Overview

Why do we read literature? Literature enables us to develop our judgment through observation and reflection. We read literature for the many pleasures it offers. These pleasures range widely across genres, with those reading fiction and drama differing from what readers experience in their encounters with poems and essays. Reading Literature is a practical guide ranging across the literary genres—poetry, fiction, drama, and essay. For each of these genres, Robert DiYanni outlines five “ways in” to literary works. Each section closes with the technique of “interrupted reading”. Reading Literature helps readers experience the rich rewards literature provides; understand the complexities of human psychology; navigate the intricacies of social relationships; take pleasure in the ways language creates alternate worlds which echo the world in which we live. It also includes sections on literary elements and the basics of literary theory. Part V uses the familiar literary elements as the basis for sample analyses of poem, story, play, essay, and epic. The final part offers an overview of a dozen critical approaches, or theoretical perspectives, on literature. Helping readers read closely and critically, this is an essential guide to find “ways in” to reading literature to result in valuable encounters and rewarding literary experiences for general readers or those beginning literary studies courses.

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9781041026310

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Author Information

Robert DiYanni is Professor of Humanities at New York University, USA where he serves on the faculties of the School of Professional Studies and the Stern School of Business, following a decade in the College of Arts and Science. His publications include The Pearson Guide to Critical and Creative Thinking (2014), Critical and Creative Thinking: A Brief Guide for Teachers (2015), and Critical Reading Across the Curriculum (with Anton Borst; 2017). His Literature (1986) went through six editions and his Modern American Poets (1988, 1993) was the companion text for the PBS television series Voices and Visions about modern American poetry. His co-authored Scribner Handbook for Writers went through four editions and his book Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and the Essay went through six.

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