An analysis of a poem by San Juan de la Cruz (St. John of the Cross), the sixteenth century Spanish mystic, identifies symbols and images, explains themes, and offers a synthesis of his structural patterns. The poem, "Tras de amoroso lance", deals with the theme of the search of the beloved (i.e., the soul) for the lover, and…

The content of a literature program defined in terms of the structure of literature is proposed. A three-layer definition of structure is suggested which considers (1) the substance of literature, including man and his gods, man and the natural world, man and other men, and man and himself; (2) mode in literature, including the romantic, comic,…

Because most poetry education is ineffectual, this book attempts to help the teacher stimulate student interest in poetry by (1) suggesting a rationale and objectives for teaching poetry, (2) warning the teacher to avoid those poems for which he has no personal enthusiasm and to avoid overexplaining those poems he likes, (3) urging, for example,…

The speeches in this collection on English instruction are by (1) Walker Gibson, who discusses the teaching of responsibility to the young by making them responsible for clear writing; (2) Hart D. Leavitt, who describes the ways in which many possible subjects for composition can be seen in the collection of pictures, "Stop, Look, and Write"; (3)…

Twenty-one critical essays on the ideas and works of Marshall McLuhan are offered in this review. In the course of the essays, McLuhan is characterized alternately as a genius, an extrapolator, and an oracle; a defender of the choice of choicelessness; a generalizer who rearranges, misinterprets, and misreads the facts to support his theses; an…

The unreliability of first impressions and subjective judgments is the subject of both Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" and Lionel Trilling's "Of This Time, Of That Place"; consequently, the works are worthwhile parallel studies for high school students. Austen, by means of irony and subtle characterization, dramatizes the…

For college or college-bound youth, introductory drama courses must utilize a number of approaches to equip students with a minimal understanding of the various schools and styles of drama. Emphasis should be placed on first-hand experiences (seeing a play or listening to a recorded performance), thus developing in students the ability to view a…

Intended as a guide to scholarship on Romantic writers, this selective bibliography attempts to cover the major works and topics, with emphasis on work published in the 20th century. Omitted are unpublished dissertations and most literary histories, bibliographies of bibliography, short notes and explications, and older biographical works that…

Intended as a guide to scholarship on Victorian writers, this selective bibliography covers all of the major figures and a substantial representation of the lesser ones. It excludes writers and works of fiction, except as such writers are essayists or poets. Omitted are unpublished theses and dissertations, most non-English articles and…

Considering the plethora of annotation which accompanies John Milton's poetry, a plan of the structure of "Paradise Lost" is offered as an aid to comprehension for undergraduate students and as a teaching guide for college teachers. The poem is divided into three parts of four books each for pedagogical purposes, and major themes and…

The main section of this 10th-grade teaching unit on Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" consists primarily of sample dialogue, between the teacher and students, which attempts to lead the students to think critically about values. Other sections list questions on the novel, major events of the plot, and page references for descriptions…

Developed for a high school quinmester unit on the Spanish theater in the 20th century, this guide is designed to improve students' reading and writing skills and knowledge of human values, contemporary philosophy, and character portrayal through class dramatizations of plays. Some of the objectives for the course include analysis and discussion…

Developed for a high school quinmester unit on existentialism, this guide is designed to help students examine the philosophy and life style of the existentialist. Performance objectives for the course include defining the human capability of choice, analyzing existential works that reflect attitudes of philosophical disorientation and literary…

The purpose of this state-of-the-art monograph is to describe the nature of oral interpretation of literature and to suggest contributions which can be made through this channel to the study of literature in high school. A comprehensive treatment and a qualitative assessment of the published and unpublished material on the topic are attempted and…

This book is a historical, literary, and critical analysis of the portrait of the black that emerges from children's books published between 1827 and 1967. The early books studied were listed in Jacob Blanck's "Peter Parley to Penrod: A Bibliographic Description of the Best-Loved American Juvenile Books, 1827-1926." The later titles are from the…