Lesson Overview - An Introduction to Literary Criticism: Presentation & Handouts

The First (and main) Handout

The Goals of the Unit

The first handout (2-sided) has a brief description of this project - its goals, methods, challenges, and rewards.  Here is how it begins (I usually have a student read it out loud): "These will be a different kind of journal than what you have been doing so far this year – the vast majority will be written and kept in a binder.  They will require a great deal of self-discipline and commitment on your part.  Do not fall behind – the entire unit on Literary Criticism will take 7 days – during that time it will require a lot of your time – in class and at home – but the rewards are great:  The kind of nonfiction reading and writing you will be doing are incredibly beneficial both in terms of having a greater command of English and Language Arts and they are also a great preparation for your SAT (and ACT) test later this year."

What is Literary Criticism

Next, there is a description of just what Literary Criticism is.  Here is the beginning of that section: "According to Hazard Adams in The Interests of Criticism (1969), literary criticism is "a disciplined inquiry into the nature and function of literature. It is a branch of philosophy (aesthetics and epistemology), and it develops and changes dialectically in accordance with philosophy and epistemology. Thus it is and must be self-aware, self-critical, and evolving."   Again, I have one or two students read this section aloud - and I answer any questions.

The process

The handout goes on to give a description of how the students will complete their journals (this will be gone over in the presentation as well).  Because it goes into some amount of detail - I ask that you look at the handout and/or presentation found below for more on that procedure.

A Timeline (What's Due)

Finally (on this side), there is a schedule for what is due, and when.  It breaks down and lists the readings (including the all-important order that the handouts should be read in) and the journals - giving dues dates.  for the entire project.  The students are told (if it's not on the handout then I tell them verbally) that there will be two random checks of their journals during class.  I will, in fact, walk around the room and glance at their journals every day while they do their Group Work (after the quiz) - and they will not be allowed to work in a group if it is not up to date (or if they fail the reading content quiz).

The back of the handout has an outline of some of A.C. Bradley's ideas about Shakespearean Tragedy (for their reading suite).

It should also be noted that the students are told to put this first handout in their Binders on the very first page where they can easily access it  (they need to have a binder with at least eight separated sections. 

 The Presentation

After going over the handout, I show a presentation on the mechanics of the Literary Criticism Unit to really make sure they have an inkling of how this will be done (though as I said earlier it becomes very clear ones they've begun).  I've included both the Power Point and the PDF version of this presentation - whichever works best for you.  I present the slide show - and then ask the students if they have any questions.