Introduction to Literature; Freshman Composition, second semester, where the focus is on writing about literature. This best-selling anthology of fiction, poetry, and drama was the first to interlock the processes of reading literature and writing about literature. In addition to carefully chosen literary selections, each chapter contains detailed information on and demonstrative essays for writing about literature and increased and updated coverage of research and MLA documentation.

Like the earlier editions ofLiterature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing,the new seventh edition is in part a carefully chosen anthology. Most of the works here are by American, British, and Canadian authors, but there are also a number of ancient and medieval writers, along with writers who lived in or came from France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Ceylon, and Indonesia, together with authors who represent backgrounds of Latino, American Indian, and Chinese culture. In total, 304 authors are represented, including ten anonymous authors. One hundred eighty-four of the authors--roughly sixty percent--were born after 1900. Of the eighty writers born since 1935, forty-two are women, or fifty-two percent. If one counts only the number of authors born after the end of World War II (1945), the percentage of women goes up dramatically to seventy percent. The book includes a total of 505 separate works--sixty-two stories, 423 poems, and twenty plays and scenes. Each work is suitable for discussion either alone or in comparison. Ten stories, thirty-seven poems, and two dramas are new in this edition. For purposes of comparison, the works in two genres by a number of writers are included--specifically Atwood, Crane, Glaspell, Hughes, Poe, Shakespeare, Updike, and Walker. In addition, Faulkner and Munro are each represented by two stories, and Shakespeare and Ibsen are represented by two plays--Shakespeare in Chapters 27 and 28, and Ibsen in Chapter 31. There are four stories by Edith Wharton in Chapter 11, the chapter on the career in fiction. There are multiple selections of poems by many poets. A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE SEVENTH EDITION FLEXIBILITY.The seventh edition reaffirms a principle to whichLiterature: An Introduction to Reading and Writingis dedicated--flexibility. The earlier editions have been used for introduction-to-literature courses, genre courses, and both composition and composition-and-literature courses. Adaptability and flexibility have been the keys to this variety. Instructors can use the book for classroom discussions, panel discussions, essay or paragraph-length writing and study assignments, and special topics not covered in class. FICTION.The fiction section consists of ten chapters. Chapter 2 is a general introduction to fiction while Chapters 3-10--the "topical" chapters central to each section of the book--introduce students to such important topics as structure, character, point of view, and theme. Chapter 11 consists of four stories by Edith Wharton, and Chapter 12 contains seven stories for additional study and enjoyment. Readers will note that some of the new stories are classic--like those by Faulkner, Petronius, Chekhov, and Wharton--and some, such as those by Munro and Bradbury, are well on their way to becoming classic. The new stories complement the fifty-two stories, such as those by Carver, Crane, Glaspell, Gilman, Hawthorne, Joyce, Laurence, Porter, and Twain, that are retained from the sixth edition. POETRY.The thirteen poetry chapters are arranged similarly to the fiction chapters. Chapter 13 is introductory. Chapters 14-23 deal with topics such as diction, symbolism, imagery, tone, and myth. Chapter 24 is the poetic careers chapter, consisting of selections by Wordsworth, Dickinson, and Frost. Chapter 25 contains 129 poems for additional study and enjoyment. Brief biographies of the anthologized poets are included in Appendix II to make the poetry section parallel with the drama and fiction sections. Poetry selections are taken from poets of late medieval times to those of our own day, including poets such as the anonymous writer of "Sir Patrick Spens," Wyatt, Queen Elizabeth I, Shakespeare, Donne, Dryden, Pope, Gray, Wordsworth, Byron, Keats, Tennyson, Rossetti, Hopkins, Pound, Yeats, Eliot, Layton, Lowell, Brooks, Birney, and Clifton