Table of Contents

Table of Contents 

Preface………………………………………………………………………………………… iii

Acknowledgments………………………………………………………………………. v

Chapters

1 The Creative Dimensions of Literature………………… 1

History of Literature………………………………………………………. 2

Aims of Literature………………………………………………………….. 2

Values Derived from Literature……………………………………… 3

How to Study Literature…………………………………………………. 3

Literary Standards…………………………………………………………. 4

Literary Genres……………………………………………………………… 5

Ingredients of Literature………………………………………………… 5

Figures of Speech…………………………………………………………… 6

Exercises ……………………………………………………………………….. 11

2 Journey into the Power of Imaginative Words

What is Poetry……………………………………………………………….. 15

Characteristics of Poetry………………………………………………… 15

Ornaments of Poetry……………………………………………………… 16

Types of Poetry……………………………………………………………… 16

Poetry Selections

Japan – “Haiku” (Matsuo Basho)………………………………… 19

Exercise 2.1……………………………………………………………….. 21

India – “Ramayana” (Maharshi Valmiki) ……………………. 23

Exercise 2.2……………………………………………………………….. 27

China – “Analects” (Confucius)……………………………… 31

Exercise 2.3………………………………………………………….. 35

Greece –“Iliad” (Homer)……………………………………….. 39

Exercise 2.4………………………………………………………….. 41

Greece – “Odyssey” (Homer) ……………………………….. 43

Exercise 2.5………………………………………………………….. 49

France – “The Ballad of Dead Ladies” …………………… 53

(Francois Villon)

Exercise 2.6………………………………………………………….. 55

U.S.A. – “To Helen” (Edgar Allan Poe)…………………… 57

Exercise 2.7………………………………………………………….. 59

Philippines – “God Said, ‘I Made a Man’” ……………… 61

(Jose Garcia Villa)

Exercise 2.8………………………………………………………….. 63

Nigeria–“Future Plans” (Wole Soyinka)……………….. 65

Exercise 2.9………………………………………………………….. 67

Persia – “Rubaiyat” (Omar Khayyam)……………………. 69

Exercise 2.10………………………………………………………… 73

England – “Sonnet XXIX” (William Shakespeare)…. 77

Exercise 2.32………………………………………………………… 79

3 Creative Expressions of Man’s Journey to Life

Fiction………………………………………………………………………. 81

Types of Fiction………………………………………………………… 81

Other Essentials and Literary Devices……………………….. 83

Selections

France – “The Necklace” (Guy de Maupassant)……… 84

Exercise 3.1………………………………………………………….. 93

England – “Orphan” (Peter Straughan) …………………. 97

Exercise 3.2………………………………………………………….. 103

Egypt – “Half a Day” (Naguib Mahfouz)……………….. 107

Exercise 3.3………………………………………………………….. 111

U.S.A. – “A Rose for Emily” (William Faulkner)…….. 113

Exercise 3.4………………………………………………………….. 123

Russia – “God Sees the Truth But Waits” …………….. 127

(Leo Tolstoy trans. by Louise & Aylmer Maude)

Exercise 2.5………………………………………………………….. 135

Philippines – “The Visitation of the Gods” …………… 139

(Gilda Cordero Fernando)

Exercise 3.6………………………………………………………….. 151

4 Into the Realm of Concepts and Expression

(Essay)……………………………………………………………. 155

Kinds of Essay…………………………………………………………… 156

Selections

U.S.A. – “The Computer and the Poet”………………….. 157

(Norman Cousins)

Exercise 4.1………………………………………………………….. 161

Italy – “Concerning Cruelty”………………………………… 163

(Niccolo Machiavelli)

Exercise 4.2………………………………………………………….. 167

Israel – “The Wisdom of the Fathers”……………………. 169

(Perkei Avot)

Exercise 4.3………………………………………………………….. 177

France – “Of Smells” (Michelle de Montaigne)……….. 179

Exercise 4.4………………………………………………………….. 183

England – “Of Studies” (Francis Bacon)………………… 185.

Exercise 4.5………………………………………………………….. 187

North Africa – “Confessions” ……………………………….. 189

(Saint Augustine)

Exercise 4.6………………………………………………………….. 193

Philippines – “Discipline” (Teodoro F. Valencia)……. 195

Exercise 4.7………………………………………………………….. 197

5 Expressing Human Emotions and Experiences

Through Drama

Elements of Drama……………………………………………………. 199

Major Dramatic Attitude…………………………………………… 201

Types of Drama…………………………………………………………. 202

Selections

England – “The Merchant of Venice” (Excerpt)…….. 203

(William Shakespeare)

Exercise 5.1………………………………………………………….. 211

Greece – “Medea” (Euripides) ………………………………. 213

Exercise 5.2………………………………………………………….. 223

Kenya – “Bones” (Sadru Kassam)………………………….. 225

Exercise 5.3………………………………………………………….. 231

Philippines – “The World Is An Apple”…………………. 233

(Alberto S. Florentino)

Exercise 5.4………………………………………………………….. 245

Russia – “The Bear” (Anton Chekhov)……………………. 247

Exercise 5.5………………………………………………………….. 263

U.S.A – “Granpa and the Statute” …………………………. 265

(Arthur Miller)

Exercise 5.6………………………………………………………….. 277

Bibliography ………………………………………………………………………………. 279