Widely used in introductory literature courses, this book provides valuable guidelines for interpreting literature and writing essays. It includes a thorough discussion of the 3 main literary genres--fiction, drama, and poetry, an overview of literary theory, guidelines for writing essays, procedures for writing and documenting research essays, a selection of full-length works that illustrate key points, and student essays. This text provides valuable guidelines for interpreting literature and writing essays about literature. (Cengage Learning EMEA)