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Approaching Literature by Peter Schakel; Jack Ridl - Fourth Edition, 2017 from Macmillan Student Store
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Approaching Literature

Fourth  Edition|©2017  Peter Schakel; Jack Ridl

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  • About
  • Contents
  • Authors

About

A common ground for exploring contemporary and classic literature.
 
You don’t need to be an English major to enjoy literature. This book will not only introduce you to classic writers such as William Shakespeare, Ernest Hemingway, and Flannery O’Connor, but also to living, working authors such as Marjane Satrapi, Naomi Shihab Nye, and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. With step-by-step instruction on how to read, think, and write about literary works, this book will help you find common ground with the writers of our literary past and present.

Digital Options

Contents

Table of Contents

* = new work

Part 1 Approaching LITERATURE

1. Reading Literature: Taking Part in a Process

SHERMAN ALEXIE, Superman and Me

The Nature of Reading

Active Reading
CHECKLIST on Active Reading
*MEGAN FOSS, Love Letters

2. Writing in Response to Literature: Entering the Conversation

ALICE WALKER, The Flowers
Writing in the Margins
Sample Student Annotations
Journal Writing
TIPS for Effective Journal Writing
Sample Student Journal Entry
Writing Exam Essays
Sample Student Exam Essays, More and Less Effective
Writing Short Papers
TIPS for Writing Literary Analysis Papers
TIPS for Writing Comparison-Contrast Papers
TIPS for Writing Social and Cultural Criticism Papers
CHECKLIST for Revising
Sample Student Short Paper: Kortney DeVito’s Rough Draft;

Kortney DeVito’s Final Draft with Her Notes: "The Death of Myop’s Childhood"

TIPS for Writing a Successful Short Paper
A Closer Look at HANDLING TITLES
A Closer Looks at PUNCTUATING AND FORMATTING QUOTATIONS

3. Writing a Literary Research Paper: Entering the Larger Conversation
The Research Process
Finding Materials

Evaluating Sources

Keeping Track of What You’ve Read
Writing a Research Paper
Revising, Proofreading, and Double-Checking
*Sample Student Research Paper — Marisela Meraz’s Final Draft: "Sleeping and Dreaming in Robert Frost’s "After Apple-Picking"
A Closer Look at AVOIDING PLAGIARISM
A Closer Look at IN-TEXT CITATIONS AND PREPARING A WORKS CITED PAGE
TIPS for Handling Online Sources

 

Part 2 Approaching FICTION

4. Reading Fiction: Responding to the Real World of Stories

What Is Fiction?
Why Read Fiction?
Active Reading: Fiction
Rereading: Fiction

5. Plot: Watching What Happens

DAGOBERTO GILB, Love in L.A.
Reading for Plot
CHECKLIST on Reading for Plot
Further Reading

LOUISE ERDRICH, The Red Convertible

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

Responding through Writing

6. Narration and Point of View: Being Alert to Angles

SANDRA CISNEROS, The House on Mango Street

Reading for Point of View

CHECKLIST for Reading about Point of View
Further Reading

ALICE WALKER, Everyday Use

FLANNERY O’CONNOR, A Good Man Is Hard to Find
Responding through Writing

7. Character: Watching What Happens to Whom

*ALISON TOWNSEND, The Barbie Birthday

Reading for Character

CHECKLIST on Reading for Character
Further Reading

TONI CADE BAMBARA, The Lesson

JOHN UPDIKE, A&P
Responding through Writing

8. Setting: Meeting Meaning in Places

ERNEST HEMINGWAY, Hills Like White Elephants

Reading for Setting

CHECKLIST on Reading for Setting

Further Reading
WILLIAM FAULKNER, A Rose for Emily

SHERMAN ALEXIE, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven
Responding through Writing

9. Tone, Style, and Irony: Attending to Expression and Attitude

KATE CHOPIN, The Story of an Hour
Reading for Tone
Reading for Style
Reading for Irony
CHECKLIST on Reading for Tone, Style, and Irony
Further Reading

*DANIEL OROZCO, Orientation

AMY TAN, Two Kinds

Responding through Writing

10. Symbol and Theme: Being Open to Insights

*RAY BRADBURY, The Smile

Reading for Symbols

Reading for Allegory

Reading for Theme

CHECKLIST on Reading for Symbol and Theme
Further Reading

TIM O’BRIEN, The Things They Carried

RALPH ELLISON, Battle Royal

Responding through Writing

11. Writing about Fiction: Applying What You’ve Learned
Step 1: Prewriting: Finding a Topic

Step 2: Prewriting: Narrowing the Topic

Step 3: Prewriting: Deciding on an Approach

Step 4: Prewriting: Framing a Thesis
Step 5: Writing: Developing and Supporting a Thesis
Step 6: Revising, Proofreading, and Formatting

Sample Student Short Paper: Alicia Abood’s Rough Draft (Annotated); Alicia Abood’s Final Draft (Annotated): "A Lost Identity: Taking a Look at Jake in ‘Love in L.A.’"

12. A Collection of Stories: Investigating Various Vistas

Flash Fiction

*MARILYN CHIN, The True Story of Mr. and Mrs. Wong

RAY GONZALES, The Jalapeño Contest

JAMAICA KINCAID, Girl

MICHAEL OPPENHEIMER, The Paring Knife

*GEORGE SAUNDERS, Sticks

Graphic Fiction

*MARJANE SATRAPI, The Veil

ART SPIEGELMAN, from Maus

Stories for Further Reading

*CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE, The Thing Around Your Neck

*MARGARET ATWOOD, Happy Endings

JAMES BALDWIN, Sonny’s Blues

*MAY-LEE CHAI, Your Grandmother, the War Criminal

*CHRYSTOS, Traditional Style Indian Garage

*EDWIDGE DANTICAT, New York Day Women

*LYDIA DAVIS, Blind Date

NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE, Young Goodman Brown

LANGSTON HUGHES, Thank You, M’am

ZORA NEALE HURSTON, Sweat

HA JIN, Saboteur

JAMES JOYCE, Araby

*ETGAR KERET, Crazy Glue

KATHERINE MIN, Courting a Monk

TILLIE OLSEN, I Stand Here Ironing

ZZ PACKER, Brownies

EDGAR ALLAN POE, The Cask of Amontillado

KATHERINE ANNE PORTER, The Jilting of Granny Weatherall

*JAMES THURBER, The Catbird Seat

*XU XI, Famine

 

Part 3 Approaching POETRY

13. Reading Poetry: Realizing the Richness in Poems
What Is Poetry?
Why Read Poetry?
Active Reading: Poetry
Rereading: Poetry

14. Words and Images: Seizing on Sense and Sight
Reading for Denotation

ROBERT HAYDEN, Those Winter Sundays
Reading for Connotation

GWENDOLYN BROOKS, The Bean Eaters
Reading for Images

MAXINE KUMIN, The Sound of Night

WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS, The Red Wheelbarrow
CHECKLIST on Reading for Words and Images
Further Reading

ANITA ENDREZZE, The Girl Who Loved the Sky

WENDELL BERRY, The Peace of Wild Things

*WILLIAM WORDSWORTH, I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud

Responding through Writing

15. Voice: Listening to Vocal Variations
Reading for Voice

LI-YOUNG LEE, Eating Alone
Voice and Tone

THEODORE ROETHKE, My Papa’s Waltz
Voice and Irony
E. E. CUMMINGS, "next to of course god america i
Reading a Dramatic Monologue
CHECKLIST on Reading for Voice
Further Reading
ALLISON JOSEPH, On Being Told I Don’t Speak Like a Black Person

WILFRED OWEN, Dulce et Decorum Est

YUSEF KOMUNYAKAA, Facing It

ROBERT BROWNING, My Last Duchess

Responding through Writing

16. Sound: Hearing How Sense Is Said
Reading for Sound
SEKOU SUNDIATA, Blink Your Eyes
TIPS for Reading Poems Aloud
*WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS, When You Are Old

EMILY DICKINSON, Because I could not stop for Death
CHECKLIST on Reading for Sound
Further Reading

*JANICE MIRIKITANI, For a Daughter Who Leaves

MARILYN NELSON, Minor Miracle

*RAY A. YOUNG BEAR, grandmother

*TED KOOSER, Abandoned Farmhouse

Responding through Writing

17. Figurative Language: Wondering What This Has to Do With That
Reading for Simile

MARTÍN ESPADA, Latin Night at the Pawnshop

LANGSTON HUGHES, Harlem

Reading for Metaphor
DENNIS BRUTUS, Nightsong: City
Reading for Personification
ANGELINA WELD GRIMKÉ, A Winter Twilight

Reading for Metonymy and Synecdoche
EDWIN ARLINGTON ROBINSON, Richard Cory

Two Other Observations about Figures
WILLIAM STAFFORD, Traveling through the Dark
CHECKLIST on Reading for Figurative Language
Further Reading

*SHARON OLDS, Parents’ Day

MARY OLIVER, First Snow

JUDITH ORTIZ COFER, Cold as Heaven
Responding through Writing

18. Rhythm and Meter: Feeling the Beat, the Flux, and the Flow
Reading for Rhythm
E. E. CUMMINGS, Buffalo Bill’s
Reading for Meter

PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR, We Wear the Mask
CHECKLIST on Reading for Rhythm and Meter

Further Reading

LUCILLE CLIFTON, at the cemetery, walnut grove plantation, south Carolina

ROBERT FROST, The Road Not Taken

GARY MIRANDA, Love Poem

EMILY DICKINSON, I’m Nobody! Who are You?

SYLVIA PLATH, Metaphors

GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON, Wishes

Responding through Writing

19. Form and Type: Delighting in Design
Reading for Lines

GWENDOLYN BROOKS, We Real Cool
Reading for Stanzas

COUNTEE CULLEN, Incident

Reading Sonnets
*WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, Let me not to the marriage of true minds
GERARD MANLEY HOPKINS, God’s Grandeur

Reading Free Verse

LESLIE MARMON SILKO, Prayer to the Pacific

Reading for Internal Form
CHECKLIST on Reading for Form and Type
Further Reading

JOY HARJO, She Had Some Horses

*ATSURO RILEY, Drill

*ANNA MARIA HONG, The Frog-Prince

DYLAN THOMAS, Do not go gentle into that good night

Responding through Writing

2. Writing about Poetry: Applying What You’ve Learned
Step 1. Prewriting: Finding a Topic

Steo 2. Prewriting: Narrowing the Topic

Step 3. Prewriting: Deciding on an Approach

Step 4. Prewriting: Framing a Thesis

Step 5. Writing: Developing and Supporting the Thesis
TIPS for Quoting Poetry
Step 6. Revising, Proofreading, and Formatting
Sample Student Short Paper: Sunkyo Hong’s Rough Draft; Sunkyo Hong’s Final Draft: "Experiencing ‘First Snow’"

21. A Collection of Poems: Valuing Various Voices

Some Very Short Poems

DENISE LEVERTOV, Leaving Forever

MARIANNE MOORE, Poetry

EZRA POUND, In a Station of the Metro
CARL SANDBURG, Fog
Poems for Further Reading
*MAYA ANGELOU, Africa

*SUSAN ATEFAT-PECKHAM, Dates

W. H. AUDEN, Musée des Beaux Arts

JIMMY SANTIAGO BACA, Family Ties

JIM BARNES, Return to La Plata, Missouri

ELIZABETH BISHOP, Sestina

PETER BLUE CLOUD, Crazy Horse Monument

ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING, How do I love thee? Let me count the ways

*RAFAEL CAMPO, The Enemy

LORNA DEE CERVANTES, Freeway 28

MARILYN CHIN, How I Got That Name

LUCILLE CLIFTON, homage to my hips

*BILLY COLLINS, Nostalgia

VICTOR HERNÁNDEZ CRUZ, Problems with Hurricanes

TOI DERRICOTTE, A Note on My Son’s Face

*JOANNE DIAZ, Pride and Prejudice

JOHN DONNE, Death, be not proud

MARK DOTY, Tiara

*RITA DOVE, Horse and Tree

*DENISE DUHAMEL, One Afternoon when Barbie Wanted to Join the Military

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

ROBERT FROST, After Apple-Picking

TERRANCE HAYES, Talk

BOB HICOK, In the loop

LINDA HOGAN, Crow Law

GARRETT KAORU HONGO, Yellow Light

A. E. HOUSMAN, To an Athlete Dying Young

LANGSTON HUGHES, The Negro Speaks of Rivers

*HONORÉE FANONNE JEFFERS, Cotton Field Sestina

JOHN KEATS, Ode on a Grecian Urn

*JANE KENYON, Let Evening Come

PHILIP LEVINE, What Work Is

CLAUDE MCKAY, If we must die

ANDREW MARVELL, To His Coy Mistress

*ORLANDO RICARDO MENES, Courtyard of Clotheslines, Angel Hill

*PAT MORA, Elena

DAVID MURA, Grandfather-in-Law

*NAOMI SHIHAB NYE, Kindness

DUDLEY RANDALL, Ballad of Birmingham

*JACK RIDL, My Brother – A Star

ALBERTO RÍOS, Nani

LUIS RODRIGUEZ, Running to America

*MARY JO SALTER, Half a Double Sonnet

PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY, Ozymandias

ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON, Ulysses

*NATASHA TRETHEWEY, Domestic Work 1937

QUINCY TROUPE, A Poem for "Magic"

WALT WHITMAN, from Song of Myself

*KEVIN YOUNG, Blues

 

Part 4 Approaching DRAMA

22. Reading Drama: Participating in Serious Play
What Is Drama?
Why Read Drama?
Active Reading: Drama
Rereading: Drama

23. Character, Conflict, and Dramatic Action: Thinking about Who Does What to Whom and Why

KELLY STUART, The New New
Reading for Character
Reading for Dialogue
Reading for Conflict
Reading for Dramatic Action
CHECKLIST on Reading for Character, Conflict, and Dramatic Action
Further Reading

MARCO RAMIRIZ, I Am Not Batman
Responding through Writing

24. Setting and Structure: Examining Where, When, and How It Happens
Reading for Setting

SUSAN GLASPELL, Trifles
Reading for Structure
CHECKLIST on Reading for Setting and Structure
Further Reading

DON NIGRO, Letters from Quebec to Providence in the Rain
Responding through Writing

25. Writing about Drama: Applying What You’ve Learned
Sept 1. Prewriting: Finding a Topic

Step 2. Prewriting: Narrowing the Topic

Step 3. Prewriting: Deciding on an Approach

Step 4. Prewriting: Framing a Thesis and Preparing an Outline

Step 5. Writing: Developing and Supporting the Thesis

Step 6. Revising, Proofreading, and Formatting
TIPS for Quoting Drama
Sample Student Short Paper: Julian Hinson, "Out with the Old, in with the New: The Spin on Contemporary Values in "The New New"

26. August Wilson’s Fences – A Casebook: Wrestling with One Writer’s Work

AUGUST WILSON, Fences
LLOYD RICHARDS, Introduction
CLIVE BARNES, Fiery Fences: A Review (criticism)
FRANK RICH, Family Ties in Wilson’s Fences: A Review (criticism)
BONNIE LYONS, An Interview with August Wilson
MILES MARSHALL LEWIS, Miles Marshall Lewis Talks with August Wilson MISSY DEHN KUBITSCHEK. August Wilson’s Gender Lesson (criticism)
HARRY J. ELAM, JR., August Wilson (criticism)

SUSAN KOPRINCE, Baseball as History and Myth in August Wilson’s Fences (criticism)
Responding through Writing

27. A Collection of Plays: Viewing from Various Vantage Points

Two Ten-Minute Plays

*DEANNA ALISA ABLESER, Black Coffee

*SUZANNE BRADBEER, Okoboji

Three Classic Plays
The Impact of Genre and Theater
The Greek Theater

*SOPHOCLES, Oedipus Rex

Elizabethan Drama

*WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
Post-Elizabethan Theaters

HENRIK IBSEN, A Doll House
Twentieth-Century Theaters

 

Biographical Sketches

Appendix on Scansion

Appendix on Reading Critical Essays

Approaching Literary Theory

Glossary of Literary Terms

Index of Authors and Titles

Authors

Peter Schakel

Peter Schakel, Peter C. and Emajean Cook Professor of English at Hope College, has published numerous scholarly and pedagogical studies on Jonathan Swift and C. S. Lewis.


Jack Ridl

Jack Ridl is Professor Emeritus of English at Hope College where he taught courses in literature, essay writing, poetry writing, and the nature of poetry for thirty-seven years. The students named him their Outstanding Professor, and in 1996 The Carnegie (CASE) Foundation named him Michigan Professor of the Year. Jack’s poetry has been nominated for 18 Pushcart Prizes and his latest collection is Practicing to Walk Like a Heron (Wayne State University Press, 2013). It was named one of the year’s two best poetry collections by Foreword Reviews/The American Library Association. His collection Losing Season (CavanKerry Press) was named the best sports book of the year for 2009 by The Institute for International Sport.

Jack Ridl and Peter Schakel are co-authors of Approaching Poetry and Approaching Literature, and editors of 250 Poems, all from Bedford/St. Martin’s/Macmillan Learning. In retirement, Jack conducts a range of poetry writing workshops. For information about them and other information about Jack, go to his website at www.ridl.com.


A diverse collection for reading, thinking, and writing about literature.

A common ground for exploring contemporary and classic literature.
 
You don’t need to be an English major to enjoy literature. This book will not only introduce you to classic writers such as William Shakespeare, Ernest Hemingway, and Flannery O’Connor, but also to living, working authors such as Marjane Satrapi, Naomi Shihab Nye, and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. With step-by-step instruction on how to read, think, and write about literary works, this book will help you find common ground with the writers of our literary past and present.

Table of Contents

* = new work

Part 1 Approaching LITERATURE

1. Reading Literature: Taking Part in a Process

SHERMAN ALEXIE, Superman and Me

The Nature of Reading

Active Reading
CHECKLIST on Active Reading
*MEGAN FOSS, Love Letters

2. Writing in Response to Literature: Entering the Conversation

ALICE WALKER, The Flowers
Writing in the Margins
Sample Student Annotations
Journal Writing
TIPS for Effective Journal Writing
Sample Student Journal Entry
Writing Exam Essays
Sample Student Exam Essays, More and Less Effective
Writing Short Papers
TIPS for Writing Literary Analysis Papers
TIPS for Writing Comparison-Contrast Papers
TIPS for Writing Social and Cultural Criticism Papers
CHECKLIST for Revising
Sample Student Short Paper: Kortney DeVito’s Rough Draft;

Kortney DeVito’s Final Draft with Her Notes: "The Death of Myop’s Childhood"

TIPS for Writing a Successful Short Paper
A Closer Look at HANDLING TITLES
A Closer Looks at PUNCTUATING AND FORMATTING QUOTATIONS

3. Writing a Literary Research Paper: Entering the Larger Conversation
The Research Process
Finding Materials

Evaluating Sources

Keeping Track of What You’ve Read
Writing a Research Paper
Revising, Proofreading, and Double-Checking
*Sample Student Research Paper — Marisela Meraz’s Final Draft: "Sleeping and Dreaming in Robert Frost’s "After Apple-Picking"
A Closer Look at AVOIDING PLAGIARISM
A Closer Look at IN-TEXT CITATIONS AND PREPARING A WORKS CITED PAGE
TIPS for Handling Online Sources

 

Part 2 Approaching FICTION

4. Reading Fiction: Responding to the Real World of Stories

What Is Fiction?
Why Read Fiction?
Active Reading: Fiction
Rereading: Fiction

5. Plot: Watching What Happens

DAGOBERTO GILB, Love in L.A.
Reading for Plot
CHECKLIST on Reading for Plot
Further Reading

LOUISE ERDRICH, The Red Convertible

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

Responding through Writing

6. Narration and Point of View: Being Alert to Angles

SANDRA CISNEROS, The House on Mango Street

Reading for Point of View

CHECKLIST for Reading about Point of View
Further Reading

ALICE WALKER, Everyday Use

FLANNERY O’CONNOR, A Good Man Is Hard to Find
Responding through Writing

7. Character: Watching What Happens to Whom

*ALISON TOWNSEND, The Barbie Birthday

Reading for Character

CHECKLIST on Reading for Character
Further Reading

TONI CADE BAMBARA, The Lesson

JOHN UPDIKE, A&P
Responding through Writing

8. Setting: Meeting Meaning in Places

ERNEST HEMINGWAY, Hills Like White Elephants

Reading for Setting

CHECKLIST on Reading for Setting

Further Reading
WILLIAM FAULKNER, A Rose for Emily

SHERMAN ALEXIE, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven
Responding through Writing

9. Tone, Style, and Irony: Attending to Expression and Attitude

KATE CHOPIN, The Story of an Hour
Reading for Tone
Reading for Style
Reading for Irony
CHECKLIST on Reading for Tone, Style, and Irony
Further Reading

*DANIEL OROZCO, Orientation

AMY TAN, Two Kinds

Responding through Writing

10. Symbol and Theme: Being Open to Insights

*RAY BRADBURY, The Smile

Reading for Symbols

Reading for Allegory

Reading for Theme

CHECKLIST on Reading for Symbol and Theme
Further Reading

TIM O’BRIEN, The Things They Carried

RALPH ELLISON, Battle Royal

Responding through Writing

11. Writing about Fiction: Applying What You’ve Learned
Step 1: Prewriting: Finding a Topic

Step 2: Prewriting: Narrowing the Topic

Step 3: Prewriting: Deciding on an Approach

Step 4: Prewriting: Framing a Thesis
Step 5: Writing: Developing and Supporting a Thesis
Step 6: Revising, Proofreading, and Formatting

Sample Student Short Paper: Alicia Abood’s Rough Draft (Annotated); Alicia Abood’s Final Draft (Annotated): "A Lost Identity: Taking a Look at Jake in ‘Love in L.A.’"

12. A Collection of Stories: Investigating Various Vistas

Flash Fiction

*MARILYN CHIN, The True Story of Mr. and Mrs. Wong

RAY GONZALES, The Jalapeño Contest

JAMAICA KINCAID, Girl

MICHAEL OPPENHEIMER, The Paring Knife

*GEORGE SAUNDERS, Sticks

Graphic Fiction

*MARJANE SATRAPI, The Veil

ART SPIEGELMAN, from Maus

Stories for Further Reading

*CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE, The Thing Around Your Neck

*MARGARET ATWOOD, Happy Endings

JAMES BALDWIN, Sonny’s Blues

*MAY-LEE CHAI, Your Grandmother, the War Criminal

*CHRYSTOS, Traditional Style Indian Garage

*EDWIDGE DANTICAT, New York Day Women

*LYDIA DAVIS, Blind Date

NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE, Young Goodman Brown

LANGSTON HUGHES, Thank You, M’am

ZORA NEALE HURSTON, Sweat

HA JIN, Saboteur

JAMES JOYCE, Araby

*ETGAR KERET, Crazy Glue

KATHERINE MIN, Courting a Monk

TILLIE OLSEN, I Stand Here Ironing

ZZ PACKER, Brownies

EDGAR ALLAN POE, The Cask of Amontillado

KATHERINE ANNE PORTER, The Jilting of Granny Weatherall

*JAMES THURBER, The Catbird Seat

*XU XI, Famine

 

Part 3 Approaching POETRY

13. Reading Poetry: Realizing the Richness in Poems
What Is Poetry?
Why Read Poetry?
Active Reading: Poetry
Rereading: Poetry

14. Words and Images: Seizing on Sense and Sight
Reading for Denotation

ROBERT HAYDEN, Those Winter Sundays
Reading for Connotation

GWENDOLYN BROOKS, The Bean Eaters
Reading for Images

MAXINE KUMIN, The Sound of Night

WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS, The Red Wheelbarrow
CHECKLIST on Reading for Words and Images
Further Reading

ANITA ENDREZZE, The Girl Who Loved the Sky

WENDELL BERRY, The Peace of Wild Things

*WILLIAM WORDSWORTH, I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud

Responding through Writing

15. Voice: Listening to Vocal Variations
Reading for Voice

LI-YOUNG LEE, Eating Alone
Voice and Tone

THEODORE ROETHKE, My Papa’s Waltz
Voice and Irony
E. E. CUMMINGS, "next to of course god america i
Reading a Dramatic Monologue
CHECKLIST on Reading for Voice
Further Reading
ALLISON JOSEPH, On Being Told I Don’t Speak Like a Black Person

WILFRED OWEN, Dulce et Decorum Est

YUSEF KOMUNYAKAA, Facing It

ROBERT BROWNING, My Last Duchess

Responding through Writing

16. Sound: Hearing How Sense Is Said
Reading for Sound
SEKOU SUNDIATA, Blink Your Eyes
TIPS for Reading Poems Aloud
*WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS, When You Are Old

EMILY DICKINSON, Because I could not stop for Death
CHECKLIST on Reading for Sound
Further Reading

*JANICE MIRIKITANI, For a Daughter Who Leaves

MARILYN NELSON, Minor Miracle

*RAY A. YOUNG BEAR, grandmother

*TED KOOSER, Abandoned Farmhouse

Responding through Writing

17. Figurative Language: Wondering What This Has to Do With That
Reading for Simile

MARTÍN ESPADA, Latin Night at the Pawnshop

LANGSTON HUGHES, Harlem

Reading for Metaphor
DENNIS BRUTUS, Nightsong: City
Reading for Personification
ANGELINA WELD GRIMKÉ, A Winter Twilight

Reading for Metonymy and Synecdoche
EDWIN ARLINGTON ROBINSON, Richard Cory

Two Other Observations about Figures
WILLIAM STAFFORD, Traveling through the Dark
CHECKLIST on Reading for Figurative Language
Further Reading

*SHARON OLDS, Parents’ Day

MARY OLIVER, First Snow

JUDITH ORTIZ COFER, Cold as Heaven
Responding through Writing

18. Rhythm and Meter: Feeling the Beat, the Flux, and the Flow
Reading for Rhythm
E. E. CUMMINGS, Buffalo Bill’s
Reading for Meter

PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR, We Wear the Mask
CHECKLIST on Reading for Rhythm and Meter

Further Reading

LUCILLE CLIFTON, at the cemetery, walnut grove plantation, south Carolina

ROBERT FROST, The Road Not Taken

GARY MIRANDA, Love Poem

EMILY DICKINSON, I’m Nobody! Who are You?

SYLVIA PLATH, Metaphors

GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON, Wishes

Responding through Writing

19. Form and Type: Delighting in Design
Reading for Lines

GWENDOLYN BROOKS, We Real Cool
Reading for Stanzas

COUNTEE CULLEN, Incident

Reading Sonnets
*WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, Let me not to the marriage of true minds
GERARD MANLEY HOPKINS, God’s Grandeur

Reading Free Verse

LESLIE MARMON SILKO, Prayer to the Pacific

Reading for Internal Form
CHECKLIST on Reading for Form and Type
Further Reading

JOY HARJO, She Had Some Horses

*ATSURO RILEY, Drill

*ANNA MARIA HONG, The Frog-Prince

DYLAN THOMAS, Do not go gentle into that good night

Responding through Writing

2. Writing about Poetry: Applying What You’ve Learned
Step 1. Prewriting: Finding a Topic

Steo 2. Prewriting: Narrowing the Topic

Step 3. Prewriting: Deciding on an Approach

Step 4. Prewriting: Framing a Thesis

Step 5. Writing: Developing and Supporting the Thesis
TIPS for Quoting Poetry
Step 6. Revising, Proofreading, and Formatting
Sample Student Short Paper: Sunkyo Hong’s Rough Draft; Sunkyo Hong’s Final Draft: "Experiencing ‘First Snow’"

21. A Collection of Poems: Valuing Various Voices

Some Very Short Poems

DENISE LEVERTOV, Leaving Forever

MARIANNE MOORE, Poetry

EZRA POUND, In a Station of the Metro
CARL SANDBURG, Fog
Poems for Further Reading
*MAYA ANGELOU, Africa

*SUSAN ATEFAT-PECKHAM, Dates

W. H. AUDEN, Musée des Beaux Arts

JIMMY SANTIAGO BACA, Family Ties

JIM BARNES, Return to La Plata, Missouri

ELIZABETH BISHOP, Sestina

PETER BLUE CLOUD, Crazy Horse Monument

ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING, How do I love thee? Let me count the ways

*RAFAEL CAMPO, The Enemy

LORNA DEE CERVANTES, Freeway 28

MARILYN CHIN, How I Got That Name

LUCILLE CLIFTON, homage to my hips

*BILLY COLLINS, Nostalgia

VICTOR HERNÁNDEZ CRUZ, Problems with Hurricanes

TOI DERRICOTTE, A Note on My Son’s Face

*JOANNE DIAZ, Pride and Prejudice

JOHN DONNE, Death, be not proud

MARK DOTY, Tiara

*RITA DOVE, Horse and Tree

*DENISE DUHAMEL, One Afternoon when Barbie Wanted to Join the Military

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

ROBERT FROST, After Apple-Picking

TERRANCE HAYES, Talk

BOB HICOK, In the loop

LINDA HOGAN, Crow Law

GARRETT KAORU HONGO, Yellow Light

A. E. HOUSMAN, To an Athlete Dying Young

LANGSTON HUGHES, The Negro Speaks of Rivers

*HONORÉE FANONNE JEFFERS, Cotton Field Sestina

JOHN KEATS, Ode on a Grecian Urn

*JANE KENYON, Let Evening Come

PHILIP LEVINE, What Work Is

CLAUDE MCKAY, If we must die

ANDREW MARVELL, To His Coy Mistress

*ORLANDO RICARDO MENES, Courtyard of Clotheslines, Angel Hill

*PAT MORA, Elena

DAVID MURA, Grandfather-in-Law

*NAOMI SHIHAB NYE, Kindness

DUDLEY RANDALL, Ballad of Birmingham

*JACK RIDL, My Brother – A Star

ALBERTO RÍOS, Nani

LUIS RODRIGUEZ, Running to America

*MARY JO SALTER, Half a Double Sonnet

PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY, Ozymandias

ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON, Ulysses

*NATASHA TRETHEWEY, Domestic Work 1937

QUINCY TROUPE, A Poem for "Magic"

WALT WHITMAN, from Song of Myself

*KEVIN YOUNG, Blues

 

Part 4 Approaching DRAMA

22. Reading Drama: Participating in Serious Play
What Is Drama?
Why Read Drama?
Active Reading: Drama
Rereading: Drama

23. Character, Conflict, and Dramatic Action: Thinking about Who Does What to Whom and Why

KELLY STUART, The New New
Reading for Character
Reading for Dialogue
Reading for Conflict
Reading for Dramatic Action
CHECKLIST on Reading for Character, Conflict, and Dramatic Action
Further Reading

MARCO RAMIRIZ, I Am Not Batman
Responding through Writing

24. Setting and Structure: Examining Where, When, and How It Happens
Reading for Setting

SUSAN GLASPELL, Trifles
Reading for Structure
CHECKLIST on Reading for Setting and Structure
Further Reading

DON NIGRO, Letters from Quebec to Providence in the Rain
Responding through Writing

25. Writing about Drama: Applying What You’ve Learned
Sept 1. Prewriting: Finding a Topic

Step 2. Prewriting: Narrowing the Topic

Step 3. Prewriting: Deciding on an Approach

Step 4. Prewriting: Framing a Thesis and Preparing an Outline

Step 5. Writing: Developing and Supporting the Thesis

Step 6. Revising, Proofreading, and Formatting
TIPS for Quoting Drama
Sample Student Short Paper: Julian Hinson, "Out with the Old, in with the New: The Spin on Contemporary Values in "The New New"

26. August Wilson’s Fences – A Casebook: Wrestling with One Writer’s Work

AUGUST WILSON, Fences
LLOYD RICHARDS, Introduction
CLIVE BARNES, Fiery Fences: A Review (criticism)
FRANK RICH, Family Ties in Wilson’s Fences: A Review (criticism)
BONNIE LYONS, An Interview with August Wilson
MILES MARSHALL LEWIS, Miles Marshall Lewis Talks with August Wilson MISSY DEHN KUBITSCHEK. August Wilson’s Gender Lesson (criticism)
HARRY J. ELAM, JR., August Wilson (criticism)

SUSAN KOPRINCE, Baseball as History and Myth in August Wilson’s Fences (criticism)
Responding through Writing

27. A Collection of Plays: Viewing from Various Vantage Points

Two Ten-Minute Plays

*DEANNA ALISA ABLESER, Black Coffee

*SUZANNE BRADBEER, Okoboji

Three Classic Plays
The Impact of Genre and Theater
The Greek Theater

*SOPHOCLES, Oedipus Rex

Elizabethan Drama

*WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
Post-Elizabethan Theaters

HENRIK IBSEN, A Doll House
Twentieth-Century Theaters

 

Biographical Sketches

Appendix on Scansion

Appendix on Reading Critical Essays

Approaching Literary Theory

Glossary of Literary Terms

Index of Authors and Titles

Peter Schakel

Peter Schakel, Peter C. and Emajean Cook Professor of English at Hope College, has published numerous scholarly and pedagogical studies on Jonathan Swift and C. S. Lewis.


Jack Ridl

Jack Ridl is Professor Emeritus of English at Hope College where he taught courses in literature, essay writing, poetry writing, and the nature of poetry for thirty-seven years. The students named him their Outstanding Professor, and in 1996 The Carnegie (CASE) Foundation named him Michigan Professor of the Year. Jack’s poetry has been nominated for 18 Pushcart Prizes and his latest collection is Practicing to Walk Like a Heron (Wayne State University Press, 2013). It was named one of the year’s two best poetry collections by Foreword Reviews/The American Library Association. His collection Losing Season (CavanKerry Press) was named the best sports book of the year for 2009 by The Institute for International Sport.

Jack Ridl and Peter Schakel are co-authors of Approaching Poetry and Approaching Literature, and editors of 250 Poems, all from Bedford/St. Martin’s/Macmillan Learning. In retirement, Jack conducts a range of poetry writing workshops. For information about them and other information about Jack, go to his website at www.ridl.com.


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