis	p. 59
"My Last Duchess "	p. 60
"Possessed by the Need for Possession: Browning's 'My Last Duchess'"	p. 62
Comparison and Contrast	p. 63
"After Death"	p. 64
"Speakers for the Dead: Narrators in 'My Last Duchess' and After Death'"	p. 65
Essay Exams	p. 66
Sonnet 73	p. 69
"To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time"	p. 69
Midterm Essay	p. 71
Writing about Stories	p. 72
Elements of Fiction	p. 72
Plot	p. 72
Character	p. 72
Point of View	p. 73
Setting	p. 73
Theme	p. 74
Symbolism	p. 74
Style	p. 74
Stories for Analysis	p. 75
"The Yellow Wallpaper"	p. 75
"The Story of an Hour" (Annotated Story)	p. 89
Questions on the Stories	p. 92
Sample Paper: An Essay That Compares and Contrasts	p. 92
Melanie Smith, "Good Husbands in Bad Marriages"	p. 93
Writing About Poems	p. 96
Elements of Poetry	p. 96
The Speaker	p. 96
The Listener	p. 97
Imagery	p. 97
Sound and Sense	p. 98
Two Poems for Analysis	p. 100
"Sonnet 116" (Annotated Poem)	p. 101
Questions on the Poem	p. 102
"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" (Annotated Poem)	p. 102
Questions on the Poem	p. 107
Sample Paper: An Explication	p. 107
"Shakespeare Defines Love"	p. 108
Writing About Plays	p. 111
Elements of Drama	p. 111
Plot, Character, and Theme	p. 111
Diction	p. 111
Melody and Spectacle	p. 112
Setting	p. 112
How to Read a Play	p. 113
Director's Questions for Play Analysis	p. 114
"Trifles"	p. 115
Sample Paper: An Analysis	p. 126
"Moral Ambiguity and Character Development in Trifles	p. 127
Writing a Literary Research Paper	p. 130
Finding Sources	p. 130
Online Indexes	p. 131
Periodicals	p. 133
Books	p. 134
Interlibrary Loan	p. 134
The Internet	p. 134
Evaluating Sources	p. 135
Working with Sources	p. 136
Quotations	p. 137
Paraphrases and Summaries	p. 137
Commentaries	p. 138
Keeping Track of Your Sources	p. 138
Writing the Paper	p. 139
Refine Your Thesis	p. 139
Organize Your Evidence	p. 139
Start Your Draft	p. 139
Revise	p. 140
Edit and Proofread	p. 140
Understanding and Avoiding Plagiarism	p. 140
What to Document and What Not to Document	p. 143
Documenting Sources: MLA Format	p. 143
In-Text Citations	p. 146
Preparing Your Works Cited List	p. 149
Sample Research Paper	p. 160
"Emily Dickinson's 'Because I could not stop for Death': Challenging Readers' Expectations"	p. 161
Literary Criticism and Literary Theory	p. 166
Formalism and New Criticism	p. 167
Feminist and Gender Criticism	p. 168
Queer Theory	p. 169
Marxist Criticism	p. 169
Cultural Studies	p. 170
Postcolonial Criticism	p. 171
Historical Criticism and New Historicism	p. 172
Psychological Theories	p. 173
Reader-Response Theories	p. 174
Structuralism	p. 176
Poststructuralism and Deconstruction	p. 177
Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms	p. 179
Index of Terms	p. 207
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