Introduction to Literature

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Course Contents

Course Contents at a Glance

Faculty Resources

Note to Instructors

In-Class Activities

Module 1: Genre Introduction

Defining Literature

Introduction to American Literature

Introduction to Fiction

The Difference Between Fiction and Nonfiction

Introduction to Creative Nonfiction

Introduction to Plays and Film

Poetry Lesson Presentation

Poetry Literary Terms: A Guide

Billy Collins: A Poet Speaks Out

Approaching Poetry (Includes Free Verse)

Approaching Poetry

Module 2: Literary Conventions

Elements of Literature

The Rough Guide to Literary Style, a Historical Overview

Symbols in Literature

Characters and Characterization

Perspective and Point of View

Module 3: Writing About Literature

How to Read Like a Writer

Modes of Exposition

Reading to Write Effectively

How to Write With Style

Creating an Effective Style

Structure in Literary Essays

Distinguish Between Primary and Secondary Sources

Using Databases: Periodical Indexes and Abstracts

Writing an Introduction to a Literary Analysis Essay

Creating MLA Works Cited Entries

MLA In-Text Citations

Annotated Bibliographies: An Illustrated Guide

Module 4: Literary Analysis

The Nature of Analysis

How to Analyze a Novel

How to Analyze a Short Story

How to Analyze Poetry

How to Analyze a Film

Introduction to Critical Theory

Reader-Response Criticism In Brief

Reader-Response Criticism

Finding Literary Criticism

Multicultural Societies Explained

Module 5: Poetry Readings and Responses

Maya Angelou, "On the Pulse of Morning," 1993

Billy Collins, "The Lanyard," 2007

Emily Dickinson, Poems Series One, 1890

Emily Dickinson, "Wild nights - Wild nights!" 1861

Robert Frost, "Acquainted with the Night," 1923

Robert Frost, "The Lockless Door," 1920

Langston Hughes, "Let America Be America Again," 1935

Edgar Allan Poe, The Complete Poetical Works, 1845

Edgar Allan Poe, "The Raven," 1845

Ezra Pound, Hugh Selwyn Mauberley, 1920

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Selected Works, 1855

Theodore Roethke, "My Papa's Waltz," 1961

Reader-response to "My Papa's Waltz"

Christina Rossetti, "Goblin Market," 1862

William Shakespeare, Sonnets, 1609

Percy Bysshe Shelley, "Ode to the West Wind," 1891

Phillis Wheatley, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, 1773

Walt Whitman, "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer," 1865

William Carlos Williams, "The Red Wheelbarrow," 1962

Additional Poems

Module 6: Drama Readings and Responses

Anton Chekhov, "The Bear," 1888

Anton Chekhov, "The Cherry Orchard," 1904

Anton Chekhov, "The Three Sisters," 1900

Susan Glaspell, "Inheritors," 1921

Susan Glaspell, "The Outside," 1916

Susan Glaspell, "Trifles," 1916

Susan Glaspell, "The Verge," 1921

Langston Hughes and Zora Hurston, "The Mule-Bone," 1930

Henrik Ibsen, "A Doll's House," 1879

Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest, 1895

Critical Reviews of Film Version of The Importance of Being Earnest

Module 7: Fiction Readings and Responses

Louisa May Alcott, "Scarlet Stockings," 1869

Ambrose Bierce, "The Middle Toe of the Right Foot," 1890

Henry Cuyler Bunner, "The Nice People," 1890

Willa Cather, "On the Gull's Road," 1908

Anton Chekhov, "Peasant Wives," 1891

Kate Chopin, "Regret," 1897

Kate Chopin, "The Story of an Hour," 1894

Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness, 1899

Joseph Conrad, "The Idiots," 1896

Philip K. Dick, "Beyond the Door," 1954

Charles Dickens, "The Signal-Man," 1866

Arthur Conan Doyle, "Scandal in Bohemia," 1891

F. Scott Fitzgerald, "The Ice Palace," 1920

Nathaniel Hawthorne, "Ethan Brand," 1850

Nathaniel Hawthorne, "Young Goodman Brown," 1835

Critical Responses to "Young Goodman Brown"

Kelly Link, "The Specialist's Hat," 1998

Charlotte Perkins Gilman, "The Yellow Wallpaper," 1892

Saki, "The Open Window," 1914

Mary Shelley, "The Mortal Immortal," 1833

Jim Shepard, "The Zero Meter Diving Team," 2007

Mark Twain, "Eve's Diary," 1905

Madhuri Vijay, "Lorry Raja," 2012

Analysis of "Lorry Raja"

Module 8: Nonfiction Readings and Responses

Frederick Douglass, My Bondage and My Freedom, 1855

Henry David Thoreau, "Walden," 1854

Mark Twain, "Two Ways of Seeing A River," 1883

Booker T. Washington, Up from Slavery, 1901

Zitkala-Sa, "The School Days of an Indian Girl," 1900

Other Creative Nonfiction Readings

Assignments

Assignment: Listening

Assignment: Character Analysis

Assignment: Close Reading

Assignment: Symbolism

Assignment: Comparative Essay