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ENGL 250.001
Analysis of Literature
TR 2-3:15 Mitchell 215
Instructor: Clare Russell
Email: cjr@unm.edu

Office: Humanities 319

Office Hours: T 11:30AM-2:30PM

Course Description
This course introduces students to the literary genres of short stories, the novel, and drama, as
well as how to read, interpret and write analytical essays about them. Students will learn how to
use the language of literary analysis and respond critically to literature. We will focus on
combining close readings of the text with theoretical analysis to create knowledgeable and
coherent arguments that demonstrate each students unique interpretation of the text. The goal of
the course will be to develop critical thinking and writing skills that will lead to success in upperlevel English courses.
Course Learning Outcomes
Students will be able to define and recognize elements of short stories, novels, and
drama.
Students will learn different methods of interpretation and analysis, both textual
(elements the text uses to create meaning) and contextual (elements that are outside the
text, but which also influence the analysis. Ex: biographical, historical, cultural, sociopolitical).
Students will be able to construct effective written arguments with claims and evidence.
Students will be able to gather, incorporate, and interpret source material in their writing
using MLA format.
Required Materials
Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama and Writing. Pearson 12th edition. ISBN:
978-0205888924
Oscar Wilde. The Picture of Dorian Gray: Authoritative Texts, Backgrounds, Reviews and
Reactions, Criticism, Norton 2nd edition. ISBN: 978-0393927542
Steven J. Bottoms. Albee: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Plays in Production)
ISBN: 978-0521635608
Grading Scale
A+
A
AClass

Assignment
97-100+% B+ 87-89.9% C+ 77-79.9%
93-96.9%
B
84-86.9% C
74-76.9%
2 Literary Analyses (200 points each)
90-92.9% B80-83.9% C70-73.9%
Final Exam (300 points)
4 Short Response Papers (50pts each)
Participation (100 points)

Requirements

Percentage
D+ 67-69.9%
D
64.66.9%
40%
D60-63.9%
30%
20%
10%

0-59.9%

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Literary Analyses students will complete two 5-7 page literary analyses which will incorporate
textual and contextual literary analysis techniques and terms. The analyses will include at least 2
sources in addition to the textbook.
Short Response Papers students will write four 2-3 page response papers that respond to a
specific theme or literary element within one of the required readings. The response papers
should use specific evidence from each text to validate the writers argument about the
interpreted theme of the work, or how the use of a literary element (character, setting, symbol,
etc.) contributes to a distinctive interpretation of the text.
Final Exam The final exam will test your knowledge of key terms, texts, and literary analysis
techniques through multiple choice, short answer, and essay questions.
Participation You need to be a valuable class member with a positive attitude towards learning.
A valuable class member comes to class prepared, contributes to class discussions, and
participates in group activities. A positive attitude towards learning is demonstrated best by
respectful and engaged behavior towards your classmates.
Class Conduct
Class discussions are important for generating ideas and forming opinions, but please respect
your peers. If you disagree with someone or something, handle the disagreement in a mature
manner. Please do not distract yourself or your classmates from the class discussion. This means
no laptops, smartphones, cell phones, iPads, or other electronic devices can be used during class.
A laptop is not necessary for completion of in-class work. If you have relevant online material to
share with the class, the classroom computer can be used.
Attendance Policy
Because students who miss two weeksor one-eighth of a sixteen-week semesterof class time
generally have missed too much work to make up, you may be dropped from the course if your
absences total four. An absence is counted if you arrive more than 10 minutes late to class.
Respectful Campus Policy
The English Department affirms its commitment to the joint responsibility of instructors and
students to foster and maintain a positive learning environment. UNM students and instructors
are bound by the terms of the Student Code of Conduct, which is published in the UNM
Pathfinder:http://pathfinder.unm.edu/policies.htm#studentcode.
I discussed much of what this means in the section about student conduct. I will ask disruptive
students, and students that purposefully demean other students, to leave the class if necessary.
ADA Accommodation Policy
Equal Access: If you have a qualified disability that requires some form of accommodation to
ensure your equal access to learning in this class, please see me as soon as possible so that we
can work together to address your needs. A qualified disability is one that has been diagnosed
and documented through UNM's Accessibility Resource Center. See http://as2.unm.edu/ for more
information.

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Course Schedule of Readings and Assignments (Subject to Change)

Unit I: Introduction to Literary Elements of Analysis
Week 1: Introduction to Fiction
Pearson Chapter 1: Reading a Story The Art of Fiction and Types of Short Fiction The
Short Story
Week 2: Plot
Pearson Chapter 6: Theme Plot vs. theme
John Updike A&P
Margaret Atwood Happy Endings
Week 3: Point of View and Narration
Pearson Chapter 2: Types of Narrators and Establishing Point of View
William Faulkner A Rose for Emily
Edgar Allen Poe The Cask of Amantillado
Short Response #1 DUE
Week 4: Character
Pearson Chapter 3: Types of Characters
Nathaniel Hawthorne Young Goodman Brown
Raymond Carver Cathedral
Week 5: Setting
Pearson Chapter 4: Elements of Setting
Kate Chopin The Storm
Jack London To Build a Fire
Week 6: Symbol
Pearson Chapter 7:Symbols, Allegory, and Recognizing Symbols
John Cheever The Swimmer
Shirley Jackson The Lottery
Short Response #2 DUE
Week 7: Contextual Analysis
Pearson Chapter 11: The Critical Casebook Charlotte Perkins Gilman on Writing and
Biographical Echoes in The Yellow Wallpaper
Charlotte Perkins Gilman The Yellow Wallpaper
Week 8: Continue Contextual Analysis of The Yellow Wallpaper
Pearson Chapter 11: The Nervous Breakdown of Women and Gender and Pathology in The
Yellow Wallpaper

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Week 9: SPRING BREAK!
Literary Analysis #1 DUE
Unit 2: Analyzing the Novel
Week 10: A Picture of Dorian Gray
Pearson Chapter 8: Origins of the Novel, Reading Novels, and Novelistic Methods
Dorian Gray Preface and Chapters 1-8
Week 11: Dorian Gray
Dorian Gray Chapters 9-15
The Phenomenon of Aging in Oscar Wilde's Picture of Dorian Gray: Lacanian View
Character Design in The Picture of Dorian Gray
Week 12: Dorian Gray
Pearson Chapter 8: Thinking About Long Stories and Novels and Writing About Long Stories
and Novels
Complete Dorian Gray
Short Response #3 DUE
Unit 3: Drama
Week 13: Whos Afraid of Virgina Woolf?
Read pgs. 1-100
Week 14: Whos Afraid of Virgina Woolf?
Complete Virginia Woolf?
Week 15: Whos Afraid of Virgina Woolf? (film version)
Short Response #4 DUE
Week 16: Review for Final
Week 17: Finals Week
Literary Analysis #2 DUE MONDAY, MAY 6

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ENGL 250 Course Rationale
English 250 is a requirement for all English majors and is meant to prepare students to
succeed in upper-level English courses. In the course students develop techniques for writing
literary analyses. My course is designed to provide students with a toolbox of basic skills with
which to analyze and interpret different literary genres and styles.
Unit One of the course is a detailed look at several literary elements such as plot,
character, setting and symbols and an introduction to contextual research and analysis. Readings
from the textbook will guide students in recognizing and defining each literary element and how
the elements work to create meaning in a text. Unit One is scaffolded to lead into an in-depth
literary analysis of The Yellow Wallpaper in which students practice contextual analysis and
learn how literary criticism and research create in-depth knowledge about a text and can enhance
each students argument about a text.
Unit Two is designed to give students more practice using the analytical tools learned in
Unit One with a different literary form, the novel. The Norton Critical version of The Portrait of
Dorian Gray includes valuable literary criticism and contextual research articles that students
will use to interpret the text. The articles will serve as a springboard for students to guide their
own research and analysis of the text.
Unit Three continues to provide students with opportunities to practice literary analysis
with even more complex material, the play Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Students will learn
about the play from a variety of interpretive viewpoints and therefore learn about the myriad
ways in which literature is interpreted and understood. Students will read the text version to
establish individual interpretations of the literary meanings in the work. Students will compare
their initial reactions to the text with the opinions in critical essays and commentaries included in
the book. The film version will provide students with yet another interpretation of the play. A
comparison of the different interpretations of Whos Afraid of Virgina Woolf? illustrates for
students the ways in which the literary elements construct meaning.
Choosing the readings for this course was difficult because the class does not focus on a
specific literary period. In order to make selecting readings less difficult I used the Pearson
anthology as a guide. The Pearson introduction to literature anthology included analysis and
guided readings of texts that help mine and my students ability to understand literary analysis. I
chose to use The Picture of Dorian Gray because the novel is dense with literary analysis
opportunities, but also because Oscar Wilde is a fascinating historical figure whose life and times
provide exceptional topics for contextual analysis. I chose to use the play Whos Afraid of
Virginia Woolf ? because the play contains material fit for in-depth textual and contextual
analysis. Multiple interpretations of the work illustrate the ability of literature to adapt to new
media and how the use of literary elements affects the interpretation of a text. The readings I
chose for this course are meant to introduce students to how a variety of literary elements create
meaning in a text and how to identify those elements.
Overall I designed this course to be fun and interesting to students while encouraging
them to practice the skills and research processes needed for writing effective and informed
literary analyses.