The content of a literature program defined in terms of the structure of literature is proposed. A three-layer definition of structure is suggested which considers (1) the substance of literature, including man and his gods, man and the natural world, man and other men, and man and himself; (2) mode in literature, including the romantic, comic,…

This curriculum guide is intended to introduce fifth and sixth grade children to the study of poetry. Separate units include discussion of, suggested activities for, and questions about (1) metrics and scansion; (2) rhyme scheme and stanza; (3) diction, denotation and connotation, and onomatopoeia; (4) rhyme (end rhyme, masculine and feminine…

A study of relationships between folklore and American literary theory is presented. The underlying commitment of all the figures and groups represented is based on sophisticated insights into the nature of language, literature, social structure, and political philosophy; and in a contemporary context, the traditions discussed illuminate the…

Describes Latin American novelists as portraying the continent as torn by revolution and inflation, by anger and mounting expectations. Instead of denying the fictional qualities of this vision, the novelists transform this linguistic reality into the narrative itself. Only through fiction can the hidden realities of Latin American emerge. (DS)

Reports a conversation between Cleanth Brooks and Willie Morris concerning changes in literature during the postmodern era. Discusses narrative form, arguing that contemporary literature is moving away from story telling. Contends that the small percentage of the public which reads serious fiction is the reason for this shift. (KO)

Assesses the progress made in computational stylistics over the past 25 years. Discusses theoretical notions of style. Describes certain trends that emerge from relevant articles in conference proceedings and academic journals. Concludes there has been progress in the accumulation of data, the creation of databases and archives, and construction…

College faculty who teach writing courses might find an examination of early religious literature helpful when trying to explain "writing for an audience" or "audience awareness" to their students. The Jesuit priest who preached to and wrote for the Indians in Brazil during the early colonial period, Jose de Anchieta, is a…

This book, a new series in literary criticism and English studies, presents 24 essays. Essays in the book are: "Melville and the Question of Camoes" (George Monteiro); "Calvin Daniel Yost, Jr." (Benjamin Franklin Fisher IV); "'The Haystack in the Floods': An Uncharacteristic Preraphaelite Poem" (Veronica M. S.…

Part of a larger rhetorical biography, this essay examines several of the narratives of the southern writer and humorist, Irvin S. Cobb (1876-1944), to understand the unhappy "ordinary experience" of Southern racism and sexism. Following a biographical introduction, the first section discusses Cobb's narratives, while the second deals…

A stylistic approach to the teaching of English literature is required--one that focuses on the use of specific language styles instead of the traditional singular focus on theme. The only justification for studying English literature in its original language (i.e., English) is because the language used by the writer is a crucial element in the…

Rather than replace the modal methodology approach to writing with an aim or purpose-oriented pedagogy and criticism, it would be profitable for writing across the curriculum teachers to recycle the modes, using them as topics of generative and analytic invention. The move from mode to topic can be applied to the texts of contemporary science…

Describes an undergraduate student module that was developed at the University of Exeter (United Kingdom) in which students made their own computer graphics to discover and to describe literary structures in texts of their choice. Discusses learning outcomes and refers to the Web site that shows students' course work. (Author/LRW)

To put the interdisciplinary Turko-Danish Fairytale Project, which is concerned with the dynamics of reader response to literature, into a theoretical framework, this paper first describes how modern aesthetics take an interdisciplinary approach and investigate--by cross cultural approaches and in human behavior terms--the phenomenon of art and…

Although the black poet Melvin B. Tolson is recognized and respected by other poets and critics, he is unknown both to students and to the general reading public. This paper points out that the key to understanding Tolson's poetry, and much of the poetry coming out of black America, is his use of language. The paper examines one of Tolson's major…

This collection, containing essays by contemporary critics, analyzes such aspects of the novel as structure, history, point of view, techniques, and its future. Included are "What is Exposition?" by Meir Sternberg; "Notes Toward a Comic Fiction" by Robert B. Martin; "The Aesthetics of the Supra-Novel" by Irving H.…