Poetry of the romantic age is often uninviting to students, leaving them puzzled because they do not sense the connections between the poetry and themselves. Yet, much romantic poetry can be enjoyed and comprehended if approached in terms of some personal, reflective, and connective readings. Wordsworth and Whitman are often avoided because they…

The spontaneous use of imaging and its relationships to verbal recall and literary analysis were investigated in a study in which 72 college students read a literary text under one of three sets of instructions that manipulated processing depth in an externally valid fashion. Imagery reports and free verbal recalls of the story were collected…

Examines how students make and revise meaning when writing in purposeful, informal ways about their interpretation of literary texts. Also reveals five ways in which students develop their understanding of literature through writing. Suggests a mutually enriching reading-writing process of interpretation. (AEW)

Discusses "critique" in an analysis of the relationship between discourse, text, and subjectivity, particularly as it relates to the teaching of poetry. Stresses how to make students more aware of the power of the text and to comprehend more fully the nature of their own responses. Illustrates with student responses to Blake's poem, "The Rose."…

"The Old Man and the Sea" remains one of Ernest Hemingway's most beloved works. This casebook helps readers interpret and appreciate the thematic concerns of the novel, as well as the contextual issues it explores. Topic chapters provide information on Cuba, including its natural geography, sociopolitical history, and the ethnic…

Today, more than 70 years after its publication, the novel "The Great Gatsby" seems as fresh and pertinent to American life as it did in the 1920s. The social, cultural, and historical milieu of the 1920s reflected in its pages is not so very different from that of today. This interdisciplinary collection of commentary and collateral…

When the novel "The Grapes of Wrath" was published in 1939, it had an explosive effect on the public, calling attention to the problems of migrant farm workers during the Great Depression. This casebook provides primary materials on the period and the plight of the migrant worker that bring to life the problems John Steinbeck…

In "Black Boy," Richard Wright triumphs over an ugly, racist world by fashioning an inspiring, powerful, beautiful, and fictionalized autobiography. To help students understand and appreciate his story in the cultural, political, racial, social, and literary contexts of its time, this casebook provides primary historical documents,…

A study that joined the fields of young adult literature and vision impairment explored the questions: How are characters who have visual impairment presented by young adult books?; and How do readers respond to those characters? Only a few books were found (13) that feature characters with visual impairments, and the portrayal of characters…

Discusses controversy surrounding books supposedly written by and about American Indians that are fabrications written by whites. Stresses the importance of moving away from American Indian literature that trivializes Indian culture and values, toward more realistic portrayals. Black Elk, whose first name was Nick, is an example of how cultural…

Maintains that both traditional and computerized scholars face problems when they attempt empirical research on women writers and women readers using currently available computational tools. Discusses factors that have inhibited empirical research and uses examples from research on 18th century English poetry. (CFR)

While literacy is an important part of anyone's education, it should be noted that visual literacy, being able to view, interpret and react to visuals, is just as important for today's population. College students are reluctant at first to take the time to really examine a picture book, whereas youngsters go over and over their favorite books to…

This paper is the last in a series of 14 detailing the procedures involved in setting up an interdisciplinary project that explores the similarities and dissimilarities in the response to literature in readers from different countries. It marks the end of the preparatory work for the "Folktale-project." The first section is an overview of the…

As part of the Folktale project, which explores similarities and dissimilarities in the response to literature from and in different cultures, advanced undergraduate students in classes on literary interpretation or literary history analyzed a Danish, a Greenlandic, and a Turkish folk tale. Two male and two female students in classes on literary…

Reflecting the reader-response theory of literature--a theory suggesting that literature is made dynamic through interaction between reader and text--this report presents ways of extending high school students' imaginative grasp of human experience. Using three works--Randall Jarrell's poem, "The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner," Ambrose…