The language of literature

The 1996 edition of this anthology organizes a broad range of global literary works into structured pedagogical units focused on genre, historical context, and critical analysis. Arthur N. Applebee and his co-authors present short stories, poetry, and drama from diverse traditions alongside instructional sections that define literary devices like allegory, syntax, and voice. The text emphasizes a reader-response framework, using specific sets of questions to guide the identification of structural elements and historical influences. It includes biographical profiles of authors and sidebars that explain vocabulary and rhetorical strategies within the primary texts.

This volume serves students and educators in middle and high school English curricula who require a foundational survey of written craftsmanship. Readers use these selections to develop their ability to interpret complex narratives and construct evidence-based arguments about a text's meaning. The book provides a technical vocabulary for discussing literature and an introduction to the conventions of academic writing. A reader completes the text with a functional comprehension of how formal literary mechanisms operate across different eras and cultures.