English 5 is the gateway course to the English major; however, it also fulfills the GNED distribution requirement because it provides a solid introduction to critical reading skills and textual analysis. The skills you will learn in this course will make you a stronger and more sophisticated reader of all texts--from essays and poems to advertisements and speeches. In this course we will consider basic reading techniques such as attention to tone, word choice, irony, point of view, and so on, in addition to various methods of textual analysis ranging from Russian Formalism to Deconstruction. We will do this in a seminar format, and you will write brief responses to your reading and our class discussion in your Writer's Journal and/or the class Newsgroup. You will also write three formal papers, for which your Journal entries and out discussions will have thoroughly prepared you (honestly!)

• For each reading you will write a brief entry in your Writer's Journal. Journal entries must be completed by the beginning of class on the date indicated (that is, they must be completed before we discuss the material in class).
• Attendance is crucial. You will have no idea what we did with a story or poem unless you attended the class in which we discussed it. If you miss class, you will not understand my references back to class discussion, nor will you have a full grasp of the theory or methodology that we discussed. It is impossible for me to give private lessons to each individual who misses class, although I am willing to do so for excused absences. So, be in class. And be prepared. Coming to class without your journal assignment completed counts as an absence. More than two unexcused absences begins to lower your grade (one half letter for every two unexcused absences).
• Journal and e-mail Newsgroup postings are designed to facilitate your entry into class discussion as a thoughtful commentator on literature. You will need to post at least two comments or thoughtful questions per week on the e-mail newsgroup (see handout for instructions on how to get into it).
• Papers are due on the dates indicated. Late papers will lose a half grade for every day that they are late. Out of fairness to those who do their work on time--and out of compassion for those who will hang themselves if given any rope--I will not deviate from this policy.

• Michael Meyer's The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature 3rd edition. (Bedford, 1994)
• Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism: Kate Chopin's The Awakening edited by Nancy Walker. (Bedford, 1993)
• Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism: William Shakespeare's Hamlet edited by Susanne Wofford. (Bedford, 1994)
• Chris Baldick's The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms (Oxford UP, 1991)

1. You will be expected to attend every class prepared to participate and share your ideas with your fellow students. If you are unprepared, the seminar will not work, your colleagues will suffer, and you will be marked as absent. Three unexplained absences will result in your final grade being lowered by one letter;

• Writer's Journal entries and Newsgroup Responses: 50%
• Papers: 50% (Paper 1=15%; Paper 2=15%; Paper 3 =20%)

Sept. 6 (Wed)  In class: Introduction. Scansion (rhythm). Work from pages 536-40.
Preparation for next class: Read in Meyers "The Pleasures of Words" (418-420); "Suggestions for Approaching Poetry" (430-432); and "Patterns of Rhythm (534-541).
Writer's Journal: Respond to the discussion of rhythm. think about your favorite song. Can you scan it?

8 (Fri) In class: Sounds. Work from pages 512-33.
Preparation for next class: Read in Meyers "Sounds" (512-523); "Images" (467-469).
Writer's Journal: Respond to the questions on p. 469 (select one).

11 (Mon) In class: Images. Work from pages 469-478.
Preparation for next class: Read in Meyers "Formalist Strategies" (1361-1363) and in Baldick "Russian Formalism" (195-196). The read Meyers "Word Choice, Word Order, and Tone" (442-449).
Writer's Journal: Select any one of the questions on p448 or 449 and write a response to it.

13 (Wed) In class: Formalism. Work from pages 447-456.
Preparation for next class:  Read in Meyers "Figures of Speech" (479-489);
Writer's Journal: Select any one of the questions on p488 or 489 and write a response to it.

15 (Fri) In class: Figures of Speech. Work from pages 480-489.
Preparation for next class: Read in Meyers "Poetic Forms" (550-568).
Writer's Journal: Select any one of the forms presented and try to explain why you liked it using the language you have been learning to talk about poetry.

18 (Mon) In class: Poetic Forms. Work from pages 550-568.
Preparation for next class: Attend Multicultural Awareness Day--see below.

19 (Tues) Multicultural Awareness Day. No classes. Consult the descriptions of panel discussions, lectures, workshops, the cultural fair, and social events to help you decide what to attend.
Writer's Journal: Write an analysis of the language use and presentation style in one or more of the presentations at Multicultural Awareness Day. Begin by summarizing the event(s) in two or three sentences (no more), then write your analysis. Pay particular attention to word choice, tone, figures of speech, and the sounds of the words. 

20 (Wed) In class: Poetic Forms. Work from pages 550-568.
Preparation for next class: Read in Meyers Kate Chopin's "The Story of An Hour" (12-14), Earnest Hemmingway's "Soldier's Home" (110-115), and Sylvia Plath's "Daddy" (704-706).
Writer's Journal: Write a response to one of these pieces focusing on any aspect of it that most strikes your attention.

22 (Fri) No class today--use this time very wisely. Read poetry, write a poem, read a short story, or write one.

25 (Mon) In class: Discuss the three readings. Note what people pay attention to and how. Think about a formalist reading of "The Story of an Hour."
Preparation for next class: Read in Meyers "Biographical Strategies" (1363-5).
Writer's Journal: Does the biographical information you learned about Chopin change your response to "The Story of an Hour"? How? Why?/Why not?

27 (Wed) In class: Biographical Criticism. Chopin, Hemmingway (setting), and Plath.
Preparation for next class: Read in Meyers "Psychological Strategies" (1365-1367) and Edgar Allan Poe's "The Haunted Palace" (498-99).
Writer's Journal: Write a response to one of these pieces focusing on any aspect of it that most strikes your attention.

29 (Fri)  In class: Psychological Criticism. Poe's "The Haunted Palace" (Allegory).
Preparation for next class: Read in Meyers Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Birthmark" (245-256) and James Quinn and Ross Baldessarini's "A Psychological Reading of 'The Birthmark'" (265-267).
Writer's Journal: Write a response to either question 1 or 4 on p. 267.

Oct. 2 (Mon) In class: Psychological Criticism. Hawthorne's "The Birthmark"
(symbolism, point of view, character)
Preparation for next class: Read in Meyers "Mythological Strategies" (1373-4); in Baldick read "myth," "myth criticism," and "archetype"; and in Meyers again, Gabriél García Márquez' "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings" (207-212).
Writer's Journal: What kinds of myth do you see at work in this story?

4 (Wed) Yom Kippur. No classes.

6 (Fri) In class: Myth Criticism. García Márquez' "A Very Old Man. . ." (symbolism,setting, theme).
Preparation for next class: Read in Meyers "Historical Strategies" p. 1367-69 (don't read "New Historicism") and Tim O'Brien's "How to Tell A War Story" on p. 394-403.
Writer's Journal: Discuss either what this story teaches us about the Vietnam war, or what aspects of the piece might be explained if we knew more historical details.

Paper #1: Due by 5pm October 20. Take a poem we have read in this class and critique it using Formalist strategies. Focus on as many strategies as possible, trying to use them to make everything in the poem come together. Do not draw on any details external to the text!

11 (Wed)  In class: Sociological Criticism. William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily"
(plot, setting, point of view).
Preparation for next class: Read in Meyers "Marxist Criticism" and from Wofford's Hamlet , "What is Marxist Criticism?" p. 332-343 (end of line 4).
Writer's Journal: Respond to the Wofford essay.

13 (Fri) In class: Marxist Criticism. Discuss Wofford's "What is Marxist Criticism?"
How might it help us read "Soldier's Return"?
Preparation for next class: Read in Meyers Toni Cade Bambara's "The Lesson" p. 129-36.
Writer's Journal: Does this story critique Capitalism or, ultimately, reinforce its values? 

16 and 17 are Reading Days. No classes.

18 (Wed)  In class: Marxist Criticism. Toni Cade Bambara's "The Lesson."
(Point of View, character, style).
Preparation for next class: Read in Meyers "Feminist Criticism" p. 1371 and from Wofford's Hamlet , "What is Feminist Criticism?" p. 208-213.
Writer's Journal: Respond to the Wofford essay.

20 (Fri) In class: Feminist Criticism. Discuss Wofford's "What is Feminist Criticism?"
How might it help us read "Story of an Hour"?
Preparation for next class: Read in Meyers Susan Glaspell's "Trifles" p. 760-70.
Writer's Journal: Answer any one of the first 12 questions on p. 770 

23 (Mon) In class: Feminist Criticism. Susan Glaspell's "Trifles" (setting, dialogue, plot).
Preparation for next class: Read in Meyers "Deconstructionist Strategies" p. 1376-8 and from Wofford's Hamlet , "What is Deconstruction ?" p. 283-9 (l.5).
Writer's Journal: Respond to the Wofford essay.

25 (Wed)  In class: Deconstruction. Discuss Wofford's "What is Deconstruction?"
Preparation for next class: Reread Plath's "Daddy" (p. 704-6) and Bambara's "The Lesson" (p. 129-36).
Writer's Journal: Discuss how deconstruction can help us to understand either "Daddy" or "The Lesson."

27 (Fri) In class: Deconstruction. Plath's "Daddy" and Bambara's "The Lesson."
Preparation for next class: Read in Meyers "New Historicism" p1369-70 and in Walker's The Awakening "What is New Historicism?" p.190-7 (line 6).
Writer's Journal: Respond to the Walker essay.

30 (Mon) In class: New Historicism. Discuss Walker's "New Historicism."
Preparation for next class: Read Kate Chopin's The Awakening.
Writer's Journal: Respond to the way we see Edna's Pontellier's character developing in The Awakening.

Paper #2: Due by 5pm on November 15.   Select a form of literary criticism that uses knowledge external to the text (biographical, historical, psychoanalytic, myth, socio-cultural, Marxist, feminist, new historical) to provide a reading of one of the texts we have studied so far in this course. Show how your critical method helps us to understand one of the following: character, point of view, plot, setting, theme.

3 (Fri) In class: The Awakening. (Plot.)
Be ready to tell me in class what your paper topic will be.
Preparation for next class: Read in Walker Elaine Showalter's "Tradition and the Female Talent: The Awakening as a Solitary Book" p. 169-189.
Writer's Journal: Respond to this essay.

6 (Mon) In class: The Awakening. Discussion of Showalter's essay.
Preparation for next class: Read in Walker Margit Stange's "Personal Property: Exchange Value and the Female Self in The Awakening" p. 201-17.
Writer's Journal: Respond to this essay. 

8 (Wed) In class: The Awakening. Discussion of Stange's essay.
Preparation for next class: Read in Walker Cynthia Griffin Wolff's "Thanatos and Eros: Kate Chopin's The Awakening" p. 233-58.
Writer's Journal: Respond to this essay. 

10 (Fri)  In class: The Awakening. Discussion of Wolff's essay.
Preparation for next class: Read in Walker Patricia Yaeger's "'A Language Which Nobody Understood': Emancipatory Strategies in The Awakening" p. 270-96.
Writer's Journal: Respond to this essay. 

13 (Mon) In class: The Awakening. Discussion of Yaeger's essay.
Preparation for next class: Read in Walker Paula Treichler's "The Construction of Ambiguity in The Awakening: A Linguistic Analysis" p.308-28.
Writer's Journal: Respond to this essay. 

15 (Wed) In class: The Awakening. Discussion of Treichler's essay.
Preparation for next class: None. Just think!
Writer's Journal: Respond to the discussions we have had so far on The Awakening and the different ways to read it.

17 (Fri) In class: General wrap up discussion of The Awakening.
Preparation for next class: Read Shakespeare's Hamlet.
Writer's Journal: Discuss the development of the character of Hamlet and one other person in the play.

20 (Mon) In class: Hamlet. (Character.)
Preparation for next class: Think about Hamlet.
Writer's Journal: Discuss the development of the plot in Hamlet.

22-26 Thanksgiving recess. No classes.

27 (Mon) In class: Hamlet (Plot/action).
Preparation for next class: Read in Wofford Elaine Showalter's "Representing Ophelia: Women, Madness, and the Responsibilities of Feminist Criticism" p. 220-240.
Writer's Journal: Respond to this essay.

29 (Wed) In class: Hamlet.. Discussion of Showalter's essay.
Preparation for next class: Read in Wofford Janet Adelman's "Man and Wife is One Flesh: Hamlet and the Confrontation with the Maternal Body" p. 256-82.
Writer's Journal: Respond to this essay.

Paper #3: Due by 5pm on December 13. Compare two critical strategies as they can be used to interpret either Hamlet or The Awakening. Which strategy do you consider to be the most helpful? Why? Use specific details from the text to support your argument.

4 (Mon) In class: Hamlet. Discussion of Garber's essay.
Preparation for next class: Read in Wofford Michael Bristol's "'Funeral-Bak'd Meats': Carnival and the Carnivalesque in Hamlet " p. 348-367.
Writer's Journal: Respond to this essay. 

6 (Wed) In class: Hamlet. Discussion of Bristol's essay.
Preparation for next class: Read in Wofford Karin S. Coddon's "'Suche Strange Desygns': Madness, Subjectivity, and the Treason in Hamlet and Elizabethan Culture" p. 380-402.
Writer's Journal: Respond to this essay.

8 (Fri) In class: Hamlet. Discussion of Coddon's essay.
Preparation for next class: None. Just think!
Writer's Journal: Respond to the discussions we have had so far on Hamlet and the different ways to read it.

11 (Mon) In class: General wrap up discussion of Hamlet
Preparation for next class: None. Just think!
Writer's Journal: Did this course work? Did you get tired of having such extended discussions of two texts? Did you get a general sense of the different ways to read literature? What would you have liked more of? What would you have liked less of? Any other comments?

13 (Wed) Last class. Student evaluations of teaching, general discussion based on last night's journal. Farewells, etc.
-Paper #3: Due at my office by 5pm today (see Wed. Nov. 29 for assignment)

No Final exam. You've done the work! Have a great break--see you next semester.

Paper #2: Due at my office by 5pm on November 15. Select a form of literary criticism that uses knowledge external to the text (biographical, historical, psychoanalytic, myth, socio-cultural, Marxist, feminist, new historical) to provide a reading of one of the texts we have studied so far in this course. Show how your critical method helps us to understand one of the following: character, point of view, plot, setting, theme. 

Paper #3: Due at my office by 5pm on December 13. Compare two critical strategies as they can be used to interpret either Hamletor The Awakening. Which strategy do you consider to be the most helpful? Why? Use specific details from the text you select to support your argument.