Author Description

"Since its first edition, 'Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, and Drama' has been unique in the way it encourages students to make the reading of literature an active enterprise that involves both thought and feeling. This unique way to approach literature helps students understand and articulate their experience of literature and translate that experience into effective literary interpretations and evaluations. The sixth edition continues the tradition of helping students not only understand all the traditional elements of literature but also providing students with a methodology to apply what they learn by making connections among texts, by thinking critically about what they have read, and by writing about literature. 'Literature' is designed to involve students in the twin acts of reading and analysis. Each of the genres is introduced by a three-part approach to the reading process. The three aspects proceeds are these: the experience of literature; the interpretation of literature; the evaluation of literature. The experience of literature concerns our individual impressions of a work, especially our subjective and emotional responses. Interpretation involves intellectual and analytical thinking. Finally, the evaluation of literature involves assessments and considerations of a work's social, moral, and cultural values. This three-part approach helps students understand how their own impressions inform effective analysis and criticism of literary works. In addition to emphasizing the subjective, analytical, and evaluative aspects of reading literature, 'Literature' introduces traditional elements such as plot, character, imagery, and dialogue in such a way that students can relate these sometimes arcane fundamentals to their own experience of life and language. Throughout these discussions, students are asked to return to certain works and reconsider them from different perspectives. This repetition reinforces the recursive aspect of reading described in th