Literature

What makes a good research topic in a literature class? What does your professor mean by "peer-reviewed" sources? What should you do if you can't find enough material? This approachable guide walks students through the process of research in literary studies, providing them with tools for responding successfully to course assignments.

Losing yourself in a great book transports you to another time and place, and The Literature Book sets each title in its social and political context. It helps you appreciate, for example, how Dickens’ Bleak House paints a picture of deprivation in 19th-century England, or how Stalin’s climb to power was the backdrop for George Orwell’s 1984.

The most wide-ranging collection of its kind, The Norton Introduction to Poetry offers a complete course in reading and writing about poetry that is designed to appeal to students of all backgrounds, abilities, and interests. It not only sharpens students' close-reading skills and deepens their appreciation for the emotional power of poetry, but also connects poetry to the larger world by providing a thorough introduction to poetry's authorial, cultural, and critical contexts.