The Life Of Texts

This innovative introduction to literary studies takes 'the life of texts' as its overarching frame. It provides a conceptual and methodological toolbox for analysing novels, poems, and all sorts of other texts as they circulate in oral, print, and digital form. It shows how texts inspire each other, and how stories migrate across media. It explains why literature has been interpreted in different ways across time. Finally, it asks why some texts fascinate people so much that they are reproduced and passed on to others in the form of new editions, in adaptations to film and theatre, and, last but not least, in the ways we look at the world and act out our lives. The Life of Texts is designed around particular issues rather than the history of the discipline as such. Each chapter concentrates on a different aspect of 'the life of texts' and introduces the key debates and concepts relevant to its study. The issues discussed range from aesthetics and narrative to intertextuality and intermediality, from reading practices to hermeneutics and semiotics, popular culture to literary canonisation, postcolonial criticism to cultural memory. Key concepts and schools in the field have been highlighted in the text and then collected in a glossary for ease of reference. All chapters are richly illustrated with examples from different language areas.

Now in its second edition, How to Read Texts introduces students to key critical approaches to literary texts and offers a practical introduction for students developing their own critical and close-reading skills. Written in a lively, jargon-free style, it explains critical concepts, approaches and ideas including: - Debates around critical theory - The role of history and context - The links between creativity and criticism - The relationship between author, reader and text. The new edition now includes guidance on analysing a range of multi-media texts, including film and online media as well as the purely literary. In addition to new practical examples, readings, exercises and 'checkpoints' that help students to build confidence in their own critical readings of both primary and secondary texts, the book now also offers guidance on writing fully-formed critical essays and tips for independent research. Comprehensively updated and revised throughout, How to Read Texts is an indispensible guide for students making the transition to university study.

An investigation into texts specifically addressed to women sheds new light on female literary cultures.

Use these level 3 paired texts to test your students' understanding of the key ideas, details, and text structures! Students will also be assessed on their ability to evaluate and draw reasonable conclusions about the text.

The focus of this book is the inclusion of informational texts in primary-grade teaching and learning. Each chapter references particular Common Core State Standards that are connected to the chapter and includes techniques to aid students in obtaining mastery of the Standards.

There are few biblical texts more familiar to Christians than Psalm 23: "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want . . ." It is one of the Bible's most popular passages, retaining a special place in ministry and giving hope to the burdened. Internationally recognized Old Testament scholar Richard Briggs helps readers understand the power and vision of Psalm 23. He offers a close word-by-word and phrase-by-phrase reading of this classic and beloved text, showing how it can speak afresh to the life of the church today. Briggs explores the reception of Psalm 23 down through the ages, covers background issues, and examines the ways the psalm addresses practical issues such as stress, death, enemies, and hope. The book helps reconnect the Christian church to the Old Testament, making it perfect for sermon preparation and small group study. The Touchstone Texts series addresses key Bible passages, making high-quality biblical scholarship accessible for the church. The series editor is Stephen B. Chapman, Duke Divinity School.

The Lives of Texts: Exploring the Metaphor examines various instances of “textual subsistence” implied by the title. Drawing on the parallel between a text and a living organism, the contributors analyze various literary texts ranging from the Middle Ages to postmodernity, as well as film adaptations and the graphic novel. Apart from the works of canonical writers, attention is also drawn to some long-forgotten authors, along with the most recent instances of popular literature and culture. The exploration of the title metaphor allows the contributors to trace life-like phenomena (e.g. textual birth, maturation, dissemination, death and resurrection) in the texts of writers so remote from each other as Layamon, Thomas More, Mary Shelley, Charles Williams, Ursula Le Guin, A. S. Byatt, Peter Ackroyd, Iain Banks, J. K. Rowling, or Neil Gaiman.