English Literature

 

Unit –I : Drama

Unit –II : Poetry

Unit –III : Fiction, short story

Unit –IV : Non-Fictional Prose

Unit –V : Language: Basic concepts, theories, and pedagogy. English in Use.

Unit –VI : English in India: history, evolution and futures

Unit –VII : Cultural Studies

Unit –VIII : Literary Criticism

Unit –IX : Literary Theory post World War II

Unit –X : Research Methods and Materials in English

 

HOW TO STUDY ENGLISH LITERATURE

English Literature is a vast subject and there is no endpoint to read the literature and as well as this course of study because this subject has countless topics to read and this is the unique feature of this subject.

• Start early. Don’t wait to study until the night before a big exam! 
• Consider literary terms you’re unfamiliar with such as stanza, irony, alliteration, speaker, and figurative language. 
• Consider the structure of your text. The way that an author expresses her or his ideas is often as important as the ideas themselves. 
• Think about character archetypes. An archetype is usually a character — although it may also be an action or situation — that is believed to represent something universally recognized as part of human nature. Consider how action develops from conflict. For many texts, particularly plays and fiction, there is an “inciting incident” that sets the main action of the story in motion. This moment disturbs the equilibrium of the situation, poses a problem, and sets off a series of events that will form the rest of the story.
• Summarize each chapter or act in bullet points after you read through the text for the second time. This will make future review easier, as you will have a rough summary to work from.
• Make out character profiles for each main character. Include anything important that the character says or does, along with links to other characters in the text.
• Remember some important statements made. 
• Write down any symbols in the text and where they appear. Symbolism is a favorite tool of authors. 
• Literary background
• Identification of authors
• Metrical patterns
• Literary references
• Literary terms
• Analyze the elements of form in a literary passage
• Perceive meanings
• Identify tone and mood
• Follow patterns of imagery
• Identify characteristics of style
• Comprehend the reasoning in an excerpt of literary criticism

HOW TO READ POEMS

 Use the guidelines below to learn how to read a poem and understand it.

• Read with a pencil
• Examine the basic subject of the poem
• Consider the context of the poem
• Study the form of the poem
• Look at the word choice of the poem
• Mark it up; write in the margins; react to it; get involved with it. Circle important, or striking, or repeated words. Draw lines to connect related ideas. Mark difficult or confusing words, lines, and passages.
• Examine the basic subject of the poem
• Consider the title of the poem carefully. What does it tell you about the poem’s subject, tone, and genre? What does it promise? (After having read the poem, you will want to come back to the title in order to consider further its relationship with the poem.)
• What is the poem’s basic situation? What is going on in it? Who is talking? To whom? Under what circumstances? Where? About what? Why? 
• What is the author’s attitude toward his subject? Serious? Reverent? Ironic? Satiric? Ambivalent? Hostile? Humorous? Detached? Witty?
• Study the form of the poem
• Consider the sound and rhythm of the poem. 
• Are there divisions within the poem? Marked by stanzas? By rhyme? By shifts in subject? 
• What are the form and genre of this poem? What should you expect from such a poem? How does the poet use the form?