All English teachers share an occasional uneasiness about whether English really matters. Three major sources for this uneasiness are: (1) English teachers are uncertain about their basic purpose. Historically, the emphasis in the English profession has shifted from sharing the best that has been thought and said, to literary history, to rigorous…

Based on the assumption that the content and symbolism of nursery rhymes reflect the particular needs of those who respond to them, this paper analyzes Mother Goose rhymes in relation to the psychological stages of child development. Each basic need of the child, as defined in Bruno Bettelheim's "The Uses of Enchantment," is applied to…

This taxonomy is designed to be used by teachers who are preparing New York state students to take the Tests of General Educational Development (GED). The skills included in this taxonomy are representative of those skills which must be mastered in order to pass the reading skills test of the current six-hour GED. Educational objectives in the…

Based on the premise that the examination of primordial and universal genres of utterance illuminates universal principles of speaking and meaning, this paper examines the Anglo-Saxon boast, a common form of speaking among Germanic warrior societies during the early middle ages. It tells how Old English literature provides evidence from which the…

Teaching through counterparts--using modern treatments of standard literary themes and texts--is a technique designed to share with students perspectives on both traditional and contemporary literature. This paper describes the development of an English literature survey course in which traditional literary works were studied along with…

For those students who qualify, the Advance Program offers an opportunity to follow a stimulating curriculum designed for the academically talented. The purposes of the course outlined in this guide for twelfth grade English are to bring the previous three years' studies in Advance Program English to a meaningful culmination; to provide a…

This book, written for students who have studied English as a second or foreign language for up to six years, aims to (1) correct the mistakes which even advanced students make, by demonstrating how native English writers use certain "tricky" structures, and giving the students practice in their correct usage; (2) improve the students' powers of…

The hero of Allan Sillitoe's novel, "The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner," differs in many ways from the typical modern existential hero. Unlike the anti-hero, Smith is not searching for values, for he understands what life is and accepts it. He follows a code of honesty and hates "phonies." He is aware of class…

Some reflections upon how writers learn to write are presented in an analogy with learning to swim, offering implications for the teaching of composition. The "simplicity" of the act of writing is contrasted with the "complexity" discovered by literary analysis. Two of the author's poems are used as examples. (AF)

This bibliography is intended as a convenient guide to scholarship in the field of Victorian fiction for graduate and advanced undergraduate students. The listings are selective, with emphasis on critical works published in the twentieth century. Contents include a preface explaining the guide, followed by the main sections: "Bibliographies,…

The study shows that there are Spanish fairy tales which are parallels to some well-known fairy tales written in English. These fairy tales are not merely translations of the English, but have certain character and plot similarities that allow them to be compared. This study compares eight fairy tales--the English tale is discussed first, then the…

One of a series of works aimed at presenting contemporary critical opinion on major authors, this collection includes essays by Jonas A. Barish, T. S. Eliot, L. C. Knights, Harry Levin, Edmund Wilson, Arthur Sale, C. H. Herford, Paul Goodman, Edward B. Partridge, Ray L. Heffner, Jr., Joseph Allen Bryant, Jr., and Dolora Cunningham--all dealing…

One of a series of works aimed at presenting contemporary critical opinion on major authors, this collection includes essays by Walter Jackson Bate, T. S. Eliot, Douglas Bush, Richard H. Fogle, Jack Stillinger, Harold Bloom, David Perkins, Earl Wasserman, and D. G. James--all dealing with the biography and literary work of John Keats. Designed for…

A STUDENT VERSION OF A CURRICULUM GUIDE ON THE "LEGENDS OF KING ARTHUR" WAS DEVELOPED. SELECTED LEGENDS ARE REPRODUCED ALONG WITH AN INTRODUCTION, STUDY QUESTIONS, AND A PASSAGE FROM MALORY'S "LE MORTE D'ARTHUR" IN THE ORIGINAL LANGUAGE OF THE FIRST EDITION (1485). THE TEACHER VERSION IS ED 010 814. RELATED REPORTS ARE ED 010…

A TEACHER VERSION OF A CURRICULUM GUIDE ON THE "LEGENDS OF KING ARTHUR" WAS DEVELOPED. AN ENLARGED AND MORE DETAILED INTRODUCTION THAN THAT PROVIDED FOR THE STUDENT VERSION WAS PRESENTED. STUDY QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS, WRITING ASSIGNMENTS, AND SUGGESTED READINGS WERE ALSO PROVIDED. THE STUDENT VERSION IS ED 010 813. RELATED REPORTS ARE ED…