One of the central problems in the study of fictional prose is that of distinguishing between mere linguistic regularity, which in itself is of no interest to literary studies, and regularity which is significant for the text in which it is found. General criteria for determining whether any particular instance of linguistic prominence is likely…

Suggests that the analysis of literature leads to an increased understanding of the environment in which we live. (RB)

Discusses the contradiction of teaching English literature, which has an elitist history, to students in a modern democratic society based on the postulate of universal education. (RB)

Examines the administrative and organizational implications that Cleanth Brooks methods of criticism hold for modern English departments. (RB)

Examines the role of literature in developing cultural values. (RB)

Considers how an introduction to literature course is relevant to today's incoming freshmen, and suggests what an introductory course should entail. (RB)

Argues that English teachers are not asking the most important questions about a piece of literature, suggesting that they are ducking the issues that are specifically political. (RB)

Presents an exercise intended to help students understand that reading literature is a worthwhile endeavor. (RB)

Analyzes the reasons for teaching English in Canadian schools, viewing the arguments both for and against it. (RB)

Although both literary study and discourse analysis examine texts and oral discourses, literary study tends to emphasize the totality of the text while discourse analysis seeks to isolate manageable elements and structures to validate hypotheses about mental processes. Interaction has recently occurred between the two disciplines in…

Shakespeare's lifetime coincided with the consolidation of modern capitalism, and his plays reveal his interest in economics--defined as a rational system for calculating and comparing the value of commodities--and especially the economics of time. Shakespeare's plays offer a critique of the new capitalism by showing the extent to which it can and…

The controversy of assigning a supposedly licentious book to students is a relentlessly repetitious one, which does, however, involve important assumptions. The discussion of these assumptions may allow the controversy to be continued with a degree of cogency usually lacking. Those who condemn such books feel that the image of the college will be…

The perception of literary value is a function of the reader's interpretation of literary structures in relation to other creative works in that reader's repertoire and of the "deep structure" of literary imagination within the individual unconscious. This critical model suggests, therefore, that unique experiences with literature and with life…

This article discusses methods of teaching literature. A method that derives from the hermeneutic-dialectic school of metascience is outlined, in which the researcher attempts a dialogue with the researched, the goal being mutual and self-understanding. This approach is contrasted with the logical-empirical approach. (CLK)