Responds critically to Ward Elliott and Robert Valenza's computerized stylometric analyses of Shakespeare plays and purported Shakespearean materials. Argues that the Elliott-Valenza tests are deeply flawed, both in their design and execution. Claims that inconvenient data were ignored, control samples not identified, and unwarranted assumptions…

Intended as an accessible resource for students researching Great Britain's greatest literary figures, this collection of essays about Charles Dickens's (1812-1870) work contains an in-depth biography and essays taken from a wide variety of sources. The essays are edited to accommodate the reading and comprehension levels of young adults; each…

This handout is a guide to library resources in the J. Murrey Atkins Library at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte for the study of the 19th-century American authors Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville. The guide details resources in Atkins library for biographical and critical material on the two authors. The guide is in four…

This paper discusses a contemporary literary movement, "New Nonfiction." New Nonfiction is described as a reaction against the hermeticism of the modern novel, the abstractions of historical scholarship, and the impersonal, sensational, and formulaic reports of the mass media. It is a written narrative that connects private sensibility with public…

The Subject Examination in Analysis and Interpretation of Literature from the College Level Examination Program (CLEP), was administered to 188 English literature students, to determine the appropriate score range for granting credit for their course. Scores ranged from 32 to 75 out of a possible range of 20 to 80, the average score was 51.52. The…

This issue of "Kansas English" contains three articles on the topic "English Literature Outside Traditional Rubrics." The first article, by Nancy S. Prichard, discusses the importance of the new literatures in the education of children and young adults. New literatures are defined as the writings of minority group members in the United States and…

Comedy is the middle ground upon which the absurd and the serious meet. Concerned with illuminating pain, human imperfection, and man's failure to measure up to his own or the world's concept of perfection, comedy provides "an escape, not from truth but from despair." If tragedy says that some ideals are worth dying for, comedy asserts…

Articles contained in this publication are (1) "Criticism in Teaching Literature" by Wayne Booth; (2) "Criticism and Literature: A Reply" (to Booth's article) by Frederick J. Hoffman; (3) "Criticism in Context" by Helen C. White; (4) "Formalist Criticism and Shakespeare" by Kester Svendsen; (5) "Grammar, History, and Criticism" by Kenneth S.…

One of a series of works aimed at presenting contemporary critical opinion on major authors, this collection includes essays by John Unterecker, W. H. Auden, High Kenner, Giogio Melchiori, Frank Kermode, W. Y. Tindall, T. S. Eliot, R. P. Blackmur, Alex Zwerdling, Curtis Bradford, D. J. Gordon, Ian Fletcher, A. G. Stock, Allen Tate, and Richard…

Discusses the use of simplified versions of detective stories ("The Hound of the Baskervilles,""The Speckled Band,""Black Peter") in grades 5-8. The aim is to gain insights and skills transferable to other literature. Examples from the stories show how this is done. (Text is in German.) (IFS/WGA)

Examines the roots of the modern language arts curriculum in Canada. Claims it is based on nineteenth-century interdependence of studies in rhetoric, history of the English language, and literature. And asserts that this curriculum was designed to develop rhetorical and critical sophistication. (JK)

Argues in favor of a reader-response approach to the process of selecting the literary works students read in introductory or survey courses. Offers a rationale for using "The Tempest" in such a course. (FL)

This book challenges current paradigms of literature instruction by making a strong case for teaching critical theory in high school literature classrooms. The book urges teachers to expand their theoretical repertoires. It argues for the importance of multiple perspectives in enabling students to better read and interpret literature, as well as…

Instructors and students of literature should look to George McDonald Fraser's "Flashman: From the Flashman Papers, 1839-1842" for a clever critique of 19th-century notions of character, virtue, and moral teleology. Written to criticize Thomas Hughes's famous 19th-century novel, "Tom Brown's School Days," Fraser's 20th-century…

Part of a three-program set, this computer software program is designed to support the teaching of literary criticism in the English classroom through a focus on characterization. It aids teachers in the search for literary meaning by providing questions from different reading positions. The program is easy to operate and requires little prior…