Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing, Compact Edition, 6/e

by Roberts, Edgar; Zweig, Robert

• ISBN13: 9780321944788
• ISBN10: 032194478X
• Additional ISBN(s): 9780136040996, 9780205000340, 9790205000363
• Edition: 6th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2015-01-01
• Publisher: PEARSO
• More Book Details

Summary

ALERT: Before you purchase, check with your instructor or review your course syllabus to ensure that you select the correct ISBN. Several versions of Pearson's MyLab & Mastering products exist for each title, including customized versions for individual schools, and registrations are not transferable. In addition, you may need a CourseID, provided by your instructor, to register for and use Pearson's MyLab & Mastering products.

 

Packages

Access codes for Pearson's MyLab & Mastering products may not be included when purchasing or renting from companies other than Pearson; check with the seller before completing your purchase.

 

Used or rental books

If you rent or purchase a used book with an access code, the access code may have been redeemed previously and you may have to purchase a new access code.

 

Access codes

Access codes that are purchased from sellers other than Pearson carry a higher risk of being either the wrong ISBN or a previously redeemed code. Check with the seller prior to purchase.

 

For literature-based Composition II and Introduction to Literature courses.

 

Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing, Compact Sixth Edition is founded on the principles of writing about literature. First, students learn how to engage deeply and critically with a broad selection of stories, poems, and plays. Second, the writing process is carefully and thoroughly integrated into the presentation of all literary genres, elements, and major writers throughout the entire text. Complete coverage of writing about each literary element, “casebooks” that allow for deeper exploration of important writers in each genre, and a total of 53 exemplary student essays and paragraphs with accompanying commentary ensure that students gain a thorough comprehension of the conventions, strategies, and organizational patterns to allow them to think critically about literature and to produce thoughtful and compelling essays, paragraphs, documented research papers, and examination responses.

 

 

Author Biography

About Edgar V. Roberts

 

Edgar V. Roberts, Emeritus Professor of English at Lehman College of The City University of New York, is a native of Minnesota. He graduated from the Minneapolis public schools in 1946, and received his Doctorate from the University of Minnesota in 1960. He taught English at Minnesota, the University of Maryland Overseas Division, Wayne State University, Hunter College, and Lehman College. From 1979 to 1988, He was Chair of the English Department of Lehman College.

 

He served in the U.S. Army in 1946 and 1947, seeing duty in Arkansas, the Philippine Islands, and Colorado.

He published articles about the plays of Henry Fielding, the subject of his Ph.D. dissertation. In 1968 he published a scholarly edition of John Gay's The Beggar's Opera (1728), and in 1969 he published a similar edition of Fielding's The Grub-Street Opera (1731), both with the University of Nebraska Press. He first published Writing About Literature (then named Writing Themes About Literature) in 1964, with Prentice Hall. Since then, this book has undergone twelve separate revisions, for a total of thirteen editions. In 1986, with Henry E. Jacobs of the University of Alabama, he published the first edition of Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. After Professor Jacobs's untimely death in the summer of 1986, Professor Roberts continued working on changes and revisions to keep this text up to date. The Ninth Edition was published early in 2009, with Pearson Longman. The Fourth Compact Edition of Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing was published in 2008.

 

Professor Roberts is an enthusiastic devoté of symphonic music and choral singing, having sung in local church choirs for forty years. Recently he has sung (bass) with the New Choral Society of Scarsdale, New York (where he lives), singing in classic works by Handel, Beethoven, Bruckner, Bach, Orff, Britten, Brahms, and others. He is a fan of both the New York Mets and the New York Yankees. When the two teams play in inter-league games, he is uneasy because he dislikes seeing either team lose. He also likes both the Giants and the Jets. He has been an avid jogger ever since the early 1960s, and he enjoys watching national and international track meets.

 

Professor Roberts encourages queries, comments, and suggestions from students who have been using any of the various books. Use the following email address: [e-mail].
 

About Robert Zweig

Robert Zweig is a tenured, full professor at Manhattan Community College of the City University of New York.  He teaches courses in Literature and Writing and for many years was the Intensive Writing Coordinator for the college.

He has a doctorate in English Literature from the City University of New York, a Masters from Queens College in creative writing and a bachelor’s degree from Queens College in English literature. Dr. Zweig has numerous peer-reviewed publications in journals, encyclopedias and books. Dr. Zweig is co-author of Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing, a bestselling introduction to literature textbook published by Pearson.  His translations of the Italian poet and Nobel Laureate Eugentio Montale appear in this text.

 

Dr. Zweig has lectured extensively throughout the United States and Italy on Victorian Literature, Poetics and contemporary culture. Some of the American universities he has addressed include Notre Dame, New York University, University of California, Harvard, University of Illinois, University of Delaware, Rutgers University and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.

 

He has received several scholarships and awards, including a Mellon Fellowship and the Phi Beta Kappa award for “Outstanding Teaching Skills” as one of the Top Ten Professors at Manhattan Community College.

 

Table of Contents

***** NEW SECTIONS ARE INDICATED WITH "(NEW)" AT THE END OF THE LINE. 

 

Detailed Table of Contents

 

Topical and Thematic Contents                                                                                              

 

Preface                                                                                                                                       

 

PART I  The Process of Reading, Responding to, and Writing About Literature   

What Is Literature, and Why Do We Study It?            

Types of Literature: The Genres   

Reading Literature and Responding to It Actively   

GUY DE MAUPASSANT The Necklace   

To go to a ball, Mathilde Loisel borrows a necklace from a rich friend, but the evening of her dreams has unforeseen consequences.

Reading and Responding in a Computer File or Notebook   

Sample Notebook Entries on Maupassant's "The Necklace"

Major Stages in Thinking and Writing About Literary Topics: Discovering Ideas, Preparing to Write, Making an Initial Draft of Your Essay, and Completing the Essay

Writing Does Not Come Easily–for Anyone   

The Goal of Writing: To Show a Process of Thought   

Discovering Ideas ("Brainstorming")   

     Study the Characters in the Work      

     Determine the Work’s Historical Period and Background   

     Analyze the Work’s Economic and Social Conditions   

     Explain the Work’s Major Ideas   

     Describe the Work’s Artistic Qualities  

     Explain Any Other Approaches That Seem Important   

Preparing to Write  

     Build Ideas from Your Original Notes   

     Trace Patterns of Action and Thought   

The Need for the Actual Physical Process of Writing    

     Raise and Answer Your Own Questions

     Put Ideas Together Using a Plus-Minus, Pro-Con, or Either-Or Method

Originate and Develop Your Thoughts Through Writing   

Making an Initial Draft of Your Essay     

Base Your Essay on a Central Idea, Argument, or Statement   

The Need for a Sound Argument in Essays About Literature   

 Create a Thesis Sentence as Your Guide to Organization     

     Begin Each Paragraph with a Topic Sentence     

     Select Only One Topic–No More–for Each Paragraph   

Referring to the Names of Authors  

     Use Your Topic Sentences as the Arguments for Your Paragraph Development   

The Use of Verb Tenses in the Discussion of Literary Works     

     Develop an Outline as the Means of Organizing Your Essay 

Basic Writing Types: Paragraphs and Essays   

    A Paragraph Assignment  

    Commentary on the Paragraph  

Illustrative Student Essay (First Draft):How Setting in "The Necklace" Is Related to the Character of Mathilde     

Completing the Essay: Developing and Strengthening Your Essay Through Revision   

     Make Your Own Arrangement of Details and Ideas     

     Use Literary Material as Evidence to Support Your Argument     

     Always Keep to Your Point; Stick to It Tenaciously   

     Check Your Development and Organization   

     Try to Be Original     

     Write with Specific Readers as Your Intended Audience     

     Use Exact, Comprehensive, and Forceful Language     

Illustrative Student Essay (Improved Draft):How Maupassant Uses Setting in "The Necklace" to Show the Character of Mathilde     

     Commentary on the Essay   

     Essay Commentaries   

A Summary of Guidelines  

Writing Topics About the Writing Process   

Using Sources Effectively   

A Short Guide to the Use of References and Quotations in Essays About Literature  

Integrate Passages and Ideas into Your Essay   

Distinguish Your Thoughts from Those of Your Author   

Integrate Material by Using Quotation Marks     

Blend Quotations into Your Own Sentences   

Indent Long Quotations and Set Them in Block Format     

Use an Ellipsis to Show Omissions   

Use Square Brackets to Enclose Words That You Add Within Quotations     

Be Careful Not to Overquote   

Preserve the Spellings in Your Source   

PART II  Reading and Writing About Fiction                      

          

1   Fiction: An Overview   

Modern Fiction   

The Short Story    

Elements of Fiction I: Verisimilitude and Donnée

Elements of Fiction II: Character, Plot, Structure, and Idea or Theme

Elements of Fiction III: The Writer’s Tools   

Visualizing Fiction: Cartoons, Graphic Narratives, Graphic Novels  

Dan Piraro, from Bizarro   •  Art Spiegelman, from Maus (Expanded)

STORIES FOR STUDY  

INES ARREDONDO The Shunammite                (NEW)

A condemned man dreams of escape, freedom, and family A young woman agrees to nurse her dying uncle, but then must face a more difficult decision. .

AMBROSE BIERCE  An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge   

A condemned man dreams of escape, freedom, and family.

SANDRA CISNEROS   Mericans   

As a group of Mexican American children play together, they develop understanding of both their personal and national identities.

WILLIAM FAULKNER A Rose for Emily

Even seemingly ordinary people hide deep and bizarre mysteries.

TIM O’BRIEN  The Things They Carried   

During the Vietnam War, American soldiers carry not only their weighty equipment but many memories.

Plot: The Motivation and Causality of Fiction 

Writing About the Plot of a Story

Illustrative Student Essay: Plot in Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily"

Commentary on the Essay

Using Sources Effectively: Quoting an Author's Work

Writing Topics About Plot in Fiction   

2   Point of View: The Position or Stance of the Work’s Narrator or Speaker   

An Exercise in Point of View: Reporting an Accident   

Conditions That Affect Point of View   

Point of View and Opinions   

Determining a Work’s Point of View   

Mingling Points of View   

Point of View and Verb Tense   

Summary: Guidelines for Points of View    

STORIES FOR STUDY 

RAYMOND CARVER  Cathedral   

A husband and wife receive a blind visitor who affects the husband's way of seeing things.

SHIRLEY JACKSON  The Lottery   

What would it be like if the prize at a community-sponsored lottery were not the cash that people ordinarily hope to win?

JOYCE CAROL OATES    Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been   

A teenage girl is visited by an aggressive stranger who does not take “no” for an answer.

ZZ PACKER  Brownies  

What happens at Camp Crescendo after the girls in Laurel’s Brownie Troop decide to attack the girls in Brownie Troop 909?

Writing About Point of View  

Illustrative Student Essay: Shirley Jackson’s Dramatic Point of View in “The Lottery”  

Commentary on the Essay   

Using Sources Effectively: Summary  

Writing Topics About Point of View     

3  Characters: The People in Fiction                  

Character Traits    

How Authors Disclose Character in Literature     

Types of Characters: Round and Flat     

Reality and Probability: Verisimilitude   

STORIES FOR STUDY

ERNEST J. GAINES The Sky Is Gray (NEW)

The Sky is Grey: On a trip with his mother, a boy learns about the harshness of life and what it takes to survive.

SUSAN GLASPELL  A Jury of Her Peers   

In a small farmhouse kitchen early in the twentieth century, the wives of men investigating a murder discover significant evidence that forces them to make an urgent decision. What is the definition of a "brave" man, and does that mean he commands fear or respect? 

ZORA NEALE HURSTON Spunk              (NEW)

What is the definition of a "brave" man, and does that mean he commands fear or respect?

KATHERINE MANSFIELD  Miss Brill   

Miss Brill goes to the park for a pleasant afternoon, but she does not find what she was expecting.

AMY TAN  Two Kinds   

Jing-Mei leads her own kind of life despite the wishes and hopes of her mother.

Writing About Character

Illustrative Student Essay: The Character of Minnie Wright in Glaspell’s “A Jury of Her Peers”

Commentary on the Essay

Writing Topics About Character

4   Setting: The Background of Place, Objects, and Culture in Stories                                                               

What Is Setting?  

The Literary Uses of Setting   

STORIES FOR STUDY  

JAMES JOYCE  Araby   

An introspective boy learns much about himself when he tries to keep a promise.

CYNTHIA OZICK   The Shawl   

Can a mother in a Nazi concentration camp save her starving and crying baby?

EDGAR ALLAN POE   The Cask of Amantillado   

A vengeful courtier tempts an enemy with a bottle of fine wine.

LESLIE MARMON SILKO   The Man to Send Rain Clouds               (NEW)

When a Native American dies, his friends must pose their respect for ancient tribal beliefs with the conventions of contemporary religion.

Writing About Setting

Illustrative Student Essay: The Interaction of Story and Setting in James Joyce’s “Araby”

Commentary on the Essay

Writing Topics About Setting

 

5   Structure: The Organization of Stories          

Formal Categories of Structure    

Formal and Actual Structure  

STORIES FOR STUDY    

RALPH ELLISON  Battle Royal   

An intelligent black student, filled with hopes and dreams, is treated with monstrous indignity.

GERI LIPSCHULTZ Slow Dance of the Heart               (NEW)

Mei Ling Teng's long life leading from the Orient to the United States has been filled with the deprivation, agony, and insult of war, but she has also known love

DANIEL OROZCO  Orientation   

A new employee is introduced to the rather unusual and surprising situations in the office.

EUDORA WELTY   A Worn Path   

Phoenix Jackson, a devoted grandmother, walks a worn path on a mission of great love.

Writing About Structure in a Story

Illustrative Student Essay: The Structure of Eudora Welty’s ”A Worn Path”

Commentary on the Essay

Writing Topics About Structure

6   Tone and Style: The Words That Convey Attitudes in Fiction         

Diction: The Writer’s Choice and Control of Words     

Tone, Irony, and Style   

Tone, Humor, and Style  

STORIES FOR STUDY   

KATE CHOPIN  The Story of an Hour  

Louise Mallard is shocked and grieved by news that her husband has been killed, but she is in for an even greater shock.

DAGOBERTO GILB   Love in L.A.   

In L.A., people often meet each other under the most unusual and improbable circumstances.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY  Hills Like White Elephants

While waiting for a train, a man and woman reluctantly discuss an urgent situation.

FRANK O’CONNOR  First Confession  

Jackie as a young man tells about his first childhood experience with confession.

JOHN UPDIKE  A & P   

As a checkout clerk at the A & P near the local beaches, Sammy experiences the consequences of a difficult choice.

Writing About Tone and Style

Illustrative Student Essay: Frank O’Connor’s Control of Tone and Style in “First Confession"

Commentary on the Essay   

Writing Topics About Tone and Style   

7   Symbolism and Allegory: Keys to Extended Meaning   

Symbolism   

Allegory   

Fable, Parable, and Myth   

Allusion in Symbolism and Allegory   

 

STORIES FOR STUDY  

AESOP The Fox and the Grapes   

What do people think about things that they can’t have?

ANONYMOUS  The Myth of Atalanta   

In ancient times, how could a superior woman maintain power
and integrity? 

ANITA SCOTT COLEMAN   Unfinished Masterpieces             (NEW)

How do we judge whether people have lived up to their fullest potential, and what effects the way people develop over their lives?

NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE  Young Goodman Brown  

In colonial Salem, Goodman Brown has a bewildering experience that changes his outlook on life.

LUKE  The Parable of the Prodigal Son   

Is there any limit to what a person can do to make divine forgiveness impossible?

KATHERINE ANNE PORTER  The Jilting of Granny Weatherall   

As the end nears, Granny Weatherall has her memories and is surrounded by her loving adult children.

JOHN STEINBECK  The Chrysanthemums   

As a housewife on a small ranch, Elisa Allen experiences changes to her sense of self-worth.

Writing About Symbolism and Allegory     

Illustrative Student Essay (Symbolism): Symbols of Light and Darkness in Porter’s “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall”      

Commentary on the Essay About Symbolism  

Second Illustrative Student Essay (Allegory): The Allegory of Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown”     

Commentary on the Essay About Allegory   

Writing Topics About Symbolism and Allegory  

8   Idea or Theme: The Meaning and the Message in Fiction    

Ideas and Assertions  

Ideas and Issues  

Ideas and Values  

The Place of Ideas in Literature  

How to Find Ideas  

STORIES FOR STUDY     

MARGARET ATWOOD    Happy Endings            (NEW)

How accurately does the word "happy" fit any of these endings, and why?

TONI CADE BAMBARA  The Lesson   

When a group of children visits a toy store for the wealthy, some of them draw conclusions about society and themselves.

D. H. LAWRENCE  The Horse Dealer’s Daughter   

Dr. Jack Fergusson and Mabel Pervin find, in each other’s love, a new reason for being.

AMÉRICO PAREDES  The Hammon and the Beans   

Is American liberty restricted to people of only one group, or is it for everyone?

Writing About a Major Idea in Fiction   

Illustrative Student Essay: D. H. Lawrence’s “The Horse Dealer’s Daughter” as an Expression of the Idea that Loving Commitment Is Essential in Life   

Commentary on the Essay   

Writing Topics About Ideas    

 

 

9     A Casebook of Four Stories by Edgar Allan Poe with Critical Readings for Research                  

Poe’s Life and Career   

Poe’s Work as a Journalist and Writer of Fiction   

Poe’s Reputation   

Bibliographic Sources   

Writing Topics About Poe   

FOUR STORIES BY EDGAR ALLAN POE (CHRONOLOGICALLY ARRANGED)  

The Fall of the House of Usher (1839)   

The Masque of the Red Death (1842)   

The Black Cat (1843) 

The Tell-Tale Heart (1843/1850)             (NEW)

Edited Selections from Criticism of Poe’s Stories   

1. Poe’s Irony     •  2. The Narrators of “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Fall of the House of Usher”    •  3. “The Fall of the House of Usher”     •  4. “The Black Cat” and  “The Tell-Tale Heart”     •  5. “The Masque of the Red Death”     •  6. Symbolism in “The Masque of the Red Death”     •  7. “The Masque of the Red Death” as Representative of a “Diseased Age”      •  8. Sources and Analogues of “The Cask of Amontillado”     •  9. Poe’s Idea of Unity and “The Fall of the House of Usher”     •  10. The Narrators of “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Black Cat”     •  11. Poe, Women, and “The Fall of the House of Usher”     •  12. The Deceptive Narrator of “The Black Cat”   

 10   Collection of Stories for Additional Enjoyment and Study         

WILLIAM FAULKNER   Barn Burning  

A young country boy grows in awareness, conscience, and individuality despite his hostile father.

CHARLOTTE PERKINS GILMAN  The Yellow Wallpaper   

Who is the woman who is trying to emerge from behind the yellow wallpaper?

JAMAICA  KINCAID   Girl             (NEW)

Despite the "generation gap," a mother tries to teach her daughter how to behave properly

FLANNERY O'CONNOR A Good Man Is Hard to Find   

“The grandmother didn’t want to go to Florida. She wanted to visit some of her connections in east Tennessee. . . .”

ALICE WALKER  Everyday Use   

Mrs. Johnson, with her daughter Maggie, is visited by her citified daughter Dee, whose return home is accompanied by surprises.

 

 

10A  Writing a Research Essay on Fiction                

Selecting a Topic   

Setting Up a Working Bibliography   

      Locating Sources     

      Searching the Internet   

                Evaluating Sources (box)   

      Searching Library Resources   

                Important Considerations About Computer-Aided Research (box)  

       Reviewing the Bibliographies in Major Critical Studies on Your Topic     

        Consulting Bibliographical Guides

        Gaining Access to Books and Articles Through Databases  

Taking Notes and Paraphrasing Material  

         Taking Complete and Accurate Notes   

Plagiarism: An Embarrassing but Vital Subject—and a Danger to be           Overcome  (box)   

Being Creative and Original While Doing Research   

Documenting Your Work   

       Integrating and Attributing Your Sources (BOX)   

Strategies for Organizing Ideas in Your Research Essay     

Illustrative Student Essay Using Research: The Structure of Katherine Mansfield’s “Miss     Brill”   

Commentary on the Essay    

Using Sources Effectively: Paraphrasing to Avoid Plagiarism   

Writing Topics About How to Undertake a Research Essay     

PART III  Reading and Writing About Poetry   

 

11   Meeting Poetry: An Overview                            

The Nature of Poetry  

BILLY COLLINS  Schoolsville   

LISEL MUELLER  Hope  

ROBERT HERRICK  Here a Pretty Baby Lies   

Poetry of the English Language   

How to Read a Poem   

Studying Poetry   

Anonymous  Sir Patrick Spens   

POEMS FOR STUDY     

GWENDOLYN BROOKS  The Mother   

EMILY DICKINSON  Because I Could Not Stop for Death   

RITA DOVE The House Slave             (NEW)

ROBERT FRANCIS  Catch   

ROBERT FROST  Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening   

THOMAS HARDY  The Man He Killed   

JOY HARJO  Eagle Poem   

RANDALL JARRELL  The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner   

BEN JONSON  On My First Daughter   

KENNETH KOCH Variations on a Theme by William Carlos Williams             (NEW)

LOUIS MACNEICE  Snow   

MAGUS MAGNUS An Old Soldier Cleans His Rifle for the Last Time             (NEW)

JIM NORTHRUP  Ogichidag   

NAOMI SHIHAB NYE  Where Children Live   

LOUIS SIMPSON American Poetry             (NEW)

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE  Sonnet 55: Not Marble, Nor the Gilded Monuments   

ELAINE TERRANOVA  Rush Hour   

WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS This Is Just to Say             (NEW)

WILLIAM WORDSWORTH   Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey   

Writing a Paraphrase of a Poem (Paragraph Length)   

Illustrative Student Paraphrase: A Paraphrase of Thomas Hardy’s “The Man He Killed”        

Commentary on the Paraphrase     

Writing an Explication of a Poem (Essay Length)   

Illustrative Student Essay: An Explication of Thomas Hardy’s “ Man He Killed”   

Commentary on the Essay  

Using Sources Effectively: Paraphrasing to Set the Stage for Analysis   

Writing Topics About the Nature of Poetry   

 

12 Words: The Building Blocks of Poetry   

Choice of Diction: Specific and Concrete, General and Abstract   

Levels of Diction   

Special Types of Diction     

Syntax   

Decorum: The Matching of Subject and Word (BOX) 

Denotation and Connotation   

ROBERT GRAVES  The Naked and the Nude   

POEMS FOR STUDY     

JOHN ASHBERY   The Cathedral Is             (NEW)

CHARLES BEAUDELAIRE Exotic Perfumes             (NEW)

WILLIAM BLAKE The Lamb   

LEWIS CARROLL  Jabberwocky   

HAYDEN CARRUTH  An Apology for Using the Word “Heart” in Too Many Poems   

ROBERT CREELEY   I Know a Man             (NEW)

E. E. CUMMINGS  next to of course god america I    

JOHN DONNE  Holy Sonnet 14: Batter My Heart, Three-Personed God   

A. E. HOUSMAN  To an Athlete Dying Young             (NEW)

CAROLYN KIZER  Night Sounds     

DENISE LEVERTOV  Of Being  

GERI LIPSCHULTZ   In the Beginning of the End             (NEW)

JUDITH ORTIZ COFER  Latin Women Pray   

EDWIN ARLINGTON ROBINSON  Richard Cory  

THEODORE ROETHKE  Dolor  

KAY RYAN  Crib    

STEPHEN SPENDER I Think Continually of Those Who Were Truly Great   

WALLACE STEVENS  Disillusionment of Ten O’Clock    

MARK STRAND  Eating Poetry   

NATASHA TRETHEWEY  White Lies            (NEW)

WILLIAM WORDSWORTH  Daffodils (I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud)  

PAUL ZIMMER  The Day Zimmer Lost Religion   

Writing About Diction and Syntax in Poetry  

Illustrative Student Essay: Diction and Character in Robinson’s “Richard Cory”  

Commentary on the Essay   

Using Sources Effectively: Summarizing to Provide Necessary Background   

Writing Topics About the Words of Poetry   

 

13   IMAGERY: THE POEM’S LINK TO THE SENSES   

Responses and the Writer’s Use of Detail   

The Relationship of Imagery to Ideas and Attitudes   

Types of Imagery   

JOHN MASEFIELD   Cargoes  

WILFRED OWEN   Anthem for Doomed Youth   

ELIZABETH BISHOP The Fish     

POEMS FOR STUDY  

ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING  Sonnets from the Portuguese, Number 14: If Thou Must Love Me   

SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE  Kubla Khan     

T. S. ELIOT Preludes  

LOUISE ERDRICH    Indian Boarding School: The Runaways   

SUSAN GRIFFIN  Love Should Grow Up Like a Wild Iris in the Fields  

THOMAS HARDY  Channel Firing  

H. D. (HILDA DOOLITTLE)   Heat             (NEW)

GEORGE HERBERT  The Pulley   

GERARD MANLEY HOPKINS  Spring     

ROBINSON JEFFERS   Hurt Hawks             (NEW)

DENISE LEVERTOV  A Time Past  

AMY LOWELL The Taxi             (NEW)

THOMAS LUX  The Voice You Hear When You Read Silently     

MARIANNE MOORE The Fish  

PABLO NERUDA  Every Day You Play     

EDGAR ALLAN POE   To Helen             (NEW)

EZRA POUND In a Station of the Metro   

BENJAMIN ALIRE S ÁENZ To the Desert              (NEW)

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE  Sonnet 13: My Mistress’ Eyes Are Nothing Like the Sun     

CHARLES SIMIC   Fork             (NEW)

JAMES TATE  Dream On  

DAVID WOJAHN  “It’s Only Rock and Roll, but I Like It”: The Fall of Saigon  

Writing About Imagery  

Illustrative Student Essay: Imagery in Masefield's "Cargoes"   

Commentary on the Essay   

Writing Topics About Imagery in Poetry   

14   FIGURES OF SPEECH, OR METAPHORICAL LANGUAGE: A SOURCE OF DEPTH AND RANGE IN POETRY  

Metaphors and Similes: The Major Figures of Speech     

Characteristics of Metaphorical Language  

JOHN KEATS  On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer   

Vehicle and Tenor   

Other Figures of Speech     

JOHN KEATS Bright Star     

POEMS FOR STUDY     

WILLIAM BLAKE  The Tyger   

ROBERT BURNS  A Red, Red Rose  

JOHN DONNE  A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning   

ALAN DUGAN   Untitled Poem II            (NEW)

FEDERICO GARCÍA LORCA   Sonnet of the Sweet Complaint             (NEW)

John Gay   Let Us take the Road  

THOMAS HARDY The Convergence of the Twain   

JOY HARJO  Remember  

JOHN KEATS To Autumn   

JANE KENYON  Let Evening Come     

JUDITH MINTY  Conjoined  

OGDEN NASH   Exit, Pursued by a Bear                 (NEW)

PABLO NERUDA If You Forget Me  

MARY OLIVER   Showing the Birds   

MARGE PIERCY  A Work of Artifice   

MARGUERITE RIVAS   Pilgrimage             (NEW)

MURIEL RUKEYSER  Looking at Each Other  

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE  Sonnet 18: Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?     

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE  Sonnet 30: When to the Sessions of Sweet Silent Thought   

ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON   Break, Break, Break             (NEW)

ELIZABETH TUDOR, QUEEN ELIZABETH I  On Monsieur’s Departure     

MONA VAN DUYN Earth Tremors Felt in Missouri    

DIANE WAKOSKI    Inside Out              (NEW)

WALT WHITMAN  Facing West from California’s Shores  

WILLIAM WORDSWORTH  London, 1802  

SIR THOMAS WYATT  I Find No Peace  

Writing Topics About Figures of Speech   

Illustrative Student Paragraph: Wordsworth’s Use of Overstatement in “London, 1802”   

Commentary on the Paragraph   

Illustrative Student Essay: A Study of Shakespeare’s Metaphors in Sonnet 30: “When to the Sessions of Sweet Silent Thought”     

Commentary on the Essay   

Writing Topics About Figures of Speech in Poetry     

15   TONE: THE CREATION OF ATTITUDE IN POETRY       

Tone, Choice, and Response  

CORNELIUS WHUR  The First-Rate Wife  

Tone and the Need for Control 

WILFRED OWEN  Dulce et Decorum Est     

Tone and Common Grounds of Assent      

Tone in Conversation and Poetry  

Tone and Irony   

THOMAS HARDY  The Workbox     

Tone and Satire  

ALEXANDER POPE  Epigram from the French  

ALEXANDER POPE  Epigram, Engraved on the Collar of a Dog Which I Gave to His Royal Highness  

POEMS FOR STUDY     

W. H. AUDEN   The Unknown Citizen   

WILLIAM BLAKE On Another’s Sorrow   

JIMMY CARTER I Wanted to Share My Father’s World   

LUCILLE CLIFTON homage to my hips  

BILLY COLLINS  The Names  

COUNTEE CULLEN   Yet Do I Marvel             (NEW)

E. E. CUMMINGS  she being Brand / -new  

MARTIN ESPADA   Bully   

MARI EVANS I Am a Black Woman     

SEAMUS HEANEY Mid-Term Break     

WILLIAM ERNEST HENLEY  When You Are Old     

DAVID IGNATOW  The Bagel            (NEW)

YUSEF KOMUNYAKAA  Facing It             (NEW)

ABRAHAM LINCOLN  My Childhood’s Home     

CHRISTOPHER OKIGBO   Bright             (NEW)

SHARON OLDS  The Planned Child   

ARTHUR O'SHAUGHNESSY   A Love Symphony             (NEW)

ROBERT PINSKY  Dying     

SALVATORE QUASÍMODO  Auschwitz     

THEODORE ROETHKE  My Papa’s Waltz  

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE   Fear No More the Heat o' th' Sun   

CATHY SONG      Lost Sister  

C. K. WILLIAMS  Dimensions   

WILLIAM WORDSWORTH The Solitary Reaper   

JAMES WRIGHT    Autumn Begins in Martins Ferry, Ohio             (NEW)

JAMES WRIGHT   Two Hangovers              (NEW) 

WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS  When You Are Old   

Writing About Tone in Poetry     

Illustrative Student Essay: The Speaker’s Attitudes in Sharon Olds’s “The Planned Child”   

Commentary on the Essay   

Writing Topics About Tone in Poetry   

16   FORM: THE SHAPE OF POEMS                                    

Closed-Form Poetry  

ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON  The Eagle  

ANONYMOUS  Spun in High, Dark Clouds     

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE  Sonnet 116: Let Me Not to the Marriage of True Minds     

Open-Form Poetry  

 WALT WHITMAN   When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer             (NEW)

Visualizing Poetry: Poetry and Artistic Expression: Visual Poetry, Concrete Poetry, and Prose Poems  

E. E. CUMMINGS  Buffalo Bill’s Defunct     

WILLIAM HEYEN  Mantle     

MAY SWENSON  Women     

CAROLYN FORCHÉ  The Colonel  

POEMS FOR STUDY   

JOHN BERRYMAN   Dream Song 14             (NEW)

ELIZABETH BISHOP  One Art   

ELIZABETH BISHOP  Sestina             (NEW)

BILLY COLLINS  Sonnet   

JOHN DRYDEN  To the Memory of Mr. Oldham   

LAWRENCE FERLINGHETTI, Constantly Risking Absurdity             (NEW)

ROBERT FROST Desert Places   

ALLEN GINSBERG  A Supermarket in California     

GEORGE HERBERT  Virtue   

 BEN JONSON    To Celia             (NEW)

JOHN KEATS  Ode to a Nightingale   

YUSEF KOMUNYAKAA    Grenade    

CLAUDE McKAY  In Bondage     

JOHN MILTON On His Blindness (When I Consider How My Light Is Spent)   

DUDLEY RANDALL  Ballad of Birmingham   

THEODORE ROETHKE  The Waking   

PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY  Ozymandias     

DYLAN THOMAS Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night   

JEAN TOOMER  Reapers   

PHYLLIS WEBB  Poetics Against the Angel of Death     

WALT WHITMAN    Reconciliation            (NEW)

WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS  The Dance     

Writing About Form in Poetry     

Illustrative Student Essay: Form and Meaning in George Herbert’s “Virtue”  

Commentary on the Essay    

Writing Topics About Poetic Form   

17   SYMBOLISM AND ALLUSION: WINDOWS TO WIDE EXPANSES OF MEANING   

Symbolism and Meanings  

VIRGINIA SCOTT  Snow   

The Function of Symbolism in Poetry   

Allusions and Meaning   

Studying for Symbols and Allusions   

POEMS FOR STUDY   

AMIRI BARAKA   Legacy              (NEW)

EMILY BRONTË  No Coward Soul Is Mine      

MARILYN CHIN   Autumn Leaves              (NEW)

LUCILLE CLIFTON   cutting greens              (NEW)

ARTHUR HUGH CLOUGH  Say Not the Struggle Nought Availeth     

JOHN DONNE  The Canonization    

STEPHEN DUNN  Hawk     

ISABELLA GARDNER  Collage of Echoes    

DAN GEORGAKIS  Hiroshima Crewman     

THOMAS HARDY  In Time of “The Breaking of Nations”   

GEORGE HERBERT  The Collar      

ROBINSON JEFFERS  The Purse-Seine     

JOHN KEATS  La Belle Dame Sans Merci: A Ballad     

X. J. KENNEDY  Old Men Pitching Horseshoes     

ANDREW MARVELL   To His Coy Mistress   

CAROL MUSKE DUKES   Real Estate              (NEW)

MARY OLIVER   Wild Geese   

KAY RYAN   We're Building the Ship as We Sail It   

GARY SNYDER   Milton by Firelight   

JUDITH VIORST   A Wedding Sonnet for the Next Generation   

WALT WHITMAN   A Noiseless Patient Spider   

RICHARD WILBUR   Year's End   

WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS   The Second Coming   

Writing About Symbolism and Allusion in Poetry   

Illustrative Student Essay: Symbolism in Oliver's "Wild Geese"   

Commentary on the Essay   

Writing Topics About Symbolism and Allusion in Poetry   

18    FOUR MAJOR AMERICAN POETS: EMILY DICKINSON,  ROBERT FROST, LANGSTON HUGHES,  AND SYLVIA PLATH   

EMILY DICKINSON’S Life and Work   

Topics for Writing About the Poetry of Emily Dickinson     

POEMS BY EMILY DICKINSON (ALPHABETICALLY ARRANGED)     

A Narrow Fellow in the Grass (J986, F1096)              (NEW)

After Great Pain, a Formal Feeling Comes (J341, F372)     

Because I Could Not Stop for Death (J712, F479) (Included in Chapter 11, p.   )

The Bustle in a House (J1078, F1108)     

"Faith" Is a Fine Invention (J185, F202)             (NEW)

I Cannot Live with You (J640, F706)      

I Died for Beauty – But Was Scarce (J449, F448)      

I Dwell in Possibility (F466, J657)      

I Felt a Funeral in My Brain (J280, F340)      

I Heard a Fly Buzz – When I Died (J465, F591)      

I Like to See It Lap the Miles (J585, F383)      

I’m Nobody! Who Are You? (J288, F260)     

I Never Lost as Much but Twice (J49, F39)     

I Taste a Liquor Never Brewed (J214, F207)     

Much Madness Is Divinest Sense (J435, F620)      

My Life Closed Twice Before Its Close (J1732, F1773)     

One Need Not Be a Chamber – To Be Haunted (J670, F407)    

Safe in Their Alabaster Chambers (J216, F124)      

Some Keep the Sabbath Going to Church (J324, F236)      

The Soul Selects Her Own Society (J303, F409)     

Success Is Counted Sweetest (J67, F112)     

Tell All the Truth but Tell It Slant (J1129, F1263)     

There Is No Frigate Like a Book (J1263, F1286)             (NEW)

There’s a Certain Slant of Light (J258, F320)     

Triumph May Be of Several Kinds (J455, F680)     

¿ ¿Wild Nights – Wild Nights! (J249, F269)      

Edited Selections from Criticism of Dickinson’s Poems     

1. From “Orthodox Modernisms”     

2. From “The Landscape of the Spirit”      

3. From “The American Plain Style”     

 4. From “The Histrionic Imagination”     

5. From  “The Gothic Mode”   

ROBERT FROST’S LIFE AND WORK    

Writing Topics About the Poetry of Robert Frost      

POEMS BY ROBERT FROST (CHRONOLOGICALLY ARRANGED)      

In White (1912)             (NEW)

Mending Wall (1914)     

After Apple-Picking (1915)             (NEW)

Birches (1915)      

The Road Not Taken (1915)     

”Out, Out—” (1916)     

The Oven Bird (1916)     

Fire and Ice (1920)     

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening (1923) (In Chapter 11, p.   )

Nothing Gold Can Stay (1923)     

Acquainted with the Night (1928)      

Desert Places (1936) (In Chapter 16, p.   )

Design (1936)      

The Silken Tent (1936)    

The Gift Outright (1941)      

LANGSTON HUGHES’S LIFE AND WORK      

Writing Topics About the Poetry of Langston Hughes     

POEMS by LANGSTON HUGHES (ALPHABETICALLY  ARRANGED)   

Bad Man               (NEW)

Ballad of the Landlord   

Dead in There     

Dream Boogie             (NEW)

Dream Variations      

Harlem   

I, Too             (NEW)

Let America Be America Again      

Negro   

The Negro Speaks of Rivers   

125th Street   

Po’ Boy Blues   

Subway Rush Hour   

Theme for English B      

The Weary Blues   

SYLVIA PLATH’S LIFE AND WORK      

Writing Topics About the Poetry of Sylvia Plath   

POEMS BY SYLVIA PLATH (ALPHABETICALLY ARRANGED)      

Ariel     

The Colossus      

Cut   

Daddy    

Edge   

The Hanging Man      

Lady Lazarus    

Last Words    

Metaphors     

Mirror     

The Rival   

Song for a Summer’s Day      

Tulips     

19   COLLECTION OF POEMS FOR ADDITIONAL STUDY AND ENJOYMENT   

Ai (FLORENCE ANTHONY) Conversation      

ANNA AKHMATOVA  Willow     

SHERMAN ALEXIE On the Amtrak from Boston to New York City  

AGHA SHAHID ALI   Postcard from Kashmir             (NEW)

JULIA ALVAREZ Woman’s Work              (NEW)

MAYA ANGELOU  Still I Rise       

ANONYMOUS (NAVAJO)  Healing Prayer from the Beautyway Chant      

MATTHEW ARNOLD   Dover Beach       

MARGARET ATWOOD  You fit into me                (NEW)

W. H. AUDEN   Musée des Beaux Arts       

LOUISE BOGAN  Women      

JORGE LUIS BORGES  The Art of Poetry      

ANNE BRADSTREET   The Author to Her Book             (NEW)

ANNE BRADSTREET  To My Dear and Loving Husband    

EMILY BRONTE  Love and Friendship      

GWENDOLYN BROOKS  We Real Cool     

ROBERT BROWNING  My Last Duchess   

ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING  Sonnets from the Portuguese: Number 43,  How Do I Love Thee      

GEORGE GORDON, LORD BYRON  She Walks in Beauty     

BILLY COLLINS  Days     

STEPHEN CRANE  Do Not Weep, Maiden, for War Is Kind     

E. E. CUMMINGS    anyone lived in a pretty how town             (NEW)

E. E. CUMMINGS  if there are any heavens      

JOHN DONNE  Holy Sonnet 10: Death Be Not Proud     

RITA DOVE Daystar                (NEW)

SIR EDWARD DYER   My Mind to Me a Kingdom Is             (NEW)

BOB DYLAN The Times They Are a-Changin'             (NEW)

T. S. ELIOT  The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock      

MARTíN ESPADA    Latin Night at the Pawnshop               (NEW)

RHINA ESPAILLAT Bilingual/Bilingue             (NEW)

CHIEF DAN GEORGE  The Beauty of the Trees     

NIKKI GIOVANNI  Poetry   

DANIEL HALPERN  Snapshot of Hué     

THOMAS HARDY  The Ruined Maid    

FRANCES E. W. HARPER  She’s Free!      

ROBERT HASS  Spring Rain      

ROBERT HAYDEN  Those Winter Sundays      

ROBERT HERRICK   Corinna's Going A-Maying             (NEW)

JANET HOLMES   Cinquains for Rocky                (NEW)

A. D. HOPE  Advice to Young Ladies      

GERARD MANLEY HOPKINS  Pied Beauty    

A. E. HOUSMAN    When I was one-and-twenty             (NEW)

ROBINSON JEFFERS  The Answer      

DONALD JUSTICE  On the Death of Friends in Childhood   

DONALD JUSTICE   Order in the Streets                  (NEW)

JOHN KEATS  Ode on a Grecian Urn      

GALWAY KINNELL  After Making Love  We Hear Footsteps     

YAHIA LABABIDI  What Do Animals Dream?     

PHILLIP LARKIN   Talking in Bed             (NEW)

LI-YOUNG LEE  A Final Thing     

AUDRE LORDE   Now That I am Forever with Child             (NEW)

AMY LOWELL  Patterns   

MAGUS MAGNUS    Antaeus/Anchises                  (NEW)

EDNA ST. VINCENT MILLAY     Travel             (NEW)

EDNA ST. VINCENT MILLAY  What Lips My Lips Have Kissed, and Where, and Why      

N. SCOTT MOMADAY  The Bear       

HOWARD NEMEROV  Life Cycle of Common Man     

JIM NORTHRUP  wahbegan   

SHARON OLDS    The Moment the Two Worlds Meet               (NEW)

SIMON ORTIZ  A Story of How a Wall Stands      

DOROTHY PARKER    Afternoon             (NEW)

DOROTHY PARKER  Résumé      

LINDA PASTAN  Marks      

MARGE PIERCY  The Secretary Chant     

EDGAR ALLAN POE  Annabel Lee     

EDGAR ALLAN POE  The Raven      

EZRA POUND   A Girl             (NEW)

ADRIENNE RICH   Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers             (NEW)

ADRIENNE RICH   Living in Sin             (NEW)

ALBERTO RÍOS  The Vietnam Wall      

LUIS OMAR SALINAS  In a Farmhouse      

CARL SANDBURG  Chicago   

SIEGFRIED SASSOON  Dreamers      

BRENDA SEROTTE  My Mother’s Face      

ANNE SEXTON   Cinderella              (NEW)

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE  Sonnet 29: When in Disgrace with Fortune and Men’s Eyes      

KARL SHAPIRO  Auto Wreck      

STEVIE SMITH  Not Waving but Drowning      

GARY SOTO   Mexicans Begin Jogging             (NEW)

GARY SOTO  Oranges      

WILLIAM STAFFORD  Traveling Through the Dark      

WALLACE STEVENS  The Emperor of Ice-Cream      

MAY SWENSON  Question      

DYLAN THOMAS  A Refusal to Mourn the Death, by Fire, of a Child in London      

JOHN UPDIKE  Perfection Wasted      

ALICE WALKER  Revolutionary Petunias      

PHILLIS WHEATLEY  On Being Brought from Africa to America  

WALT WHITMAN  Beat! Beat! Drums!     

WALT WHITMAN  Full of Life Now      

WALT WHITMAN  I Hear America Singing      

RICHARD WILBUR  Love Calls Us to the Things of This World      

WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS  The Red Wheelbarrow      

19A   WRITING A RESEARCH ESSAY ON POETRY  

Topics to Discover in Research      

Illustrative Student Essay Written with the Aid of Research: “Beat! Beat! Drums!” and “I Hear America Singing”: Two Whitman Poems Spanning the Civil War     

Commentary on the Essay      

Using Sources Effectively: Quoting Texts to Illustrate Your Point 

PART IV    READING AND WRITING ABOUT DRAMA  

 

20 THE DRAMATIC VISION: AN OVERVIEW  

Drama as Literature    

Performance: The Unique Aspect of Drama     

Drama from Ancient Times to Our Own: Tragedy, Comedy, and Additional Forms  

ANONYMOUS  The Visit to the Sepulcher (Visitatio Sepulchri)  

Visualizing Plays: Imagining Dramatic Scenes and Actions    

PLAYS FOR STUDY  

SUSAN GLASPELL  Trifles    

In a small farmhouse kitchen early in the twentieth century, the wives of men investigating a murder discover significant evidence that forces them to make an urgent decision.

DAVID HENRY HWANG Trying to find Chinatown           (NEW)

Two young men meet in New York City and engage in a surprising dialogue about racial identity.

JANE MARTIN  Beauty     

As Carla and Bethany talk together, they go through a transformational experience.

EUGENE O’NEILL  Before Breakfast  

What happens to people facing disappointment, anger, alienation, and lost hope?

Writing About the Elements of Drama    

Referring to Plays and Parts of Plays  

Illustrative Student Essay: Eugene O’Neill’s Use of Negative Descriptions and Stage Directions in Before Breakfast as a Means of Revealing Character  

Commentary on the Essay  

Using Sources Effectively: Paraphrasing to Make Sure Readers Understand the Work 

Writing Topics About the Elements of Drama  

21 THE TRAGIC VISION: AFFIRMATION THROUGH LOSS  

The Origins of Tragedy  

The Ancient Athenian Competitions in Tragedy    

The Origin of Tragedy in Brief  

Aristotle and the Nature of Tragedy  

Aristotle’s View of Tragedy in Brief  

Irony in Tragedy  

The Ancient Athenian Audience and Theater    

Ancient Greek Tragic Actors and Their Costumes  

Performance and the Formal Organization of Greek Tragedy  

PLAYS FOR STUDY  

SOPHOCLES  Oedipus The King 

A woman must choose between her family obligations and loyalty to the state.

Renaissance Drama and Shakespeare’s Theater    

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE  The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark  

An initial act of evil is like an infestation.

Tragedy from Shakespeare to Arthur Miller     

Death of a Salesman: Tragedy, Symbolism, and Broken Dreams  

ARTHUR MILLER  Death of a Salesman     

With all his hopes unfulfilled, Willy Loman still clings to his dreams.

Writing About Tragedy      

Illustrative Student Essay: The Problem of Hamlet’s Apparent Delay  

Commentary on the Essay  

Using Sources Effectively: Quoting Texts to Illustrate Your Key Point  

Writing Topics About Tragedy   

22   THE COMIC VISION: RESTORING THE BALANCE  

The Origins of Comedy  

Comedy from Roman Times to the Renaissance  

The Patterns, Characters, and Language of Comedy  

Types of Comedy    

PLAYS FOR STUDY  

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE  A Midsummer Night’s Dream     

The problems of lovers are resolved through the magic of the natural world, not through custom and law.

ANTON CHEKHOV  The Bear, A Joke in One Act     

A bachelor and a widow meet and immediately berate each other, but their lives are about to undergo great change.

PAUL DOOLEY and WINNIE HOLZMAN   Post-its (Notes on a Marriage)            (NEW)

A married couple enjoy a comic but cryptic mode of communication.

EDWIN SÁNCHEZ   Pops   ¿/i>          (NEW)

A young Hispanic man finds sweet, humorous way to memorialize his lost father.

Comedy Since Shakespeare  

Writing About Comedy  

Illustrative Student Essay: Setting as Symbol and Comic Structure in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream     

Commentary on the Essay  

Writing Topics About Comedy  

23   VISIONS OF DRAMATIC REALITY AND NONREALITY: VARYING THE IDEA OF DRAMA AS IMITATION

Realism and Nonrealism in Drama    

Elements of Realistic and Nonrealistic Drama  

PLAYS FOR STUDY  

Langston Hughes Biography   

Hughes and the African American Theater After 1920   

Hughes’s Career as a Dramatist  

Mulatto and the Reality of the Southern Black Experience     

LANGSTON HUGHES  Mulatto  

On a Southern plantation in the 1930s, a young man tries to assert his rights, but there are those who will not grant him any rights at all.

EDWARD BOK LEE  El Santo Americano             (NEW)

A professional wrestler tries to forge a better life for himself and his family.

TENNESSEE WILLIAMS The Glass Menagerie 

Tom would like to escape the memory of his home life, in which he finds only confusion and entrapment.

August Wilson Biography     

The Background of Fences 

AUGUST WILSON  Fences     

Troy Maxson, who as a young athlete could knock baseballs over fences, has led a life enclosed by other fences.

Writing About Realistic and Nonrealistic Drama     

Illustrative Student Essay: Realism and Nonrealism in Tom’s Triple Role in The Glass Menagerie  

Commentary on the Essay  

Writing Topics About Dramatic Reality and Nonreality     

24  HENRIK IBSEN AND THE REALISTIC PROBLEM PLAY: A DOLLHOUSE   

Ibsen’s Life and Early Work     

Ibsen’s Major Prose Plays  

A Dollhouse: Ibsen’s Best-Known Problem Play    

Ibsen’s Symbolism in A Dollhouse  

A Dollhouse as a “Well-Made Play”     

The Timeliness and Dramatic Power of A Dollhouse  

Bibliographic Studies     

HENRIK IBSEN  A Dollhouse (Et Dukkehjem)  

In their seemingly perfect household, Nora and Torvald discover the severe differences between them.

Edited Selections from Criticism of Ibsen’s A Dollhouse and Other Plays  

1. Freedom, Truth, and Society—Rhetoric and Reality     

2. Ibsen’s Feminist Characters  

3. A Marxist Approach to A Dollhouse  

24A   WRITING A RESEARCH ESSAY ON DRAMA  

Topics to Discover in Research     

Illustrative Student Essay Written with the Aid of Research: “The Ghost in Hamlet”  

Commentary on the Essay  

Using Sources Effectively: Summarizing Sources Lends Authority to Your Argument  

PART V   Special Writing Topics About Literature

25   CRITICAL APPROACHES IMPORTANT TO THE STUDY OF LITERATURE  

Moral/Intellectual  

Topical/Historical  

New Critical/Formalist  

Structuralist  

Feminist Criticism/Gender Studies/Queer Theory  

Economic Determinist/Marxist  

Psychological/Psychoanalytic  

Archetypal/Symbolic/Mythic  

Deconstructionist  

Reader-Response  

 

 

26   THREE TYPES OF WRITING ABOUT LITERATURE   

       1. Comparison-Contrast and Extended Comparison-Contrast  

Guidelines for the Comparison-Contrast Method  

The Extended Comparison-Contrast Essay  

Citing References in a Longer Comparison-Contrast Essay  

Writing a Comparison-Contrast Essay  

Illustrative Student Essay (Two Works): The Treatment of Responses to War in Amy Lowell’s “Patterns” and Wilfred Owen’s “Anthem for Doomed Youth”  

Commentary on the Essay  

Illustrative Student Essay (Extended Comparison-Contrast): Literary Treatments of the Conflicts Between Private and Public Life   

Commentary on the Essay  

       2. Reader-Response: How a Reader's Reactions Lead Toward Interpretation  

Important Elements of a Reader-Response Essay   

Illustrative Student Essay (Reader-Response): Opposite Personal Responses to W. H. Auden’s “Musée des Beaux Arts,”    

Commentary on the Essay  

Writing Topics for Reader-Response  

       3. Argument: The Use of Persuasive Reasoning 

Defining an Argument Essay  

Important Elements of an Argument Essay  

Illustrative Student Essay (Argument): Sammy’s Decision to Become an Adult    

Commentary on the Essay  

Writing Topics for Literary Argument  

 

27   TAKING EXAMINATIONS ON LITERATURE    

Answer the Questions That Are Asked  

Systematic Preparation  

Two Basic Types of Questions About Literature  

 

 

Appendixes   

    I. Dramatic Vision on Film: From the Silver Screen to the World of Digital Fantasy 

    II. MLA Recommendations for Documenting Sources 

    A Glossary of Important Literary Terms 

    Credits  

    Index of Authors. Titles, and First Lines