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Writing About Literature

by: Roberts, Edgar V.

Writing About Literature

by: Roberts, Edgar V.

ISBN 13:
9780131540576
ISBN 10:
0131540572
Edition: 11th
Format: Paperback
Copyright: 01/01/2006
Publisher: Prentice Hall
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Summary

Writing about Literatureserves as a hands-on guide for writing about literature, thus justifying the integration of literature and composition. The reading of literature encourages students to think, and the use of literary topics gives instructors a viable way to combine writing and literary study.

To the Instructor

Chapter 1 Preliminary: The Process of Reading, Responding to, and Writing About Literature

(52)

What Is Literature, and Why Do We Study It?

(1)

Types of Literature: The Genres

(2)

Reading Literature and Responding to It Actively

(9)

GUY DE MAUPASSANT, The Necklace

(8)

Reading and Responding in a Notebook or Computer File

(3)

Writing Essays on Literary Topics

(1)

The Goal of Writing: To Show a Process of Thought

(1)

'Three Major Stages in Thinking and Writing: Discovering Ideas, Making Initial Drafts, and Completing the Essay

(1)

Discovering Ideas ("Brainstorming")

(6)

Assembling Materials and Beginning to Write

(3)

Drafting Your Essay

(3)

Writing a First Draft

(1)

Developing an Outline

(3)

The Use of References and Quotations in Writing About Literature

(6)

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

(1)

Developing and Strengthening Your Essay Through Revision

(4)

Checking Development and Organization

(2)

Using Exact, Comprehensive, and Forceful Language

(5)

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

(2)

Commentary on the Essay

(1)

Essay Commentaries

(1)

Special Topics for Studying and Discussing the Writing Process

(1)

Chapter 2 Writing About a Close Reading: Analyzing Entire Short Poems or Selected Short Passages from Fiction, Longer Poems, and Plays

(11)

The Purpose and Requirements of a Close-Reading Essay

(1)

The Location of the Passage in a Longer Work

(1)

Writing About the Close Reading of a Passage in a Prose Work, Drama, or Longer Poem

(3)

Illustrative Essay: Reading a Passage in Mark Twain's"Luck"

(2)

Commentary on the Essay

(1)

Writing an Essay on the Close Reading of a Poem

(4)

Illustrative Essay: A Close Reading of Thomas Hardy's "The Man He Killed"

(2)

Commentary on the Essay

(1)

Special Topics for Studying and Discussing the Close Reading of Literary Works

(1)

Chapter 3 Writing About Character: The People in Literature

(13)

Character Traits

(1)

How Authors Disclose Character in Literature

(2)

Types of Characters: Round and Flat

(2)

Reality and Probability: Verisimilitude

(2)

Writing About Character

(4)

Illustrative Essay: The Character of Minnie Wright in Susan Glaspell's Trifles

(2)

Commentary on the Essay

(1)

Special Topics for Studying and Discussing Character

(2)

Chapter 4 Writing About Point of View: The Position

or Stance of the Work's Narrator or Speaker

(1)

An Exercise in Point of View: Reporting an Accident

(1)

Conditions That Affect Point of View

(1)

Determining a Work's Point of View

(4)

Mingling Points of View

(1)

Summary: Guidelines for Point of View

(2)

Writing About Point of View

(5)

Illustrative Essay: Bierce's Control of Point of View in "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge"

(2)

Commentary on the Essay

(1)

Special Topics for Studying and Discussing Point of View

(1)

Chapter 5 Writing About Plot and Structure:

The Development and Organization of Narratives and Drama

(1)

Plot: The Motivation and Causation of Narratives and Plays

(2)

Writing About the Plot of a Story or Play

(3)

Illustrative Essay (on Plot): Conflicting Values in Thomas Hardy's "The Three Strangers"

(2)

Commentary on the Essay

(1)

Structure: The Organization of Fiction, Poetry, and Drama

(1)

Formal Categories of Structure

(1)

Formal and Actual Structure

100

(4)

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, Sonnet 73: That Time of Year Thou Mayst in Me Behold

102

(2)

Writing About Structure in Fiction, Poetry, and Drama

104

(3)

Illustrative Essay (on Structure): Conflict and Suspense in Thomas Hardy's "The Three Strangers"

105

(2)

Commentary on the Essay

107

(1)

Special Topics for Studying and Discussing Plot and Structure

108

(1)

Chapter 6 Writing About Setting: The Background of Place, Objects, and Culture in Literature

109

(10)

What Is Setting?

109

(1)

The Importance of Setting in Literature

110

(3)

Writing About Setting

113

(3)

Illustrative Essay: Poe's Use of Interior Setting to Augment the Eeriness of "The Masque of the Red Death"

115

(1)

Commentary on the Essay

116

(1)

Special Topics for Studying and Discussing Setting

117

(2)

Chapter 7 Writing About an Idea or a Theme: The Meanings and the Messages in Literature

119

(10)

Ideas and Assertions

119

(1)

Ideas and Values

120

(1)

The Place of Ideas in Literature

120

(1)

How to Find Ideas

121

(3)

Writing About a Major Idea in Literature

124

(3)

Illustrative Essay: The Idea of Love's Power in Chekhov's The Bear

126

(1)

Commentary on the Essay

127

(1)

Special Topics for Studying and Discussing Ideas

128

(1)

Chapter 8 Writing About Imagery: The Literary Work's Link to the Senses

129

(9)

Responses and the Writer's Use of Detail

129

(1)

The Relationship of Imagery to Ideas and Attitudes

130

(1)

Types of Imagery

130

(2)

Writing About Imagery

132

(3)

Illustrative Essay: The Images of Masefield's "Cargoes"

134

(1)

Commentary on the Essay

135

(1)

Special Topics for Studying and Discussing Literary Imagery

136

(2)

Chapter 9 Writing About Metaphor and Simile: A Source of Depth and Range in Literature

138

(11)

Metaphors and Similes: The Major Figures of Speech

138

(2)

Characteristics of Metaphors and Similes

140

(2)

JOHN KEATS, On First Looking into Chapman's Homer

141

(1)

Writing About Metaphors and Similes

142

(4)

Illustrative Essay: Shakespeare's Metaphors in "Sonnet 30: When to the Sessions of Sweet Silent Thought"

145

(1)

Commentary on the Essay

146

(1)

Special Topics for Studying and Discussing Metaphors and Similes

147

(2)

Chapter 10 Writing About Symbolism and Allegory: Keys to Extended Meaning

149

(15)

Symbolism

149

(2)

Allegory

151

(1)

Fable, Parable, and Myth

152

(1)

Allusion in Symbolism and Allegory

153

(1)

Writing About Symbolism and Allegory

154

(5)

Illustrative Essay: Symbolism in William Butler Yeats's "The Second Coming"

157

(2)

Commentary on the Essay

159

(3)

Illustrative Essay: The Allegory of Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown"

159

(3)

Commentary on the Essay

162

(1)

Special Topics for Studying and Discussing Symbolism and Allegory

162

(2)

Chapter 11 Writing About Tone: The Writer's Control over Attitudes and Feelings

164

(11)

Tone and Attitudes

165

(1)

Tone and Humor

166

(1)

Tone and Irony

167

(2)

Writing About Tone

169

(4)

Illustrative Essay: The Confident Tone of "Theme for English B" by Langston Hughes

172

(1)

Commentary on the Essay

173

(1)

Special Topics for Studying and Discussing Tone

174

(1)

Chapter 12 Writing About a Problem: Challenges to Overcome in Reading

175

(7)

Strategies for Developing an Essay About a Problem

175

(3)

Writing About a Problem

178

(2)

Illustrative Essay: The Problem of Frost's Use of the Term "Desert Places" in the Poem "Desert Places"

179

(1)

Commentary on the Essay

180

(1)

Special Topics for Studying and Discussing Literary Problems

181

(1)

Chapter 13 Writing About Prosody: Sound, Rhythm, and Rhyme in Poetry

182

(25)

Important Definitions for Studying Prosody

182

(2)

Segments: Individually Meaningful Sounds

184

(1)

Poetic Rhythm

185

(1)

The Major Metrical Feet

186

(2)

Substitution

188

(2)

Accentual, Strong-Stress, and "Sprung" Rhythms

190

(1)

The Caesura: The Pause Creating Variety and Natural Rhythms in Poetry

190

(2)

Segmental Poetic Devices

192

(1)

Rhyme: The Duplication and Similarity of Sounds

193

(1)

Rhyme and Meter

194

(3)

Rhyme Schemes

197

(1)

Writing About Prosody

197

(7)

Illustrative Essay: Rhythm, Sound, and Rhyme in Robert Browning's "Porphyria's Lover"

201

(3)

Commentary on the Essay

204

(1)

Special Topics for Studying and Discussing Rhythm and Rhyme in Poetry

205

(2)

Chapter 14 Writing Essays of Comparison-Contrast and Extended Comparison-Contrast: Learning by Seeing Literary Works Together

207

(15)

Guidelines for the Comparison-Contrast Method

208

(3)

The Extended Comparison-Contrast Essay

211

(1)

Writing a Comparison-Contrast Essay

212

(4)

Illustrative Essay (Comparing and Contrasting Two Works): The Implication of "Westward" in Wordsworth's "Stepping Westward" and Donne's "Good Friday, 1613, Riding Westward"

214

(2)

Commentary on the Essay

216

(4)

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

217

(3)

Commentary on the Essay

220

(1)

Special Topics for Studying and Discussing Comparison and Contrast

221

(1)

Chapter 15 Writing a Review Essay: Developing Ideas and Evaluating Literary Works for General or Particular Audiences

222

(10)

Writing a Review Essay

222

(4)

First Illustrative Essay (A Review for General Readers): Hawthorne's Story "Young Goodman Brown": A View of Mistaken Zeal

225

(1)

Commentary on the Essay

226

(2)

Second Illustrative Essay (Designed for a Particular Group; Here, a Religious Group): Religious Intolerance and Hawthorne's Story "Young Goodman Brown"

227

(1)

Commentary on the Essay

228

(2)

Third Illustrative Essay (A Personal Review for a General Audience): Security and Hawthorne's Story "Young Goodman Brown"

229

(1)

Commentary on the Essay

230

(1)

Special Topics for Studying and Discussing the Writing of Reviews

231

(1)

Chapter 16 Writing About a Work in Its Historical, Intellectual, and Cultural Context

232

(11)

History, Culture, and Multiculturalism

233

(1)

Literature in Its Time and Place

234

(1)

Writing About a Work in Its Historical and Cultural Context

234

(6)

Illustrative Essay: Hughes's References to Black Servitude and Black Pride in "Negro"

239

(1)

Commentary on the Essay

240

(1)

Special Topics for Studying and Discussing Works in Their Historical, Intellectual, and Cultural Context

241

(2)

Chapter 17 Writing About Film: Drama on the Silver Screen, Television Set, and Computer Monitor

243

(15)

A Thumbnail History of Film

243

(1)

Stage Plays and Film

244

(2)

The Aesthetics of Film

246

(1)

The Techniques of Film

247

(3)

Editing or Montage Is the Assembling of a Film out of Separate Parts

250

(2)

Writing About Film

252

(4)

Illustrative Essay: Welles's Citizen Kane: Whittling a Giant Down to Size

254

(2)

Commentary on the Essay

256

(1)

Special Topics for Studying and Discussing Film

257

(1)

Chapter 18 Writing and Documenting the Research Essay: Using Extra Resources for Understanding

258

(30)

Selecting a Topic

258

(2)

Setting up a Bibliography

260

(1)

Online Library Services

261

(3)

Taking Notes

264

(8)

Documenting Your Work

272

(4)

Strategies for Organizing Ideas in Your Research Essay

276

(10)

Illustrative Research Essay: The Structure of Mansfield's "Miss Brill"

278

(8)

Commentary on the Essay

286

(1)

Special Topics for Studying and Discussing How to Undertake Research Essays

287

(1)

Chapter 19 Writing Examinations on Literature

288

(11)

Answer the Questions That Are Asked

288

(2)

Systematic Preparation

290

(3)

Two Basic Types of Questions About Literature

293

(6)

Appendix A Critical Approaches Important in the Study of Literature

299

(14)

Appendix B MLA Recommendations for Documenting Electronic Sources

313

(4)

Appendix C Works Used for References and Illustrative Essays

317

(1)

Stories

AMBROSE BIERCE, An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

317

(6)

KATE CHOPIN, The Story of an Hour

323

(1)

ANITA SCOTT COLEMAN, Unfinished Masterpieces

324

(2)

THOMAS HARDY, The Three Strangers

326

(14)

NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE, Young Goodman Brown

340

(8)

KATHERINE MANSFIELD, Miss Brill

348

GUY DE MAUPASSANT, The Necklace [in Chapter 1]

(346)

FRANK O'CONNOR, First Confession

351

(5)

EDGAR ALLAN POE, The Masque of the Red Death

356

(4)

MARK TWAIN, Luck

360

(3)

Poems

MATTHEW ARNOLD, Dover Beach

363

(1)

WILLIAM BLAKE, The Tyger

364

(1)

GWENDOLYN BROOKS, We Real Cool

364

(1)

ROBERT BROWNING, My Last Duchess

365

(1)

ROBERT BROWNING, Porphyria's Lover

366

(1)

SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE, Kubla Khan

367

(1)

JOHN DONNE, Good Friday, 1613, Riding Westward

368

(1)

ROBERT FROST, Desert Places

369

(1)

ROBERT FROST, The Road Not Taken

370

(1)

THOMAS HARDY, Channel Firing

370

(1)

THOMAS HARDY, The Man He Killed

371

(1)

LANGSTON HUGHES, Negro

372

(1)

LANGSTON HUGHES, Theme for English B

373

(1)

JOHN KEATS, Bright Star

374

JOHN KEATS, On First Looking into Chapman's Homer [in Chapter 9]

141

(233)

IRVING LAYTON, Rhine Boat Trip

374

(1)

AMY LOWELL, Patterns

375

(2)

JOHN MASEFIELD, Cargoes

377

(1)

WILFRED OWEN, Anthem for Doomed Youth

378

(1)

DUDLEY RANDALL, Ballad of Birmingham

378

(1)

CHRISTINA ROSSETTI, Echo

379

(1)

LUIS OMAR SALINAS, In a Farmhouse

379

(1)

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

380

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, Sonnet 73: That Time of Year Thou Mayst in Me Behold [in Chapter 5]

102

(278)

SHELLY WAGNER, The Boxes

380

(1)

WILLIAM WORDSWORTH, Lines Written in Early Spring

381

(1)

WILLIAM WORDSWORTH, Stepping Westward

382

(1)

WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS, The Second Coming

383

(1)

Plays

ANTON CHEKHOV, The Bear

384

(8)

SUSAN GLASPELL, Trifles

392

(9)

A Glossary of Important Literary Terms

401

(11)

Acknowledgments

412

(1)

Index of Authors and Titles, Topics, Directors, Producers, and Chapter Titles

413

Amazon no longer offers textbook rentals. We do!

Writing About Literature

Writing About Literature

9780131540576

0131540572

Summary

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials

Write a Review

Amazon no longer offers textbook rentals. We do!

Writing About Literature

Writing About Literature

9780131540576

0131540572

Summary

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials

Write a Review

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