Read and admired throughout the world, Shakespeare's plays and poetry have been the guiding light of statesmen, of authors, and of artists. His writings are the indispensable foundation for understanding English literature, language, and rhetoric. Yet less than 8% of the nation's top universities require English majors to take even a single course…

Distressing the classics can be avoided by avoiding three biases in the most commonly taught research program for literary historiography: (1) the bias of bibliography; (2) the bias of antiquarianism; and (3) the bias against social and behavioral sciences. Successful interpretation of text is possible when recognized as being context-dependent,…

Presents students' responses when the author asked whether or not it was worthwhile to study King Lear. Recognizes that she could not sell Shakespeare to her students and that most of them will never read another of his plays. (SG)

Looks at how the best writers of English from the 1600s to the present use punctuation in their nonfiction. Finds three bases for punctuation: intonation, grammar (or syntax), and semantics (or rhetoric). Shows that these authors do not regularly and consistently follow the institutionalized rules. Argues for rhetoric-based punctuation because its…

Telling stories from secondary and college English classrooms, this book explores the new possibilities for teaching and learning generated by bringing together reader-response and cultural-studies approaches. The book connects William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, and other canonical figures to multicultural writers, popular culture,…

Popular literature consists of novels, stories, and essays--and by extension, plays, movies, and teledramas--that attract a significant audience. Having students study popular fiction in English classes can help to "hook" the non-reader because popular fiction is more accessible and simpler in structure and language than the literary classics.…

As most any high school or college English teacher can verify, it is the rare group of students that approaches the study of Shakespeare with anything other than a mixture of anxiety over the difficulty of making sense of the plays' language and annoyance that, once again, they will be forced to engage in an activity they find both unjustifiably…

The literature selections serving as the basis for writing assignments in the articles in this journal issue range from time-honored English classics ("Beowulf,""Sir Gawain and the Green Knight") and American standards ("A Farewell to Arms,""The Scarlet Letter") to contemporary fiction. The articles deal with works by women writers (Shirley…