Dr.

ElisabethBayley
InterpretingLiterature:UCLR10009L
CudahyHall,Room206
MWF:11:3012:20
Office:LoyolaHall,307
OfficeNumber:(773)508.2305
OfficeHours:Mondays,9:2010:20,Fridays,10:0011:00,orbyappointment
ebayley@luc.edu
Syllabus
Thisisafoundationalcoursethatintroduceskeyliteraryandcriticaltermsandexploresavariety
ofcriticalapproachestotheanalysisandinterpretationofliterature.Inparticular,wewillbe
lookingattheconceptsofdying,deathandgrievinganddiscusshowtheseconceptsaredepicted
inanumberofdifferentpoems,playsandshortstories.Thesetopicsareoftendifficulttopicsto
discussandyet,theyareinevitablerealitiesineachofourlives.Thus,wewillusetexts,bya
numberofdifferentAmericanauthors,suchasMargaretEdson,RaymondCarver,MaryOliver,
AdrienneRichandmore,toexplorewhatdying,deathandgrievingmightconsistof,notonly
personallybutalsopolitically,andfurther,withinthemedicalfielditself.Themethodof
assessmentwillincludequizzes,three,fourpagepapers,andclassroomparticipation.
CoreLearningObjectives:
Gainfactualknowledgeaboutliteraryterminology

Acquirethecriticalandtechnicalvocabularyenablingstudentstodescribe,analyze,and
formulateanargumentaboutworksoffiction,poetryanddrama.Studentswilllearnto
use"termsofart"suchasplot,narrativevoice,pointofview,structure,character,
symbol,theme,andstyle,inordertoanalyzeandinterpretworksofliterature.

Learnfundamentalprinciplesaboutliterature

Examinemultipleinterpretivepossibilitiesofselectedworksofliterature.Through
discussionand/orcriticalreadings,thiscoursewilloffervaryinginterpretationsofa
numberofshortstoriesandwillgivestudentspracticeindiscussingandwritingabout
theirownandothers'interpretations.

Improvewritingskills

Comprehend,paraphrase,summarize,andcontextualizethemeaningofliteraturethrough
writtenassignments.

Willdevelopaclearerunderstandingof,andcommitmentto,personalvalues

Acquireagreaterunderstandingofsomeofthemainthemesindifferenttextsofpoetry,
fictionanddramaandbeabletointerprethowreadingthesetextsassistsoneingaininga
greaterdepthofknowledgeofonesownpersonalvalues

ClassReadings:
MostclassreadingsareavailableonSakaiunderresources.However,youarerequiredto
purchasethreetextsforthecourse.Theyare:

W;tbyMargaretEdson
TheLaramieProjectbyMoissKaufman
AngelsinAmericabyTonyKushner

Iencourageyoutopurchaseyourcopiesfromthebookstoresoweallhavethesameversionof
thetext.Ifyoudonot,pleasemakesure,thatifyoupurchasethebookfromadifferentbookseller
otherthanLoyolasbookstore,thatyougetthesameversionofthebooksothatyouareableto
followalongwithclassdiscussions.AllotherreadingswillbeavailableonSakai.
Readingsforclass:
Poetry:

Prose:

WhenDeathComesbyMaryOliver
GravelbyMaryOliver
TodayisNottheDaybyAudreLorde
PoemsbyDonaldHall
LetEveningComeJaneKenyon
AWomanDeadinherFortiesAdrienneRich
PoemsbyPamelaGillilan
WritebyPamelaGillilan

TheMasqueoftheRedDeathbyEdgarAllanPoe
TheStoryofanHourbyKateChopin
BrokebackMountainbyAnnieProulx
ASmallGoodThingbyRaymondCarver
TheFlowersbyAliceWalker
ARoseforEmilybyWilliamFaulkner
TheKnifeThrowerbyStevenMillhauser
EscapefromSpiderheadGeorgeSaunders
TheSculptorsFuneralbyWillaCather
AGoodManisHardtoFindbyFlanneryOConnor
ThePowerofDarknessbyIsaacBashevisSinger

Drama:
WitbyMargaretEdson
TheLaramieProjectbyMoissKaufman
AngelsinAmericabyTonyKushner
NonFiction:
Certainpages(thepageswillbenotedinclassschedulebelow)inOnGriefandGrieving
byElisabethKblerRossandDavidKessler
ALivingHumanBeingfromTheNeedsoftheDyingbyDavidKessler
PrecariousLife(Chapter2)byJudithButler
ReadingaPoem:20StrategiesinTheAtlantic
PoeticTerms
LiteraryTerms
DramaTerms
January12:Firstclass,Introductionandgooversyllabus
January14:ReadingaPoem:20StrategiesinTheAtlantic,PoeticTerms,andWhenDeath
ComesbyMaryOliver
January16:WhenDeathComescontinued
January19NoclassesMLKday
January21:GravelbyMaryOliver,sectionentitledAfterlife(pp.105114)byElisabeth
KblerRossandDavidKessler
January23:TodayisnottheDaybyAudreLorde
January26:PoemsbyDonaldHall,ALivingHumanBeing(Chapter1)fromTheNeedsofthe
DyingbyDavidKessler
January28:ALivingHumanBeingContinued
January30:PoemsbyDonaldHall,TheLetters
February2:TheLetterscontinued
February4:DonaldHallspoem,KilltheDay,LetEveningComebyJaneKenyon
February6:AWomanDeadinherFortiesAdrienneRich,OnGriefandGrieving,section
entitledRegret(pp.3841)byElisabethKblerRossandDavidKessler
February9:PoemsbyPamelaGillilan
February11:WritebyPamelaGillilan

February13:Firstpaperdue!BeginningofProsesection,LiteraryTerms,TheMasqueof
theRedDeathbyEdgarAllanPoe
February16:TheStoryofanHourbyKateChopin,OnGriefandGrieving,sectionentitled
Fantasy(pp.97101)andStrength(pp.101105)byElisabethKblerRossandDavid
Kessler
February18:PrecariousLife(chapter2)byJudithButler
February20:TheSculptorsFuneralbyWillaCather,LifeBeliefs(pp.7881)byElisabeth
KblerRossandDavidKessler
February23:ARoseforEmilybyWilliamFaulkner,OnGriefandGrieving,sectionentitled
Secrets(pp.8589)byElisabethKblerRoss
February25:BrokebackMountainbyAnnieProulxOnGriefandGrieving,sectionentitled
Isolation(pp.8185)byElisabethKblerRossandDavidKessler
February27:BrokebackMountaincontinued
March27noclassesspringbreak
March9:ASmallGoodThingbyRaymondCarver,OnGriefandGrieving,sectionentitled
Angels(pp.4751)byElisabethKblerRossandDavidKessler
March11:TheFlowersbyAliceWalker
March13:ThePowerofDarknessbyIsaacBashevisSinger
March16:AGoodManisHardtoFindbyFlanneryOConnor
March18:TheKnifeThrowerbyStevenMillhauser
March20:EscapefromSpiderheadGeorgeSaunders
March23:BeginningofDramasection,DramaTerms,AngelsinAmericabyTonyKushner
March25:Secondpaperonprosedue!AngelsinAmericabyTonyKushner,continued
March27:AngelsinAmericabyTonyKushner,continued
March30:AngelsinAmericabyTonyKushner,continued
April1:AngelsinAmericabyTonyKushner,continued
April3noclassEasterbreak
April6noclassEasterbreak

April8:TheLaramieProjectbyMoissKaufman
April10:TheLaramieProjectbyMoissKaufman,continued
April13:TheLaramieProjectbyMoissKaufman,continued
April15:TheLaramieProjectbyMoissKaufman,continued
April17:W;tbyMargaretEdson
April20:W;tbyMargaretEdson,continued
April22:W;tbyMargaretEdson,continued
April24:W;tbyMargaretEdson,continued,lastdayofclass
Pleasenote:thedaythatthereadingislistedunderisthedaytheentirereadingmustbe
readby!
Finalexam:Finalpaperondramadue!
FinalGrades:
1.Willconsistofthree,fourpagepapers.Eachpaperisworth25%ofyourfinalgrade
1. Papernumberone:dueFebruary13
2. Papernumbertwo:dueMarch25
Papernumberthree:dueonfinalexamdate,April27,Monday,1:003:00
2.Willconsistofclassroomparticipation:15%pointsoffinalgrade

Classroomparticipationconsistsofcontributingtoclassroomdiscussioninaconstructive
wayandattendance.
Ifyoudonotfeelcomfortablewithspeakinginclass,pleaseletmeknowsothatwe
canarrangesomealternativewayforyoutoparticipate
PLEASENOTE:comingtoclassandnotparticipatingdoesnotcounttowardyour
classroomparticipation!
DONOTBELATE!Beingtardytoclasswillresultina0.5%deductionfromyour
finalgrade.

3.Willconsistofpopquizzes:10%offinalgrade
Iwillgivetenpopquizzesthroughoutthesemester.Pleasehaveawritingutensiland
paperavailabletotakethesequizzes.Youwilleitherreceiveapassorfailgradeforeach
ofthesequizzes.

Ifyouareabsentduringtheclasswhenaquizisgiven,youwillreceivea0onthequiz.
Therearenomakeupquizzesbutyoucanmakethepercentagepointupbydoingextra
credit.

3. ExtraCredit:
Ifyouwouldliketoreceiveextracreditpointstowardyourfinalgrade,youhavethe
optionofdoingallthree,twoorjustoneoftheextracreditassignmentslocatedunder
ResourcesonSakai.Eachassignmentisworth1%extracredittowardyourgrade.You
mayturntheminanytimeduringthesemester,however,Iwillnolongeraccept
extracreditafterApril22.
Pleasenote:youcannotmakeabovea100%inthisclass!
AllgradesforassignmentswillbelistedinSakai,however,yourfinalgradewillbesubmitted
throughLocusandwillbedistributedtoyoubytheuniversity.
LetterGradesbyPercentage.

A(93100),A(9092)
B+(8789),B(8386),B(8082)
C+(7779),C(7376),C(7072)
D+(6769),D(6366),D(6062)
F(059)
FirstPaperDue:February13,atthebeginningofclass
Writeafourpagepaperononeofthepoems(excludingWhenDeathComesbyMary
Oliverpoem!)wehavelookedatinclass.YoumustcorrectlyuseATLEASTFIVEofthepoetic
termsforanalysiswehavestudiedsofarthissemester.Boldeachtermwhenyouusethemthe
firsttime.Alsodiscussatleastthreeofthemajorthemesinthispoem.
Length:four,fullpages.Thismeansyoushouldhaveonesentencethatrunsontothetopofpage
five.
Formatting:12ptTimesNewRoman,doublespaced,1inchmarginsallaround,MLAcitation,
uploadedonSakaias.docor.docxtitledLASTNAMEPOETRY.doc
PleaseturninahardcopyofyourpaperandalsouploadyourpaperonSakai,underthe
Assignmentstab,bythebeginningoftheclassperiod.
SuccessfulPapersWill
1.)Explicitlyanalyzethreethemesintheworkofapoem
2.)Usetextualevidencebystayingclosetothespecificwordsthatmakeupthepoem
3.)Correctlyuseatleastfivepoetickeywordsandboldthemwhenfirstused
4.)Meetallformattingandlengthrequirements

ADVICE
a) Your short introductory paragraph should make the topic you are addressing clear and
interestingtoyourreadersandshouldendwithathesisstatement.
b)Thebodyparagraphsshouldeachdevelopamajorpointthatsupportsyourthesis.Eachpoint
shouldbesupportedby quotationsanddetailedreferences tothepoem.Besuretoincludea
transitionandtopicsentenceatthebeginningofeachparagraphtoshowhowitisconnectedwith
thepreviousparagraphandhowthepointitdevelopssupportsyourthesis.
c)Theconclusionshouldsumup(withoutrepetition)yourargument.
d)Youressayshouldbeverywellwritten(sentencestructure,grammar,wordchoice,punctuation,
spelling).
e)PleaseDOUBLESPACEandNUMBERyourpages.
f)Makesuretostapleyourpaper!
g)Makesureyouputyournameonyourpaper!
h)PROOFREAD!!!
SecondPaperDue:March25,atthebeginningofclass
Writeafourpagepaperononeoftheshortstories(excludingTheMasqueoftheRedDeath
byEdgarAllanPoe!)wehavereadinclass.YoumustcorrectlyuseATLEASTFIVEofthe
literarytermsforanalysiswehavestudiedsofarthissemester.Boldeachtermwhenyouuse
themthefirsttime.Alsodiscussatleastthreeofthemajorthemesinthispoem.
Length:four,fullpages.Thismeansyoushouldhaveonesentencethatrunsontothetopofpage
five.
Formatting:12ptTimesNewRoman,doublespaced,1inchmarginsallaround,MLAcitation,
uploadedtosakaias.docor.docxtitledLASTNAMEFICTION.doc
PleaseturninahardcopyofyourpaperandalsouploadyourpaperonSakai,underthe
Assignmentstab,bythebeginningoftheclassperiod.
SuccessfulPapersWill
1.)Explicitlyanalyzethreethemesintheworkofthisstory
2.)Usetextualevidencebystayingclosetothespecificwordsorphrasesthatmakeupthisstory
3.)Correctlyuseatleastfiveliterarykeywordsandboldthemwhenfirstused
4.)Meetallformattingandlengthrequirements
ADVICE
a) Your short introductory paragraph should make the topic you are addressing clear and
interestingtoyourreadersandshouldendwithanthesisstatement.
b)Thebodyparagraphsshouldeachdevelopamajorpointthatsupportsyourthesis.Eachpoint
shouldbesupportedby quotationsanddetailedreferences tothestory.Besuretoincludea
transitionandtopicsentenceatthebeginningofeachparagraphtoshowhowitisconnectedwith
thepreviousparagraphandhowthepointitdevelopssupportsyourthesis.
c)Theconclusionshouldsumup(withoutrepetition)yourargument.

d)Youressayshouldbeverywellwritten(sentencestructure,grammar,wordchoice,punctuation,
spelling).
e)PleaseDOUBLESPACEandNUMBERyourpages.
f)Makesureyoustapleyourpaper!
g)Makesureyouputyournameonyourpaper!
h)PROOFREAD!!!
FinalPaperdueduringexamperiod:April27,Monday,1:003:00
Writeafourpagepaperononeofthefourplayswehavereadinclass.Youmustcorrectlyuse
ATLEASTFIVEofthedramatictermsforanalysiswehavestudiedsofarthissemester.Bold
eachtermwhenyouusethemthefirsttime.Alsodiscussatleastthreeofthemajorthemesinthe
playyouchoose.
Length:fourfullpages.Thismeansyoushouldhaveonesentencethatrunsontothetopofpage
five.
Formatting:12ptTimesNewRoman,doublespaced,1inchmarginsallaround,MLAcitation,
uploadedtoSakaias.docor.docxtitledLASTNAMEDRAMA.doc
PleaseturninyourfinalpaperonSakai,underassignments,bytheendoftheexamperiod.
SuccessfulPapersWill
1.)Explicitlyanalyzetwothemesintheworkofthisplay
2.)Usetextualevidencebystayingclosetothespecificwordsorphrasesthatmakeupthisdrama
3.)Correctlyuseatleastfiveliterarykeywordsandboldthemwhenfirstused
4.)Meetallformattingandlengthrequirements
ADVICE
a) Your short introductory paragraph should make the topic you are addressing clear and
interestingtoyourreadersandshouldendwithathesisstatement.
b)Thebodyparagraphsshouldeachdevelopamajorpointthatsupportsyourthesis.Eachpoint
shouldbesupportedby quotationsanddetailedreferences tothestory.Besuretoincludea
transitionandtopicsentenceatthebeginningofeachparagraphtoshowhowitisconnectedwith
thepreviousparagraphandhowthepointitdevelopssupportsyourthesis.
c)Theconclusionshouldsumup(withoutrepetition)yourargument.
d)Youressayshouldbeverywellwritten(sentencestructure,grammar,wordchoice,punctuation,
spelling).
e)PleaseDOUBLESPACEandNUMBERyourpages.
f)Makesureyoustapleyourpaper!
g)Makesureyouputyournameonyourpaper!
h)PROOFREAD!!!
Plagiarism:

Academicdishonesty:Academicintegrityiscrucialtoacademicwork.Plagiarismandcheating
areconsideredveryseriousethicaloffensesatLoyolaandwillnotbetolerated.Itisthestudents
responsibilitytounderstandwhatisconsideredacademicdishonestyandtofullycomplywith
universitystandards.Anystudentwhoiscaughtengaginginacademicdishonestywillbegivena
zerogradeontheassignmentandwillbereportedtothedeanofhisorhercollegeforpossible
furtheraction,suchasfailingthecourseorbeingsuspendedfromLoyolaUniversity.Ifyouhave
questionsaboutwhatisorisnotplagiarism,seeme.Foracompletedefinitionofacademic
dishonestyandrelatedLoyolapolicies,see
http://www.luc.edu/cas/pdfs/CAS_Academic_Integrity_Statement_December_07.pdfand
http://luc.edu/english/writing.shtml#source.
Attendance:
Youarerequiredtoattendeveryclass.Ifyouareunabletoattendpleaseletmeknowinadvance.
Youwillbegivenoneabsencethatwillnotresultinanygradededuction.Anyfurtherabsences
willresultina0.5%deductionfromyourgradeforeachdayabsent.Pleaseletmeknowvia
email,priortoclass,ifyouhavetomissaclass.However,thiscommunicationdoesnotalways
excuseanabsence.
DONOTBELATE!Beingtardytoclasswillresultina0.5%deductionfromyourfinalgrade.
ClassroomDecorum:Youareexpectedtohaveallneededcourseworkwithyouonthedaysthey
areassigned.Youareexpectedtobeengagedwithcoursematerialsinclass!
Laptopcomputers,shouldbepoweredoffandkeptoutofsightduringclass;textingis
prohibitedduringclassandwillresultinalossofparticipationpointsforthesession.You
areallowedtobringatabletoriPadwiththedailyreadingmaterialsonit,however,youmaynot
usethedeviseintheclassroomforanythingelseotherthanforthecoursereadings.Alldiscussion
duringclassshouldbefocusedoncoursecontent.
StudentsWithDisabilities:
StudentsrequiringaccommodationsshouldfirstconsultwithLoyolasServicesforStudentsWith
Disabilities(SSWD).FromLoyolasServicesforStudentsWithDisabilitieswebpage:Services
forStudentswithDisabilities(SSWD)servesstudentswithdisabilitiesbycreatingandfostering
anaccessiblelearningenvironment.Weaimtoempowerstudentswithdiverseneedsby
enhancingtheirselfawareness,selfdeterminationandselfadvocacy.Wepromoteawarenessof
theneedsofstudentswithdisabilitiesandencouragetheLoyolacommunitytorespectandcare
foreachindividual.LoyolaUniversityChicagoiscommittedtocompliancewithlegal
requirementsincludingSection504oftheRehabilitationActof1973,Section508ofthe
RehabilitationActof1998,andtheAmericanswithDisabilitiesActAmendments(ADAA)of
2008.
IfyouwouldlikeassistancewithyourwritingpleaseconsulttheLoyolaUniversitywriting
center.ThestaffoftheLoyolaUniversityChicagoWritingCentersbelievesthatallwritersof
alllevelsofabilitycanbenefitfromhavingothersreadandrespondtotheirwork.Suggestions
andquestionsofferedbyothersduringthewritingprocesscanhelpwritersdevelopandclarify
theirideasaswellasgainagreaterawarenessoftheiraudiences.Thestaffhelpsstudentsdevelop

strategiesforbrainstormingtogetstartedontheirpapersandorganizingtheirthoughtsintoa
focusedandwelldevelopedpaper.
Whencommunicatingwithmeviaemail,pleaseuseyourLoyolaaccountasallother
accountsmaybeperceivedaspossiblejunkmailandthereforemaynotbeopened!
Pleasenotethatthesyllabusmaychangeasweproceedthroughthecourseandanychange
willbeannouncedonSakaiandinclass.
Loyolasofficialacademiccalendarcanbefoundhere:
www.luc.edu/academics/schedules