Literature : an introduction to reading and writing / Edgar V. Roberts, Henry E. Jacobs.

Includes indexes.

Introduction : reading, responding to, and writing about literature -- Reading and writing about fiction -- Fiction : an overview -- Plot and structure : the development and organization of stories -- Characters : the people in fiction -- Point of view : the position or stance of the narrator or speaker -- Setting : the background of place, objects, and culture in stories -- Style : the words that tell the story -- Tone : the expression of attitude in fiction -- Symbolism and allegory : keys to extended meaning -- Idea or theme : the meaning and the message in fiction -- A career in fiction : a collection of stories by Edgar Allen Poe -- Stories for additional study -- Reading and writing about poetry -- Meeting poetry : an overview -- Character and setting : who, what, where, and when in poetry -- Words : the building blocks of poetry -- Imagery : the poem's link to the senses -- Figures of speech, or metaphorical language : a source of depth and range in poetry -- Tone : the creation of attitude in poetry -- Prosody : sound, rhythm, and rhyme in poetry -- Form : the shape of the poem -- Symbolism and allusion : windows to a wide expanse of meaning -- Myth : systems of symbolic allusion in poetry. Eight poems related to the myth of Odysseus ; Seven poems related to the myth of Icarus ; Three poems related to the myth of the phoenix ; Two poems related to the myth of Oedipus -- Meaning : idea and theme in poetry -- Three poetic careers : William Wordsworth, Emily Dickinson, and Robert Frost -- Poems for additional study -- Reading and writing about drama -- The dramatic vision : an overview -- The tragic vision : affirmation through loss -- The comic vision : restoring the balance -- Visions of dramatic reality and nonreality : varying the idea of drama as imitation -- Dramatic vision and the motion picture camera : drama on the silver (and television) screen -- A career in drama : two major plays of Henrik Ibsen

Special writing topics about literature -- Writing and documenting the research essay -- Critical approaches important in the study of literature -- Taking examinations on literature -- Comparison-contrast and extended comparison-contrast : learning by seeing literary works together -- Appendix I. MLA recommendations for documenting electronic sources -- Appendix II. Brief biographies of the poets in part III -- Glossary of literary terms.