This study presents the third of four reports of the 1970-71 National Assessment of Literature. The educational attainments of nine-year-olds, thirteen-year-olds, seventeen-year-olds, and adults (ages 26-35) were surveyed according to their ability to recognize literary works and characters. Five types of exercises were used: (1) an illustration of a well-known nursery rhyme, story, or poem; (2) parodies of famous poems; (3) allusions to some literary work or character; (4) a disguised myth or story pattern; and (5) straightforward questions about specific works and characters. Sample responses to the exercises and detailed results are included. The authors state that the ultimate goal of this study was to discover whether people could use their knowledge of literature to confront new situations, either in literature or in life. The judgment about what the presence or lack of this literary knowledge means is left to the reader. (Statistical data, pages 125-98, removed because small type size prohibits reproducibility.) (DI) Primary type of information provided by report: Results (Topical).