Mastering English Literature

RICHARD GILL teaches English at Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College, Leicester, UK, and teaches adults at the University of Leicester. He is the author of Mastering Shakespeare and Mastering the Novels of Jane Austen (with Susan Gregory).

• IntroductionPART 1: THE NOVELStoriesCharactersNarrationPlotSettingsThe Scope of the NovelPART 2: DRAMAFamiliar DramaThe Language of the StagePlots and ActionsCharactersAudienceWatching and StudyingPART 3: POETRYValuing, Performing, HearingWhat Poets MakeWhat Poets ThinkWhat Poets Do: Words and MeaningsPoetic Shapes and SoundsThe Work of PoetsPART 4: GENREClassificationTragedyComedyEpicLyricSatireRomanceGothicPastoralPART 5: CONTEXTThe PastReligion and the BibleClassical CivilisationBooks and IdeasThe ArtsSocietyPART 6: INTERPRETATIONDiscovering MeaningsInternal Interpretation: Narratology, Grammar and GenreInternal Interpretation: FormalismTheorists and Literary FeaturesDebating InterpretationsExternal Interpretation: SocialExternal Interpretation: FeminismExternal Interpretation: PsychologicalExternal Interpretation: IdeasIssues in InterpretationPART 7: THEMESThe Scope of LiteratureThe Living WorldThe Four SeasonsThe EarthAspects of NatureIdeas about NatureBuildingsMortalityThe Human Mind and SocietyLoveWarGlossaryBibliographyIndex.

'I think students could do with reading a book like this which covers the main ground quickly and simply. It would also do as a 'refresher' book...many books of this kind can be returned to afterwards for a 'remind read.' - Martin Coyle, Chair of English Literature, Cardiff University, UK