GENRE

1. TRAGEDY

Romeo and Juliet By Shakespeare

Years ago there lived in the city of Verona in Italy two noble families, the Montagues and
Capulets. Unfortunately, there existed much bad blood between them. Their animosity
was so pronounced that they could not stand the sight of one another. Even the servants
of the house carried on the animosity of their masters. The bloody feuds of the two
families led the Prince to order all brawls to cease on pain of death.

Romeo, son of old Montague, is a handsome young man. He fancies he is in love with
Rosaline, who disdains his love. As a result, Romeo is depressed. To cure him of his love,
his friend Benvolio induces him to attend a masked ball at the Capulets, where he could
encounter other beauties and forget Rosaline. At the ball, Romeo is attracted by a girl
who he learns is Juliet, daughter of the Capulets. They seal their love with a kiss. Juliet, on
learning Romeo’s identity from a servant, confesses to herself that her only love has
sprung from her only hate. Meanwhile, the fiery Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin, recognizes Romeo
and challenges him. Old Capulet forbids him to insult or harm any guest. Tybalt vows to
settle the score with Romeo later.

2. COMEDY

All’s Well that Ends Well By William Shakespeare

Following his father’s death, Bertram, the young Count of Rossillion, leaves home to
attend the court of the ailing King of France, along with his friend Parolles. Helena, the
Countess’s ward, is in love with Bertram, and reveals her affection to the Countess, who
is sympathetic. She gives Helena permission to visit Paris in an attempt to cure the King
of his ailment using a drug devised by Helena’s father, a physician.

Lafew, a lord at court, persuades the King to see Helena, and he is cured by her medicine.
As a reward, she is offered a husband of her choice, and she chooses Bertram. He rejects
her for her lack of social standing, but then accepts her rather than suffer the King’s anger.
He decides to leave for Florence and the Tuscan wars, along with Parolles, abruptly
sending Helena back home.
 3. EPIC

The odyssey by Homer

Ten years after the fall of Troy, the victorious Greek hero Odysseus has still not returned
to his native Ithaca. A band of rowdy suitors, believing Odysseus to be dead, has overrun
his palace, courting his faithful -- though weakening -- wife, Penelope, and going through
his stock of food. With permission from Zeus, the goddess Athena, Odysseus' greatest
immortal ally, appears in disguise and urges Odysseus' son Telemachus to seek news of
his father at Pylos and Sparta. However, the suitors, led by Antinous, plan to ambush him
upon his return.

4. SATIRE

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn By Mark Twain

As Huckleberry Finn opens, Huck is none too thrilled with his new life of cleanliness,
manners, church, and school. However, he sticks it out at the bequest of Tom Sawyer,
who tells him that in order to take part in Tom’s new “robbers’ gang,” Huck must stay
“respectable.” All is well and good until Huck’s brutish, drunken father, Pap, reappears in
town and demands Huck’s money. The local judge, Judge Thatcher, and the Widow try
to get legal custody of Huck, but another well-intentioned new judge in town believes in
the rights of Huck’s natural father and even takes the old drunk into his own home in an
attempt to reform him. This effort fails miserably, and Pap soon returns to his old ways.
He hangs around town for several months, harassing his son, who in the meantime has
learned to read and to tolerate the Widow’s attempts to improve him. Finally, outraged
when the Widow Douglas warns him to stay away from her house, Pap kidnaps Huck and
holds him in a cabin across the river from St. Petersburg.

5. LYRIC

Italian Sonnet By James DeFord

Turn back the heart you've turned away

Give back your kissing breath

Leave not my love as you have left

The broken hearts of yesterday

But wait, be still, don't lose this way

Affection now, for what you guess

May be something more, could be less

Accept my love, live for today.

Your roses wilted, as love spurned

Yet trust in me, my love and truth

Dwell in my heart, from which you've turned

My strength as great as yours aloof.

It is in fear you turn away

And miss the chance of love today!

6. NOVEL

Nightmare Abbey By Thomas Love Peacock

Refused by one young lady in his youth, Christopher Glowry immediately marries another.
His wife is cold and gloomy, and Nightmare Abbey is a fitting name for her house. Glowry
finds relief from his unhappy life in food and drink, and when his lady dies, he is easily
consoled by increasing his consumption of food and wine. She left one son, Scythrop,
who is gloomy enough to suit his father and Nightmare Abbey. A university education
has so stripped Scythrop of his thin veneer of social graces that he is rapidly becoming a
country boor like his father.

7. ESSAY

The Sacred Grove of Oshogbo By Jeffrey Tayler

“As I passed through the gates I heard a squeaky voice. A diminutive middle-aged man
came out from behind the trees — the caretaker. He worked a toothbrush-sized stick
around in his mouth, digging into the crevices between algae’d stubs of teeth. He was
barefoot; he wore a blue batik shirt known as a buba, baggy purple trousers, and an
embroidered skullcap. I asked him if he would show me around the shrine. Motioning me
to follow, he spat out the results of his stick work and set off down the trail.”

8. BIOGRAPHY

Arthur Miller: Attention Must Be Paid By James Campbell

This biography is written in the form of a drama, presented in just two acts. In the first act,
the author shows the famous dramatist, Arthur Miller, in his early success, having
the love of the most beloved woman in the world, and resisting tyranny. However, in the
second act of this biography, the author shows that the hero was badly assaulted and
ridiculed by a rowdy mob called critics, who are expelled from the conventional theater.
He ends his book with rhetorical details related to a revitalization in the fortunes of the
playwright.

CLASSIFICATION OF LITERATURE

PROSE:

A. FICTION:
1. SHORT STORY

THE JAGUAR By Bekah Ferguson

For more than a decade I researched the plight of LGBTQ Christians in the church;
perusing countless testimonies, the efficacy stats of several decades’ worth of reparative
therapy, and the Biblical texts known as “clobber passages.” One verse kept coming to
mind again and again: “Can a leopard change his spots?”

While visiting the zoo one year, I noticed that if the sun hits a panther just right, you can
see the faint outline of hidden spots beneath its black coat. So, I did some research on
panthers, leopards, and jaguars and made a fascinating discovery: panthers are melanistic
leopards and jaguars. Therefore, a panther can give birth to both black and spotted cubs.
With this information, the idea for a fable quickly took shape . . .

2. NOVEL

Moby Dick NOVEL BY MELVILLE

Moby Dick famously begins with the narratorial invocation “Call me Ishmael.”
The narrator, like his biblical counterpart, is an outcast. Ishmael, who turns to the sea for
meaning, relays to the audience the final voyage of the Pequod, a whaling vessel. Amid
a story of tribulation, beauty, and madness, the reader is introduced to a number of
characters, many of whom have names with religious resonance. The ship’s captain
is Ahab, who Ishmael and his friend Queequeg soon learn is losing his mind. Starbuck,
Ahab’s first-mate, recognizes this problem too, and is the only one throughout the novel
to voice his disapproval of Ahab’s increasingly obsessive behavior. This nature of
Ahab’s obsession is first revealed to Ishmael and Queequeg after the Pequod’s owners,
Peleg and Bildad, explain to them that Ahab is still recovering from an encounter with a
large whale that resulted in the loss of his leg. That whale’s name is Moby Dick.
The Pequod sets sail, and the crew is soon informed that this journey will be unlike their
other whaling missions: this time, despite the reluctance of Starbuck, Ahab intends to hunt
and kill the beastly Moby Dick no matter the cost.

3. NOVELETTE

Death in Venice By Thomas Mann

Death in Venice is a wonderful classic novella. It is an amazingly condensed story about

the relationship between life and art and life and death. Venice sets background of this
story. It is based on a renowned German writer, who is following unusual routines, falling
for a young lad, and getting trapped in a slight downward twist of indulgence. The
construction of this novella follows the framework of Greek tragedyin which author has
used unity of form, motives and themes superbly.

4. PLAY

The Man Who Had All the Luck By Arthur Miller

Arthur Miller’s earliest play to run on the Broadway stage, The Man Who Had All the
Luck (1944), began in the form of a novel—his student, friend and biographer Christopher
Bigsby tells us in his pre-show talk on January 20. Over the course of four years, Miller
wrote several drafts, unsure how best to present his themes; through which medium?
through which plot? should there be an enlightened redemption or a tragic fall for his
hero? From 1941 he began working the “fable” into a play. In late 1944 it arrived at the
Forrest Theater, where it ran for three days and four performances before being called
off the stage, a failure, though recognized by many critics as a promising indication of
good work to come.

5. TALE

Many Moons By James Thurber

Princess Lenore has fallen ill and there is only one thing that can make her feel better, the
moon. Can the King figure out a way to satisfy his daughters demands? Only with the
help of an unassuming assistant... his court jester!

6. LEGEND

King Arthur

According to medieval histories, King Arthur was the British leader who led the British
army against the invaders in the 5th and 6th centuries. It is mainly folklore that led to the
composition of the legendary King Arthur story. Some literary inventions have been made
in the story, but historical existence of King Arthur has always been questioned. There
exist a few historical sources, such as the Annales Cambrige, the Historia Brittonum, and
the writings of Gildas, which may be attributed as sources of the legend of King Arthur.

7. HISTORICAL FICTION

Little House on the Prairie Book By Garth Williams

One winter during the late 1800s, Laura Ingalls and her family leave the woods of
Wisconsin for the West because where they live has become crowded with new settlers.
They hope to cross the Mississippi River before its frozen ice melts. They will travel across
Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri and Kansas to reach the open prairies.
While crossing a creek with unusually high water, the family loses their loyal dog, Jack,
who is taken downriver. As they travel, the landscape slowly changes, but Pa discovers
plenty of good hunting. At night they hear the howl of wolves, which scares the children.
Laura spots eyes in the darkness staring at them. It turns out to be Jack; he found his way
back to them.

8. FABLE

Gulliver’s Travels By Jonathan Swift

Gulliver’s Travels is a mixture of political allegory, moral fable, mock utopia, and social
anatomy. In this excerpt, Captain Gulliver reaches an unknown place among strange
creatures who speak a strange language. This is a type of modern fable intended to
satirize political vices.

B. NON-FICTION:
 1. ESSAY AND CRITICISM

The Merchant of Venice By William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare wrote The Merchant of Venice between 1596-1598. It is usually
classified as a romantic comedy though its dramatic scenes are hugely popular and some
speeches amongst characters like Shylock and Portia have incited much study and
debate.

The play begins with Bassanio, a young man and a Venetian of noble rank. Bassanio would
like to earn the hand of the rich heiress Portia, but since he's squandered away his wealth
he needs some help reaching the 3000 ducat fee that guarantees him as a suitor. Bassanio
asks his friend Antonio, a merchant of Venice who is wealthy and has previously come to
his aid.

2. BIOGRAPHY

Why this World: A Biography of Clarice Lispector By Benjamin Moser

After perusing his own private manuscripts and writings, this modernist writer, Benjamin
Moser, has explored the mystique surrounding Brazilian writer Clarice Lispector. This is
one of Moser’s biographies, which comes a little closer to finding her true nuances. All
those readers who are going to read her myriad of works for the first time would find this
biography interesting, and her life as beautiful and tragic, yet riveting.

3. INFORMATIVE ARTICLE

How to Explain Death to Children?

Explain what happened in a way they can understand.

Encourage them to talk. Listen and accept their feelings, no matter how difficult it may
be.

Give clear, simple answers to their questions. Also, it’s okay to not have all the answers.

Help them understand that they will still be loved and looked after.

Show affection, support, and consistency. Let them know you will be there to help.
Share your feelings in a way they can understand and not be overwhelmed. It’s okay to
let them

know you hurt too.

Sonny, Janet and John

* Taken from “Coping with Loss” written by National Funeral Directors Association

POETRY:

1. NARRATIVE

The Littlest Christmas Tree By Amy Peterson

The littlest Christmas tree

lived in a meadow of green

among a family

of tall evergreens.

He learned how to whisper

the evergreen song

with the slightest of wind

that came gently along.

He watched as the birds

made a home out of twigs,

and couldn't wait till

he, too, was big.

For all of the trees

offered a home,

the maple, the pine, and the oak,

who's so strong.

2. DRAMATIC
The Raven, by Edgar Allan Poe

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,

Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore—

While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,

As of someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.

“’Tis some visiter,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door—

Only this and nothing more.”

3. LYRIC

Go, Lovely Rose By Edmund

Go, lovely Rose-

Tell her that wastes her time and me,
That now she knows,
When I resemble her to thee,
How sweet and fair she seems to be.
Tell her that's young,
And shuns to have her graces spied,
That hadst thou sprung
In deserts where no men abide,
Thou must have uncommended died.
Small is the worth
Of beauty from the light retired:
Bid her come forth,
Suffer herself to be desired,
And not blush so to be admired.
Then die-that she
The common fate of all things rare
May read in thee;
How small a part of time they share
That are so wondrous sweet and fair!

4. HUMOROUS

The Three Little Pigs By Roald Dahl

The animal I really dig,

Above all others is the pig.

Pigs are noble. Pigs are clever,

Pigs are courteous. However,

Now and then, to break this rule,

One meets a pig who is a fool.

What, for example, would you say,

If strolling through the woods one day,

Right there in front of you you saw

A pig who'd built his house of STRAW?

The Wolf who saw it licked his lips,

And said, 'That pig has had his chips.'

'Little pig, little pig, let me come in!'

'No, no, by the hairs on my chinny-chin-chin!'

'Then I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house in!'