SCP El7

` ST.
JOHN PAUL II COLLEGE OF DAVAO
SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT

Physically Detached Yet Academically
Attached
SIMPLIFIED COURSE PACK (SCP) FOR SELF-DIRECTED

LEARNING
EL7 – Contemporary, Popular and Emergent Literature
This Simplified Course Pack (SCP) is a draft version only and may not
be used, published or redistributed without the prior written consent of
the Academic Council of SJPIICD. Contents of this SCP are only
intended for the consumption of the students who are officially enrolled
in the course/subject. Revision and modification process of this SCP
are expected.
SCP- EL7 | 1
` ST. JOHN PAUL II COLLEGE OF DAVAO

Attached
Vision By 2023, a recognized professional institution providing quality,

economically accessible, and transformative education grounded on the
teachings of St. John Paul II.
Serve the nation by providing competent JPCean graduates through quality

Mission teaching and learning, transparent governance, holistic student services,
and meaningful community-oriented researches, guided by the ideals of St.
John Paul II.
● Respect
● Hard Work
Core Values ● Perseverance
● Self-Sacrifice
● Compassion
● Family Attachment
● Inquisitive
Graduate Attributes ● Ingenious
● Innovative
● Inspiring
Course Code/Title EL7/Contemporary, Popular Literature and Emergent Literature
This course explores the growth and development of contemporary,
popular, and emergent literature from the post-WWII era up to the present
day. This leads to the engagement of students in the reading of several
Course Description
contemporary poems, plays, essays, stories, and novels. It also allows
them to confront these works in terms of their own characteristics as well as
in terms of their responses to them.
Course Requirement Pre-requisite subjects
Time Frame 54 Hours
“Based 40” Cumulative Averaging Grading System
Grading System
Periodical Grading = Attendance (5%) + Participation (10%) + Quiz (25%) +
Exam (60%)
Final-Final Grade = Prelim Grade (30%) + Midterm Grade (30%) + Final
Grade (40%)
Contact Detail
Dean/Program Head Amie P. Matalam, MM
SCP- EL7 | 2

Attached
Course Map
Teaching English in the Elementary Grades - Simplified Course Pack (SCP)
SCP-Topics: Prelim Period SCP- Topics: Midterm Period SCP- Topics: Final Period
Intro to Contemporary, Popular

Week 1 Week 7 Play Week 13 The Elements and Style
and Emergent Literature
Poetry in the Modern World and

Week 2 Week 8 Science Fiction Week 14 Spy Fiction
Prominent Contemporary Poets
Week 3 The Essay Week 9 Science Fiction 2 Week 15 Spy Fiction 2
Week 4 Modern Short Stories Week 10 Fantasy Fiction 1 Week 16 Book Review
Week 5 Modern Short Stories 2 Week 11 Fantasy Fiction 2 Week 17 Book Review
Prelim Examination
Week 6 Week 12 Midterm Examination Week 18 Final Examination
Course Outcomes
1. Identify the key theories and approaches which inform the study of Contemporary and Popular Literature.
2. Interrogate ideas of what constitutes “high” and “low” culture and to consider what the category “popular” actually
implies.
3. Evaluate the relationship between gender and the popular, and national identity and the popular.
4. Achieve awareness of the role which the marketing and mass production of literary texts plays in Popular literature,
and of the significance of the contemporary “best seller”.
SCP- EL7 | 3

Attached
SCP-TOPICS: PRELIM PERIOD TOPICS
Week 1 Introduction of Contemporary and Popular Literature

Lesson Title The Elements and Style
Learning Explain the basic concepts of contemporary and
Outcome(s) popular literature.
At SJPIICD, I Matter!
LEARNING INTENT!
Terms to Ponder
Contemporary Literature - is defined as literature written after
World War II through the current day. While this is a vague
definition, there is not a clear-cut explanation of this concept -- only
interpretation by scholars and academics. While there is some
disagreement, most agree that contemporary literature is writing
completed after 1940.
Works of contemporary literature reflect a society's social and/or

political viewpoints, shown through realistic characters,
connections to current events and socioeconomic messages. The
writers are looking for trends that illuminate societal strengths and
weaknesses to remind society of lessons they should learn and
questions they should ask. So, when we think of contemporary
literature, we cannot simply look at a few themes or settings. Since
society changes over time, so do the content and messages of this
writing.
SCP- EL7 | 4

Attached
Essential Content
The Contemporary Literature
The Contemporary literature is a vast group of written works

produced from a specific time in history through the current age.
This literary era defines a time period, but it also describes a
particular style and quality of writing. Some see this period as an
extension of postmodern literature, but most refer to it as a literary
era of its own.
Most agree that the era of contemporary writing began in the

1940s. A few scholars claim this period started at the end of World
War II, and this is where the era's pairing with postmodern
literature comes in. The postmodern era began after WWII, in
the1940s, and lasted through the 1960s. The contemporary period
extends to the current day.
Although there are a few disagreements about the beginning of

this literary period, the biggest dispute surrounds what qualifies a
written work as literature. The word refers to both poetry and prose,
where prose includes works of fiction such as novels and novellas,
essays, and dramatic works. This term also refers to the quality of
writing. In order to be considered literature, a written work must
uphold the highest writing standards and contain a particular
beauty and style. Many literary works become socially relevant and
have the power to influence the public.
Much of contemporary literature comes from Western authors;

however, the term is not synonymous with English or American
literature, and this literary period can apply to written works from
anywhere in the world. In fact, globalization opened the door to
include contemporary works written by many literary figures in the
Middle East, Africa, and Asia.
Genres included in this literary period span a variety of writing

forms in addition to novels and poetry. Flash fiction, short stories,
slam poetry, plays, memoirs, and autobiographies can all be
included in this category. Nonfiction is usually not classified as
literature, but this era sometimes includes works of creative
nonfiction, which tell a true story using literary techniques.
SCP- EL7 | 5

Attached
Typical characteristics of the contemporary period include

reality-based stories with strong characters and a believable story.
Settings usually keep to the current or modern era, so futuristic
and science fiction novels are rarely included in this category. Well-
defined, realistic, and highly developed characters are important in
classifying a written work as contemporary, and most writing in this
category features stories that are more character driven than plot
driven.
Contemporary literature features a somewhat modern narrative,

but it also contains a harsher reality. Contemporary written works
tend to be influenced by the prosperous lifestyle that followed WWII,
but this literary class is rooted in the devastation that war brought
to the world. A new reality blossomed in the post-war mind, and it
included a personal cynicism, disillusionment, and frustration that
is common to this literary period. The contemporary literature it
includes all the literary manifestations that have taken place since
postmodernity. It is defined by a period but also by its very
particular style. Most academics call contemporary literature all
literary production after the Second World War, in the 1940s.
This period extends to the present. Contemporary literature is

characterized by fragmentation, unreliable narrators, pastiche
(imitation of styles and authors), changing narration, non-linear
presentation and play and uncertainty in language.
In the same way, this literature is recognized by the historically

postmodern content. This is related to the era of computers,
robotics, mobile phones, globalization, among others.
Now, some work or some writer could be considered

contemporary if it shares stylistic, artistic or thematic qualities of
the present.
Under this concept, even some writers of other centuries seem

contemporary. Much of contemporary literature comes from
Western authors; however, the term is not exclusive to European or
American literatures.
In fact, globalization has allowed us to appreciate contemporary

works written by many literary figures in the Middle East, Africa
and Asia. In addition to novels and poetry, this literary style covers
a wide variety of genres, such as traditional fiction and other forms
adapted to the new reality (graphic novel or blog literature).
SCP- EL7 | 6

Attached
From 1940 to 1990
In the course of this half century, mankind witnessed

numerous changes. The end of World War II, the fall of communism
in Europe and the end of the Cold War marked the beginning of a
new society.
In addition, technological innovations emerged, such as cell

phones and the Internet, color televisions and digital discs (DVD),
among others. It was also the era of new music, like hip hop, and
the acceptance of new cultures.
Within this whole wave of changes, literature was enriched with

new genres. Many of these were a response to technological changes
and the new social reality.
A feature of contemporary literature of this time was that many

stories were based on reality and had a credible plot. During the
first two decades, contemporary literature shared spaces with
Modernism, retaining certain features such as, for example,
focusing on the characters rather than the plot.
In its later development until the 1990s, the contemporary

changed to the description of hard realities. Likewise, he focused
his attention on the exposure of psychological problems such as
exclusion and loneliness.
From 1990 to the present
The period from the 1990s to the year 2000 was characterized
by globalization, growing concern about global warming and the war
against Islamic terrorism.
In addition, it is a decade marked by wars, natural disasters

and a growing population. The biggest economic crisis also occurred
since the Great Depression, the 2008 recession, and many people
lost their jobs.
Thus, contemporary literature received all these influences and

was nourished by all these new contexts. In response to the
communicational needs of society, new genres appeared.
SCP- EL7 | 7

Attached
Characteristics
Personal point of view
The works of contemporary literature reflect the social and

political views of their authors. These are shown through the
characters, the connections with the events and the socio-economic
messages of their works.
Innovative narrative resources
There is a break with previous narrative techniques.

Contemporary literature uses avant-garde narrative resources, such
as the modification of time and the presentation of the inner world
of the characters.
Magical realism
The development of magical realism as a narrative technique

represents a breakthrough in 20th century contemporary literature.
This revolutionary technique is marked by a deep social and
political character.
The pressing issues
Most of the themes of contemporary literature are related to the

overwhelming problems of the world now, such as globalization,
race and gender, inequality, climate and environment, wars and
terrorism.
Likewise, in this extensive list you can find other topics, such
as politics and economics, ethics and morals, mass culture and
media, international crime and others.
Influence of World War II
The works of contemporary literature tend to be influenced by

the prosperous lifestyle that followed World War II. This literary
style has its roots in the devastation that war brought to the world.
SCP- EL7 | 8

Attached
Fiction and non-fiction superimposed
In contemporary literature the distinction between fiction and

nonfiction can be blurred; This is known as crosses. Fiction writers
base stories on real-life events and may even include authentic
material.
On the other hand, nonfiction writers make historical figures

come alive by incorporating dialogues and imaginary scenes.
Genders
Classic fiction genre
This genre is made up of stories, novels, plays, poems and

films. Everything is imaginary and invented, but it is presented as a
mirror that reflects life and human experience, in a concrete or
abstract way.
Now, the first way to distinguish contemporary fiction is that it

will have universal truths and emotions that every human being
can experience. In some way, it gives expression to emotions.
Similarly, fiction in contemporary literature is realistic, which

means that it has the following characteristics:
- Contains characters that behave in the way that most readers

would. The characters must be credible.
- The story is set in the present.
- The environment is a real place, or at least it seems a real

place.
- Events are events that could happen in real life.
- Dialogue is informal and conversational, and often includes

regional dialects.
SCP- EL7 | 9

Attached
Literature of ghost writers
A surprising number of successful books are written by ghost

writers. But there are also ghost novels.
By definition, these authors have no names and only their peers

and the publishers who depend on them know them.
Graphic novels
The graphic novel is usually interpreted as a cartoon with a

long narrative for a mature audience, published in hardcover or
rustic and sold in bookstores, with serious literary themes and
sophisticated works of art.
Literature for children
The last 20 years have seen a flowering of writing for children.

Among the top representatives of this literature are C. S. Lewis
(Chronicles of Narnia) and J. K. Rowling (Harry Potter).
Science fiction
Science fiction is a very popular branch in contemporary

literature. This is intertwined with the technological progress of the
world.
However, literary works of science fiction do not necessarily

imply a solid scientific basis. A writer can create a science fiction
literary work to express an alternative point of view or concept.
Blog literature
Blogs (online magazine of individual or joint authorship) have

become a new means to create literary works. There are even cases
in which these creations have become books.
SCP- EL7 | 10
`
ST. JOHN PAUL II COLLEGE OF DAVAO

Attached
SELF-SUPPORT: You can click the URL Search Indicator below to help you further understand the lessons.
Search Indicator
Carnevale, J. (s / f). What is Contemporary Literature? - Definition &

Writing Style. Taken from study.com.
Jay, E. (2018. March 11). What Is Contemporary Literature?. Taken

from wisegeek.org.
Velasco, S. (s / f). History and anthology of Hispanic American

literature. Taken from linguasport.com.
Escolares.net. (s / f). Characteristics of contemporary literature.

Taken from escuela.net
Systime Lab. (S / f). What is contemporary literature?. Taken from

won.systime.dk
Colón, C. (s / f). Mexican Literature-History and Political Climate of

Mexico. Taken from thelatinoauthor.com .
Smith, A. (2018, January 10). 10 of the Best Contemporary Spanish
Writers. Taken from theculturetrip.com
Ucrós, C. (2017, June 11). 7 Contemporary Colombian Authors who

are not García Márquez. Taken from bookwitty.com.
McCrum, R. (2012, November 19). The rise of literary genres. Taken
from theguardian.com.
SCP- EL7 | 11
`

Attached
LET’S INITIATE!
Activity 1. Let us try to check your understanding of the topics. Write your
answers on the space provided below every after the questions.
1. Create your definition of contemporary literature by means of

acrostic poem following the letters of your name.
2. What are the examples of contemporary literature?
3. Given the definition of contemporary literature, cite one author/poet and

discuss his/her own definition of literature.
SCP- EL7 | 12
TEACHER EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
Physically Detached Yet Academically Attached
LET’S INQUIRE!
Activity 1. In this activity, you are required to
expound your answer to each of the questions
below.
1. Describe the differences between traditional and

contemporary literature in terms of structure.
2. What genre of contemporary literature is

difficult for you to understand? Why?
LET’S INFER!
Activity 1. Create a Venn Diagram and
compare and contrast the
traditional and contemporary literature.
SCP- EL7 | 13
Week 2 Poetry
Poetry in the Modern World
Lesson Title
Prominent Contemporary Poets
1. Identify the characteristics of contemporary and popular poetry.
Learning Outcome(s) 2. Define the commonly used elements in contemporary poetry.
3. Analyze the subjects and themes of the poems.
LEARNING NTENT!I
Terms to Ponder
Poetry is a type of literature that conveys a thought, describes a

scene or tells a story in a concentrated, lyrical arrangement of
words. Poems can be structured, with rhyming lines and meter, the
rhythm and emphasis of a line based on syllabic beats. Poems can
also be freeform, which follows no formal structure.
The basic building block of a poem is a verse known as a stanza. A

stanza is a grouping of lines related to the same thought or topic,
similar to a paragraph in prose. A stanza can be subdivided based
on the number of lines it contains. For example, a couplet is a
stanza with two lines.
Poetry is a structured literary form, with patterns and rhythms that

dictate the flow of verses. Lineation in poetry is how lines are
divided and where they end in relation to a clause or thought.
Having a line break at the end of a phrase or complete thought is a
regular and expected pattern in poetry. Poets subvert this
expectation by using a technique called enjambment. Enjambment
breaks with our expectations of where a line should end, creating a
different feel to a poem.
Essential Content
The Contemporary Literature
Learning to read how a poem is lineated is an important skill to

develop for understanding poetry. Lineation controls where lines of
verse begin and end in a poem. These artistic choices can
significantly impact the rhythm of a poem and in some cases can be
used to create dramatic or thematic tension, as in the use of an
enjambed line. In poetry, the shifting from one line to the next
SCP- EL7 | 14
without concluding a thought or without the use of closing

punctuation creates a sense of connection and movement that can
increase the pacing of the meter of a poem and/or can productively
complicate the meaning of the ideas or images between one line and
another.
The grouping of lines into organizational units in poetry is known as

a stanza. Some poetic forms, such as the couplet, are identified by
how many lines constitute a stanza. (A couplet has two lines per
stanza; many poems are composed of a series of couplets rather
than a single couplet.)
Rhythm is the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line

of poetry. Everyday speech has rhythm, yet poets make conscious
choices to arrange and highlight particular rhythms and rhythm
patterns to create meter. Meter refers to specific syllabic patterns in
the rhythm of a line of poetry. Learning to scan the rhythm and
meter of a poem, a process referred to as scansion, focuses analysis
on the line-by-line structure. A foot is the basic unit of rhythm,
usually composed of two or three syllables, used in scansion. Four
major types of feet are found in most verse: anapest, dactyl, iamb,
and trochee:
Foot Names Syllable Arrangements Examples

Anapest X X / X X / X X / X X /
dactyl / X X / X X / X X
Take her up tenderly
iamb X / X / X / X / X /
The falling out of faithful friends.
X / X / X /
renewing is of love
trochee / X / X / X / X / X
Less frequently occurring types of feet in poetry are: pyrrhic and
spondee.
Foot Names Syllable Arrangements Examples

pyrrhic X X / / XX // XX X / X
My way is to begin with the beginning
spondee / / XX/ / XX / /
The number of feet in a line of poetry determine its length. Although a line may be of
any length, common line lengths in verse include: tetrameter, pentameter and
octameter.
Line Length Names Number of Feet Number of SyllablesExamples

tetrameter four eight How dreary to be somebody!
How drear | y to | be some | body
pentameter five ten Shall I compare thee to a summer’s
day?
SCP- EL7 | 15
Shall I | compare | thee to | a sum | mer’s day?

octameter eight sixteen and the silken sad uncertain
rustling of each purple curtain.
And the | silken | sad un | certain | rustling | of each | purple | curtain.

William Shakespeare is renowned for his use of iambic pentameter. Read and listen to
his poem “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day (Sonnet 18)” and pay close
attention to how his rhythm and meter enhance the auditory effects of his poetry. As a
famous playwright, Shakespeare was especially concerned with the verbal
performance of poetic language. Some scholars have even argued that Shakespeare’s
use of iambic pentameter resembles the lub-dub rhythm of the human heartbeat. (1)
“SHALL I COMPARE THEE TO A SUMMER’S DAY (SONNET 18)” (19)
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer’s lease hath all too short
a date. Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, and often is his gold complexion
dimmed; And every fair from fair sometime declines, by chance, or nature’s changing
course, untrimmed; But thy eternal summer shall not fade, nor lose possession of that
fair thou ow’st, Nor shall death brag thou wand’rest in his shade.
When in eternal lines to Time thou grow’st. So long as men can breathe, or eyes can
see, so long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
Rhyme is created when two words are similar in sound, as found in the words â€˜dog’
and â€˜fog.’ End rhyme occurs when the last words in two lines of poetry rhyme.
Rhyming between two words within the same line is called internal rhyme. Slant
rhyme (or approximate rhyme) is the term used to refer to the suggestion of a rhyme
that is not exact, as found in the words â€˜laugh’ and â€˜taught.’
The larger pattern of rhyme in a poem is referred to as the rhyme scheme. Rhyme
schemes are commonly indicated by a letter pattern where a different represents a new
rhyme, as in abab cdcd efef gg. The effectiveness of a poem’s rhyme scheme is shaped
not only by the repetition of, but the variation between, the types of rhyme and meter.
Analysis of poetry frequently looks at the occurrence of â€˜repetition and variation’ as
a linked literary device.
Besides rhyme, poets also may make use of other sound patterns including
assonance, consonance, and alliteration. Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds,
usually two or more times in short succession, whereas consonance is the repetition of
consonant sounds. Alliteration is the repetition of the identical initial consonant in
neighboring or consecutive words. (1)
Reading in Context
While it is important to ground our analysis of poetry in a close reading based on a
detailed understanding of formal elements and poetic structure, we should not become
so carried away that we neglect the roles history and cultural circumstance can play
in shaping a poem. Likewise, as Edward Hirsch suggests, it is also important to
recognize the contribution that you make as a reader to the construction of a poem’s
meaning.
Consider, once more, “Dulce et Decorum est” by Wilfred Owen. The content of the
poem is moving enough, yet the added emotional weight of understanding the poem’s
context — the mass casualties in Europe during World War I — lends a potent
specificity to the imagery in Owen’s poem. The poem’s effect is made all the more
palpable by the knowledge that he was killed in action one week before the Armistice
that ended the fighting in Western Europe. With this historical context in mind, it
SCP- EL7 | 16
might be possible then to consider what your own experience or views on war might
be. What is your response to Owen’s portrayal of the battlefield? What knowledge or
insight can be gained from the way that the poem attempts to make the violence of
war intelligible to its reader?
The context of a poem can play a major role in what gives it a lasting literary value.
However, when a powerful historical context meets masterful formal execution, it can
be tempting to assume everything in the poem is a direct line to the poet’s heart and
mind. But when analyzing a poem, the speaker of the poem, the “I” voice, should not
be conflated with the author of the poem. In written analysis we
refer to “the author” when speaking of his or her craftsmanship and authorial choices,
as in “the author repeats the symbol of the bird at the beginning and the end of the
poem.” We use “the speaker” when discussing the point-of-view of the “I” speaking in
the poem, as in “the speaker longs to be free” or “the speaker bemoans the impending
loss of her child.” In our analysis we can suggest that “the poet” is closely aligned with
“the speaker,” but we should not assume they are one in the same. The conventions of
poetry veil a direct connection in contrast to a literary form, such as autobiography.
Even more than historical periods, we can connect the analysis of one particular poem
to a wider literary movement. In our course readings, for example, are two writers
whose poems exemplify the modernist movement known as Imagism: H.D. (Hilda
Doolittle) and William Carlos Williams. Imagism valued precision and clarity of both
image and language; it rejected the sentimentality of the previous generation of poets
and sought to create poems around single, powerful images that might speak of the
essential nature of a thing, person, or place. Understanding a poem’s historical and
literary context is important, but it is equally important to acknowledge the active role
that the reader plays in the construction of meaning, as Edward Hirsch suggests.
Much Cultural literacy demands that we have at least a working knowledge of the
elements of writing, both poetry and prose. However, unlike prose, poetry is often
baffling to the novice. Two of its most easily confused elements are the subject and
theme. Often, people use these words interchangeably, but they are actually very
different.
Theme
Poetic theme is the main point the author is trying to make with the poem. Theme is
the lesson that readers learn about life after reading a poem. Another way to think of
theme is as the "moral" of the poem. Many poets have a thematic focus on major life
issues such as love, death or independence.
Subject
The subject of a poem is the topic, or what the poem is literally about. Poets can write
on any topic imaginable, as long as they make it appropriate for their audience.
Common subjects for poetry include nature, growing up, growing old, children, and
life events. Because the range of possible subjects is so broad, writers like Shel
Silverstein can write directly to children, while more esoteric poets like William
Wordsworth can cater to adults.
Example: "Birches" by Robert Frost

On the literal level, the subject of "Birches" is a man looking at bent-over birches,
wondering if a snow storm has bent them or if a young boy was swinging on the birch
trees because he was too far away from town to play with friends. The subject is like
the topic of the poem, or what it is about. The theme goes much deeper. The poem
insinuates that swinging up and swinging down are reciprocal aspects of reality, like
heaven and earth. The poem's theme also expresses the desire to stay on earth a
while, rather than the to succumb to life's reciprocal element, death. One of the last
SCP- EL7 | 17
lines is, "Earth's the right place for love." This also suggests a theme of loving on earth
during our short time here.
Example: "I Hear America Singing" by Walt Whitman

This poem is a litany of workers. The subject of this poem is the unique songs that
each of the many types of workers in America have to sing. Whitman writes about "The
carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam, / The mason singing his as
he makes ready for work, or leaves off work." At first glance, readers might think this
poem is simply a list. The theme of the poem, however, speaks to the way the many
American workers join together to form a well-oiled machine. In this poem, the
workers in American are greater than the sum of their parts -- a strikingly positive
theme for Whitman.
Contemporary Poets
James Wright
(1927 - 1980)
“Lost in the beautiful white ruins / Of America,” James Wright finds a body of lyric
poetry that both celebrates and grieves. Wright’s America is the Midwest, the small
towns and farms that surround his own Martins Ferry, Ohio, where he was born in
1927 and grew up. Though his poetry seems far removed from the institutionally
academic, he did, in fact, graduate from Kenyon College and took an M.A. and Ph.D.
in English from the University of Washington in Seattle. He taught at the University of
Minnesota, Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, Hunter College in New York,
and the University of Delaware.
His first collection, The Green Wall (1957), was selected by W. H. Auden for the Yale
Series of Younger Poets. “Saint Judas,” the title poem of Wright’s second volume
(1959), is typical of his earliest work: the celebration of a marginal figure—in this case
the betrayer of Christ. There is another trait that is typical, the use of a fixed form
(Italian sonnet), meter (iambic pentameter), and rhyme. Of his first book, Wright said
that he “tried very hard to write in the mode of Robert Frost and Edwin Arlington
Robinson”; there was also a recognizable influence of two of his former teachers: John
Crowe Ransom (Kenyon) and Theodore Roethke (University of Washington).
Wright’s poetry was about to undergo a major change. While studying as a Fulbright
Scholar in Austria in the early 1950s, Wright discovered the poetry of German poets
Theodor Storm and Georg Trakl. Trakl’s poetry of leaping images made a powerful
impact: “It was as though the sea had entered the class at the last minute. For this
poem was not like any poem I had ever recognized: the poet, at a sign from the evening
bells, followed the wings of birds that became a train of pious pilgrims who were
continually vanishing into the clear autumn of distances; beyond the distances there
were black horses leaping in red maple trees, in a world where seeing and hearing are
not two actions, but one.” How he might incorporate such leaping images of a semi-
surreal mode into his own verse awaited the influence of Robert Bly. One of Trakl’s
poems appeared in translation in the first number (1958) of Bly’s magazine The Fifties,
where Wright happened to see it. The discovery prompted him to send a letter to Bly:
“It was sixteen pages long and single-spaced, and all he said in reply was ‘Come on out
to the farm [in Madison, Minnesota].” That visit and others to follow led to Wright’s
immersion in what has come to be called poetry of the “deep image” or “emotive
imagination.” Wright abruptly abandoned the regular meters and rhymes of his first
two volumes for a free verse of colloquial American speech and the juxtaposition of a
succession of leaping images that evolved toward an epiphanic moment of insight and
self-knowledge. Beginning with The Branch Will Not Break (1963) and continuing in
Shall We Gather at the River (1968), Wright’s poems began to share characteristics
with other deep-image poets like Bly, Louis Simpson, William Stafford, Robert Creeley,
and Gary Snyder.
SCP- EL7 | 18
Influenced by Bly in another way, Wright’s poems become more overtly political. In
protesting America’s involvement in the Vietnam War, he went on to write poems like
“Confession to J. Edgar Hoover,” where the speaker offers a scathingly ironic prayer to
the director of the FBI who is directly linked with the war.
Wright’s own life was a struggle with mental illness and alcoholism, a struggle that
helped to bond his poetry with figures on the margins of American society. Following
his second marriage, to Edith Anne Runk (“Annie” in his poems) in 1967, he found a
new stability and happiness in his life and work. Their time together in Italy became
the setting of scores of poems in his last collections. His Collected Poems (1972)
earned the Pulitzer Prize, among other awards. Wright’s mark on American letters is
also distinguished by his translation of poets like Trakl, Cesar Vallejo, Pablo Neruda,
Juan Ramon Jimenez, and others. His prose poems are among his best work,
especially in To a Blossoming Pear Tree (1977). Wright died from cancer in 1980. Two
years later, his volume This Journey appeared, many poems anticipating his own
mortality: “Even if it were true, / Even if I were dead and buried in Verona,/I believe I
would come out and wash my face / In the chill spring.”
CHARLES WRIGHT WINS $150,000 BOLLINGEN PRIZE FOR HIS POETRY

January 27, 2013
Charles Wright, professor emeritus of the English department’s Creative Writing

Program in the University of Virginia’s College of Arts & Sciences, has won the 2013
Bollingen Prize for American Poetry. Wright taught at U.Va. for almost 30 years,
retiring in 2011, and is one of America’s most celebrated poets.
The Bollingen Prize in American Poetry is among the most prestigious prizes given to
American writers. Established by Paul Mellon in 1949, it is awarded biennially by the
Yale University Library to an American poet for the best book published during the
previous two years or for lifetime achievement in poetry. The prize includes a cash
award of $150,000.
The judges awarded Wright the Bollingen Prize for his 2011 book, “Bye-and-Bye:
Selected Late Poems,” describing it as “an extended meditation in which we sense
‘splinters of the divine’ in the phenomena and cyclic changes of the natural world, and
in the elusive reaches of memory, myth, and history.”
“A poet of remarkable scope and ambition, Wright’s lyrics are like verbal scroll
paintings, considering a vast landscape but exploring every aspect in exquisite detail,
a stylistic combination that properly figures both the significance and insignificance of
the human,” the three-member judging committee noted. “In poems that render the
poignancy of moving time, the constancy of the landscape, and the mystery of the
invisible, Wright binds the secular and the sacred in language charged with urgency
and grace.”
While stationed in Italy during four years of service in the U.S. Army, Wright
discovered the work of Ezra Pound and began to write poetry for the first time. His first
collection of poems, “The Grave of the Right Hand,” was published in 1970.
Wright said he was delighted to have won the award. “I always fantasized about
winning the Bollingen Prize because it's the only prize Pound ever won,” he said.
Wright’s recent books include “Outtakes” (2010); “Sestets: Poems” (2009); “Littlefoot: A
Poem” (2008); “Scar Tissue” (2007); “The Wrong End of the Rainbow” (2005); and
“Buffalo Yoga” (2004). His two volumes of criticism are: “Halflife” (1988) and “Quarter
Notes” (1995). He has translated the work of Italian poets Dino Campana and Eugenio
Montale.
SCP- EL7 | 19
Wright, the Souder Family Professor Emeritus of English, has received numerous
awards during his career, including the National Book Award, the PEN Translation
Prize, the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, the Lenore Marshall Prize from the Academy of
American Poets, the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Griffin
Prize, the American Book Award in Poetry, and the Los Angeles Times Book Award.
The Bollingen Prize has honored the literary accomplishments of poets whose work
continues to be a force in shaping contemporary American letters. Early Bollingen
Prize winners –Pound, Wallace Stevens, Marianne Moore and e.e. cummings – are
widely considered writers whose work defined a new American literature of the 20th
century. More recent winners – John Ashbery, Robert Creeley, Louise Glück, John
Hollander, Gary Snyder, Jay Wright and Adrienne Rich – represent “exciting stylistic
diversity in American writing,” note the prize organizers.
This year’s judges were poet Susan Howe; poet, critic and editor Geoffrey O’Brien; and
literary scholar and cultural critic Joan Richardson.
After it’s over, after the last gaze has shut down,
Will I have become
The landscape I’ve looked at and walked through
Or the road that took me there
or the time it took to arrive?
— excerpt from “Sprung Narratives” by Charles Wright
Search Indicator
Carnevale, J. (s / f). What is Contemporary Literature? - Definition & Writing Style.

Taken from study.com.
https://college.cengage.com/english/lauter/heath/4e/students/author_pages/conte
mporary/wright_ja.html
https://www.masterclass.com/articles/poetry-101-what-is-enjambment-in-
poetry#quiz-0
Escolares.net. (s / f). Characteristics of contemporary literature. Taken from

escuela.net
Systime Lab. (S / f). What is contemporary literature? Taken from won.systime.dk
Colón, C. (s / f). Mexican Literature-History and Political Climate of Mexico. Taken

from thelatinoauthor.com.
Smith, A. (2018, January 10). 10 of the Best Contemporary Spanish Writers. Taken
from theculturetrip.com
Ucrós, C. (2017, June 11). 7 Contemporary Colombian Authors who are not García
Márquez. Taken from bookwitty.com.
McCrum, R. (2012, November 19). The rise of literary genres. Taken from
theguardian.com.
SCP- EL7 | 20
I
LET’S NITIATE!
Activity 1. Let us try to check your understanding of the topics. Write your answers on the
space provided below every after the questions.
1. Create your definition of poetry by means of acrostic poem following the letters of
your name.
2. Provide at least 10 kinds of poem and give the definition.
3. Given the definition of poetry, cite one poet and discuss his/her own definition of
literature.
SCP- EL7 | 21
I
LET’S NQUIRE!
Activity 1. In this activity, you are required to expound your answer to each of the questions below.
1. Describe the differences between traditional and contemporary poem.
2. What type of contemporary poem is difficult for you to understand? Why?
SCP- EL7 | 22
LET’S INFER!
Activity 1. Create a Venn Diagram and compare and contrast the traditional and contemporary
poem.
SCP- EL7 | 23
Week 3 The Essay

Lesson Title The Elements and Style of Essay
Learning Outcome(s) 1. Define the commonly used elements in contemporary essays.
2. Analyze the subjects and themes of the essays.
3. Explain the relevance of essay as a form of literature.
I
LEARNING NTENT!
Terms to Ponder
Essay - an analytic, interpretative, or critical literary composition usually much shorter and less
systematic and formal than a dissertation or thesis and usually dealing with its subject from a limited
and often personal point of view.
Essential Content
The Background of Essay
Some early treatises—such as those of Cicero on the pleasantness of old age or on the art of
“divination,” Seneca on anger or clemency, and Plutarch on the passing of oracles—presage to a
certain degree the form and tone of the essay, but not until the late 16th century was the flexible
and deliberately nonchalant and versatile form of the essay perfected by the French writer Michel
de Montaigne. Choosing the name essai to emphasize that his compositions were attempts or
endeavours, a groping toward the expression of his personal thoughts and experiences, Montaigne
used the essay as a means of self-discovery. His Essais, published in their final form in 1588, are
still considered among the finest of their kind. Later writers who most nearly recall the charm of
Montaigne include, in England, Robert Burton, though his whimsicality is more erudite, Sir
Thomas Browne, and Laurence Sterne, and in France, with more self-consciousness and pose,
André Gide and Jean Cocteau.
At the beginning of the 17th century, social manners, the cultivation of politeness, and the training
of an accomplished gentleman became the theme of many essayists. This theme was first exploited
by the Italian Baldassare Castiglione in his Il libro del cortegiano (1528; The Book of the Courtier).
The influence of the essay and of genres allied to it, such as maxims, portraits, and sketches,
proved second to none in molding the behavior of the cultured classes, first in Italy, then in
France, and, through French influence, in most of Europe in the 17th century. Among those who
pursued this theme was the 17th-century Spanish Jesuit Baltasar Gracián in his essays on the art
of worldly wisdom.
Keener political awareness in the 18th century, the age of Enlightenment, made the essay an all-
important vehicle for the criticism of society and religion. Because of its flexibility, its brevity, and
its potential both for ambiguity and for allusions to current events and conditions, it was an ideal
tool for philosophical reformers. The Federalist Papers in America and the tracts of the French
Revolutionaries are among the countless examples of attempts during this period to improve the
human condition through the essay.
SCP- EL7 | 24
Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content.

The genre also became the favoured tool of traditionalists of the 18th and 19th centuries, such as
Edmund Burke and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who looked to the short, provocative essay as the
most potent means of educating the masses. Essays such as Paul Elmer More’s long series of
Shelburne Essays (published between 1904 and 1935), T.S. Eliot’s After Strange Gods (1934) and
Notes Towards the Definition of Culture (1948), and others that attempted to reinterpret and
redefine culture, established the genre as the most fitting to express the genteel tradition at odds
with the democracy of the new world.
Whereas in several countries the essay became the chosen vehicle of literary and social criticism,
in other countries the genre became semipolitical, earnestly nationalistic, and often polemical,
playful, or bitter. Essayists such as Robert Louis Stevenson and Willa Cather wrote with grace on
several lighter subjects, and many writers—including Virginia Woolf, Edmund Wilson, and Charles
du Bos—mastered the essay as a form of literary criticism.
Elements of Scholarly Essay

Twelve Elements of the Scholarly Essay
1. Thesis: your main insight or idea about a text or topic, and the main proposition that your essay
demonstrates. It should be true but arguable (not obviously or patently true, but one alternative
among several), limited enough in scope to be argued in a short composition and with available
evidence, and central to the topic you are discussing (not peripheral). The entire essay should be
relevant to it. Note: some explanatory or descriptive essays or papers may not require a thesis as
described here. In some kinds of writing, the thesis always comes at the beginning of the essay. In
some, it can appear elsewhere. If the thesis does not appear at the beginning of the essay, or if the
essay is not argumentative, agenda (see next element) becomes especially important as a way of
rendering the essay coherent. Make sure you know what kind of essay you are expected to write, and
how much leeway you have, before you begin work.
2. Agenda: what you are accomplishing for your readers with your analysis, description, or
argument—not so much what you are saying as what you are doing, in your essay, by saying it. From
the start of the essay, and throughout, a clear demonstration of agenda provides a compelling motive
for a particular kind of reader (you must determine what kind of reader this is) to read. Your agenda
thus won't necessarily emphasize your own interest in a topic--your own idiosyncratic motivation or
desire, which could just be completing an assignment. Your articulation of agenda is what you say to
show that your essay accomplishes something worthwhile for others interested in your topic.
3. Evidence: the data—facts, examples, or details—that cite, discuss, quote, or summarize to support
your thesis. There needs to be enough evidence to be persuasive; it needs to be the right kind of
evidence to support the thesis (with no pertinent, important evidence overlooked, especially if such
evidence tends to counter your argument); it needs to be sufficiently concrete for the reader to trust it
(e.g., in textual analysis, it often helps to find one or two key or representative passages to quote and
focus on); and if summarized, it needs to be summarized accurately and fairly.
4. Analysis: the work of breaking down, interpreting, and commenting upon the data, of saying what
can be inferred from the data such that it supports a thesis (is evidence for something). Analysis is
what you do with data when you go beyond observing or summarizing it: you show how its parts
contribute to a whole or how causes contribute to an effect; you draw out the significance or
implication not apparent to a superficial view. Analysis is what makes the writer feel present, as a
reasoning individual; so, your essay should do more analyzing than summarizing or quoting.
4. Key terms: the recurring terms or basic conceptual oppositions upon which your
argument rests, usually literal but sometimes metaphorical. An essay’s key terms should
be clear in meaning (defined if necessary) and appear throughout (not be abandoned half-
way); they should be appropriate for the subject at hand (not unfair or too simple, e.g.,
implying a false or constraining opposition); and they should not be inert clichés or
abstractions (e.g., “the evils of society”).
SCP- EL7 | 25
6. Assumptions: the underlying beliefs about life, people, history, reasoning, etc. that are implied by
the key terms or by the logic of an argument. As a writer, you will inevitably make assumptions. Some
of these you can take for granted and assume that your reader will too (e.g., the belief that valid
evidence for a claim makes it more likely to be true), but wherever your assumptions are arguable or
unclear (e.g., whether a certain piece of evidence validly counts as evidence in a particular case) they
should be brought out and acknowledged. Note that insofar as assumptions are broadly held cultural
beliefs, writers and readers may often fail to notice that they are making them, so writing well often
requires attention to others' assumptions, as well as one's own. Where such assumptions are
debatable, exploring them can lead to effective analysis, as well as a thesis with a compelling agenda.
7. Structure: the sequence of main sections or sub-topics, and the turning points between them. The
sections should follow a logical order, and the links in that order should be apparent to the reader (see
“stitching”). But it should also be a progressive order—there should have a direction of development or
complication, not be simply a list or a series of restatements of the thesis (“Macbeth is ambitious: he’s
ambitious here; and he’s ambitious here; and he’s ambitions here, too; thus, Macbeth is ambitious”)
[or even, “Cancer clusters are misleading: they are misleading here; they are misleading here, and they
are misleading here, too; thus, cancer clusters are misleading.”] And the order should be supple
enough to allow the writer to explore the topic, not just hammer home a thesis. (If the essay is
complex or long, its structure may be briefly announced or hinted at after the thesis, in a road-map or
plan sentence.)
8. Transitions: language that ties together the parts of an argument, most commonly (a) by using
linking or turning words as signposts to indicate how a new section, paragraph, or sentence follows
from the one immediately previous; but also (b) by recollection of an earlier idea or part of the essay,
referring to it either by explicit statement or by echoing key terms or resonant phrases quoted or
stated earlier. The repeating of key or thesis concepts, or the clarification of or emphasis on agenda, is
especially helpful at points of transition from one section to another, to show how the new section fits.
9. Sources: persons or documents, referred to, summarized, or quoted, that help a writer demonstrate
the truth of his or her argument. They are typically sources of (a) factual information or data, (b)
opinions or interpretation on your topic, (c) comparable versions of the thing you are discussing, or (d)
applicable general concepts. Your sources need to be efficiently integrated and fairly acknowledged by
citation.
10. Orienting: bits of information, explanation, and summary that orient the reader who isn’t expert in
the subject, enabling such a reader to follow the argument. The orienting question is, what does my
reader need here? The answer can take many forms: necessary information about the text, author, or
event (e.g., given in your introduction); a summary of a text or passage about to be analyzed; pieces of
information given along the way about passages, people, or events mentioned (including announcing or
“set-up” phrases for quotations and sources). The trick is to orient briefly and gracefully.
11. Stance: the implied relationship of you, the writer, to your readers and subject: how and where
you implicitly position yourself as an analyst. Stance is defined by such features as style and tone
(e.g., familiar or formal); the presence or absence of specialized language and knowledge; the amount
of time spent orienting a general, non-expert reader; the use of scholarly conventions of form and style.
Your stance should be established within the first few paragraphs of your essay, and it should remain
consistent.
12. Style: the choices you make of words and sentence structure. In scholarly writing designed to
speak to a wide variety of educated readers (as opposed to specialize readers well-versed in the
vocabulary of a particular discipline), style should be exact and clear (should bring out main idea and
action of each sentence, not bury it) and plain without being flat (should be graceful and perhaps, at
moments, interesting, without being stuffy overdone). Your style must depend on the kind of writing
you are being asked to do, so, as with thesis, make sure you understand what kind of writing this is as
you begin your project.
SCP- EL7 | 26
*Adopted and modified, with the author's permission, by James Berg, with help from FYS instructors,
from Gordon Harvey's "Elements of the Academic Essay." Harvey's elements emphasize
argumentation, though most of them apply to essays that purport to be purely descriptive or analytical
as well, and they are modified here so as to realize that potential. As stated, these elements probably
do not apply to fiction-writing or poetry
Types of Writing Style

There are four main types of writing: expository, descriptive, persuasive, and narrative. Each of these
writing styles is used for a specific purpose. A single text may include more than one writing style.
EXPOSITORY
Expository writing is one of the most common types of writing. When an author writes in an expository
style, all they are trying to do is explain a concept, imparting information from themselves to a wider
audience. Expository writing does not include the author’s opinions, but focuses on accepted facts
about a topic, including statistics or other evidence.
Examples of Expository Writing

Textbooks
How-to articles
Recipes
News stories (not editorials or Op-Eds)

Business, technical, or scientific writing
DESCRIPTIVE
Descriptive writing is often found in fiction, though it can make an appearance in nonfiction as well
(for example, memoirs, first-hand accounts of events, or travel guides). When an author writes in a
descriptive style, they are painting a picture in words of a person, place, or thing for their audience.
The author might employ metaphor or other literary devices in order to describe the author’s
impressions via their five senses (what they hear, see, smell, taste, or touch). But the author is not
trying to convince the audience of anything or explain the scene – merely describe things as they are.
Examples of Descriptive Writing

Poetry
Journal/diary writing
Descriptions of Nature
Fictional novels or plays
PERSUASIVE
Persuasive writing is the main style of writing you will use in academic papers. When an author writes
in a persuasive style, they are trying to convince the audience of a position or belief. Persuasive writing
contains the author’s opinions and biases, as well as justifications and reasons given by the author as
evidence of the correctness of their position. Any “argumentative” essay you write in school should be
in the persuasive style of writing.
Examples of Persuasive Writing

Cover letters
Op-Eds and Editorial newspaper articles
Reviews of items
Letters of complaint
Advertisements
Letters of recommendation
SCP- EL7 | 27
NARRATIVE
Narrative writing is used in almost every
Physically longer piece
Detached of writing, whether
Yet Academically fiction or nonfiction. When an
Attached
author writes in a narrative style, they are not just trying to impart information, they are trying to
construct and communicate a story, complete with characters, conflict, and settings.
Examples of Narrative Writing

Oral histories
Novels/Novellas
Poetry (especially epic sagas or poems)
Short Stories
Anecdotes
Must Read Modern Essay
THEY CAN’T KILL US UNTIL THEY KILL US

BY HANIF ABDURRAQIB
“In an age of confusion, fear, and loss, Hanif Willis-Abdurraqib’s is a voice that matters. Whether he’s
attending a Bruce Springsteen concert the day after visiting Michael Brown’s grave, or discussing
public displays of affection at a Carly Rae Jepsen show, he writes with a poignancy and magnetism
that resonates profoundly.”
WOULD EVERYBODY PLEASE STOP?

REFLECTIONS ON LIFE AND OTHER BAD IDEAS
BY JENNY ALLEN
“Jenny Allen’s musings range fluidly from the personal to the philosophical. She writes with the
familiarity of someone telling a dinner party anecdote, forgoing decorum for candor and comedy. To
read Would Everybody Please Stop? is to experience life with imaginative and incisive humor.”
LONGTHROAT MEMOIRS: SOUPS,

SEX AND NIGERIAN TASTE BUDS
BY YEMISI ARIBISALA
“A sumptuous menu of essays about Nigerian cuisine, lovingly presented by the nation’s top epicurean
writer. As well as a mouth-watering appraisal of Nigerian food, Longthroat Memoirs is a series of love
letters to the Nigerian palate. From the cultural history of soup, to fish as aphrodisiac and the sensual
allure of snails, Longthroat Memoirs explores the complexities, the meticulousness, and the tactile joy
of Nigerian gastronomy.”
BEYOND MEASURE: ESSAYS

BY RACHEL Z. ARNDT
“Beyond Measure is a fascinating exploration of the rituals, routines, metrics and expectations through
which we attempt to quantify and ascribe value to our lives. With mordant humor and penetrating
intellect, Arndt casts her gaze beyond event-driven narratives to the machinery underlying them: judo
competitions measured in weigh-ins and wait times; the significance of the elliptical’s stationary
churn; the rote scripts of dating apps; the stupefying sameness of the daily commute.”
MAGIC HOURS
BY TOM BISSELL
“Award-winning essayist Tom Bissell explores the highs and lows of the creative process. He takes us
from the set of The Big Bang Theory to the first novel of Ernest Hemingway to the final work of David
Foster Wallace; from the films of Werner Herzog to the film of Tommy Wiseau to the editorial meeting
in which Paula Fox’s work was relaunched into the world. Originally published in magazines such as
The Believer, The New Yorker, and Harper’s, these essays represent ten years of Bissell’s best writing
on every aspect of creation—be it Iraq War documentaries or video-game character voices—and will
provoke as much thought as they do laughter.”
SCP- EL7 | 28
DEAD GIRLS:
ESSAYS ON SURVIVING AN AMERICAN OBSESSION
BY ALICE BOLIN
“In this poignant collection, Alice Bolin examines iconic American works from the essays of Joan
Didion and James Baldwin to Twin Peaks, Britney Spears, and Serial, illuminating the widespread
obsession with women who are abused, killed, and disenfranchised, and whose bodies (dead and alive)
are used as props to bolster men’s stories. Smart and accessible, thoughtful and heartfelt, Bolin
investigates the implications of our cultural fixations, and her own role as a consumer and creator.”
BETWIXT-AND-BETWEEN: ESSAYS ON THE WRITING LIFE

BY JENNY BOULLY
“Jenny Boully’s essays are ripe with romance and sensual pleasures, drawing connections between the
digression, reflection, imagination, and experience that characterizes falling in love as well as the life of
a writer. Literary theory, philosophy, and linguistics rub up against memory, dreamscapes, and fancy,
making the practice of writing a metaphor for the illusory nature of experience. Betwixt and between
is, in many ways, simply a book about how to live.”
WEDDING TOASTS I’LL NEVER GIVE

BY ADA CALHOUN
“In Wedding Toasts I’ll Never Give, Ada Calhoun presents an unflinching but also loving portrait of her
own marriage, opening a long-overdue conversation about the institution as it truly is: not the happy
ending of a love story or a relic doomed by high divorce rates, but the beginning of a challenging new
chapter of which ‘the first twenty years are the hardest.'”
HOW TO WRITE AN AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NOVEL:

ESSAYS BY ALEXANDER CHEE
“How to Write an Autobiographical Novel is the author’s manifesto on the entangling of life, literature,
and politics, and how the lessons learned from a life spent reading and writing fiction have changed
him. In these essays, he grows from student to teacher, reader to writer, and reckons with his
identities as a son, a gay man, a Korean American, an artist, an activist, a lover, and a friend. He
examines some of the most formative experiences of his life and the nation’s history, including his
father’s death, the AIDS crisis, 9/11, the jobs that supported his writing—Tarot-reading, bookselling,
cater-waiting for William F. Buckley—the writing of his first novel, Edinburgh, and the election of
Donald Trump.”
TOO MUCH AND NOT THE MOOD: ESSAYS

BY DURGA CHEW-BOSE
“Too Much and Not the Mood is a beautiful and surprising exploration of what it means to be a first-
generation, creative young woman working today. On April 11, 1931, Virginia Woolf ended her entry in
A Writer’s Diary with the words ‘too much and not the mood’ to describe her frustration with placating
her readers, what she described as the ‘cramming in and the cutting out.’ She wondered if she had
anything at all that was truly worth saying. The attitude of that sentiment inspired Durga Chew-Bose
to gather own writing in this lyrical collection of poetic essays that examine personhood and artistic
growth. Drawing inspiration from a diverse group of incisive and inquiring female authors, Chew-Bose
captures the inner restlessness that keeps her always on the brink of creative expression.”
WE WERE EIGHT YEARS IN POWER:

AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY
BY TA-NEHISI COATES
“‘We were eight years in power’ was the lament of Reconstruction-era black politicians as the American
experiment in multiracial democracy ended with the return of white supremacist rule in the South. In
this sweeping collection of new and selected essays, Ta-Nehisi Coates explores the tragic echoes of that
history in our own time: the unprecedented election of a black president followed by a vicious backlash
that fueled the election of the man Coates argues is America’s ‘first white president.'”
SCP- EL7 | 29
LOOK ALIVE OUT THERE: ESSAYS

BY SLOANE CROSLEY
“In Look Alive Out There, whether it’s scaling active volcanoes, crashing shivas, playing herself on
Gossip Girl, befriending swingers, or squinting down the barrel of the fertility gun, Crosley continues
to rise to the occasion with unmatchable nerve and electric one-liners. And as her subjects become
more serious, her essays deliver not just laughs but lasting emotional heft and insight. Crosley has
taken up the gauntlets thrown by her predecessors—Dorothy Parker, Nora Ephron, David Sedaris—
and crafted something rare, affecting, and true.”
FLÂNEUSE: WOMEN WALK THE CITY IN PARIS,

NEW YORK, TOKYO, VENICE, AND LONDON
BY LAUREN ELKIN
“Part cultural meander, part memoir, Flâneuse takes us on a distinctly cosmopolitan jaunt that begins
in New York, where Elkin grew up, and transports us to Paris via Venice, Tokyo, and London, all cities
in which she’s lived. We are shown the paths beaten by such flâneuses as the cross-dressing
nineteenth-century novelist George Sand, the Parisian artist Sophie Calle, the wartime correspondent
Martha Gellhorn, and the writer Jean Rhys. With tenacity and insight, Elkin creates a mosaic of what
urban settings have meant to women, charting through literature, art, history, and film the sometimes
exhilarating, sometimes fraught relationship that women have with the metropolis.”
IDIOPHONE
BY AMY FUSSELMAN
“Leaping from ballet to quiltmaking, from the The Nutcracker to an Annie-B Parson interview,
Idiophone is a strikingly original meditation on risk-taking and provocation in art and a unabashedly
honest, funny, and intimate consideration of art-making in the context of motherhood, and
motherhood in the context of addiction. Amy Fusselman’s compact, beautifully digressive essay feels
both surprising and effortless, fueled by broad-ranging curiosity, and, fundamentally, joy.”
NOT THAT BAD:

DISPATCHES FROM RAPE CULTURE
BY ROXANE GAY
“In this valuable and revealing anthology, cultural critic and bestselling author Roxane Gay collects
original and previously published pieces that address what it means to live in a world where women
have to measure the harassment, violence, and aggression they face, and where they are ‘routinely
second-guessed, blown off, discredited, denigrated, besmirched, belittled, patronized, mocked,
shamed, gaslit, insulted, bullied’ for speaking out.”
SUNSHINE STATE: ESSAYS

BY SARAH GERARD
“With the personal insight of The Empathy Exams, the societal exposal of Nickel and Dimed, and the
stylistic innovation and intensity of her own break-out debut novel Binary Star, Sarah Gerard’s
Sunshine State uses the intimately personal to unearth the deep reservoirs of humanity buried in the
corners of our world often hardest to face.”
THE ART OF THE WASTED DAY

BY PATRICIA HAMPL
“The Art of the Wasted Day is a picaresque travelogue of leisure written from a lifelong enchantment
with solitude. Patricia Hampl visits the homes of historic exemplars of ease who made repose a goal,
even an art form. She begins with two celebrated eighteenth-century Irish ladies who ran off to live a
life of ‘retirement’ in rural Wales. Her search then leads to Moravia to consider the monk-geneticist,
Gregor Mendel, and finally to Bordeaux for Michel Montaigne—the hero of this book—who retreated
from court life to sit in his chateau tower and write about whatever passed through his mind, thus
inventing the personal essay.”
SCP- EL7 | 30
A REALLY BIG LUNCH:

THE ROVING GOURMAND ON FOOD AND LIFE
BY JIM HARRISON
“Jim Harrison’s legendary gourmandise is on full display in A Really Big Lunch. From the titular New
Yorker piece about a French lunch that went to thirty-seven courses, to pieces from Brick, Playboy,
Kermit Lynch Newsletter, and more on the relationship between hunter and prey, or the obscure
language of wine reviews, A Really Big Lunch is shot through with Harrison’s pointed aperçus and
keen delight in the pleasures of the senses. And between the lines the pieces give glimpses of
Harrison’s life over the last three decades. A Really Big Lunch is a literary delight that will satisfy every
appetite.”
INSOMNIAC CITY: NEW YORK, OLIVER, AND ME

BY BILL HAYES
“Bill Hayes came to New York City in 2009 with a one-way ticket and only the vaguest idea of how he
would get by. But, at forty-eight years old, having spent decades in San Francisco, he craved change.
Grieving over the death of his partner, he quickly discovered the profound consolations of the city’s
incessant rhythms, the sight of the Empire State Building against the night sky, and New Yorkers
themselves, kindred souls that Hayes, a lifelong insomniac, encountered on late-night strolls with his
camera.”
WOULD YOU RATHER?: A MEMOIR OF

GROWING UP AND COMING OUT
BY KATIE HEANEY
“Here, for the first time, Katie opens up about realizing at the age of twenty-eight that she is gay. In
these poignant, funny essays, she wrestles with her shifting sexuality and identity, and describes what
it was like coming out to everyone she knows (and everyone she doesn’t). As she revisits her past,
looking for any ‘clues’ that might have predicted this outcome, Katie reveals that life doesn’t always
move directly from point A to point B—no matter how much we would like it to.”
TONIGHT I’M SOMEONE ELSE: ESSAYS

BY CHELSEA HODSON
“From graffiti gangs and Grand Theft Auto to sugar daddies, Schopenhauer, and a deadly game of
Russian roulette, in these essays, Chelsea Hodson probes her own desires to examine where the
physical and the proprietary collide. She asks what our privacy, our intimacy, and our own bodies are
worth in the increasingly digital world of liking, linking, and sharing.”
WE ARE NEVER MEETING IN REAL LIFE.: ESSAYS

BY SAMANTHA IRBY
“With We Are Never Meeting in Real Life., ‘bitches gotta eat’ blogger and comedian Samantha Irby
turns the serio-comic essay into an art form. Whether talking about how her difficult childhood has led
to a problem in making ‘adult’ budgets, explaining why she should be the new Bachelorette—she’s ’35-
ish, but could easily pass for 60-something’—detailing a disastrous pilgrimage-slash-romantic-
vacation to Nashville to scatter her estranged father’s ashes, sharing awkward sexual encounters, or
dispensing advice on how to navigate friendships with former drinking buddies who are now suburban
moms—hang in there for the Costco loot—she’s as deft at poking fun at the ghosts of her past self as
she is at capturing powerful emotional truths.”
THIS WILL BE MY UNDOING:

LIVING AT THE INTERSECTION OF
BLACK, FEMALE, AND FEMINIST
IN (WHITE) AMERICA BY MORGAN JERKINS
“Doubly disenfranchised by race and gender, often deprived of a place within the mostly white
mainstream feminist movement, black women are objectified, silenced, and marginalized with
devastating consequences, in ways both obvious and subtle, that are rarely acknowledged in our
country’s larger discussion about inequality. In This Will Be My Undoing, Jerkins becomes both
narrator and subject to expose the social, cultural, and historical story of black female oppression that
influences the black community as well as the white, male-dominated world at large.”
SCP- EL7 | 31
EVERYWHERE HOME: A LIFE IN ESSAYS

BY FENTON JOHNSON
“Part retrospective, part memoir, Fenton Johnson’s collection Everywhere Home: A Life in Essays
explores sexuality, religion, geography, the AIDS crisis, and more. Johnson’s wanderings take him
from the hills of Kentucky to those of San Francisco, from the streets of Paris to the sidewalks of
Calcutta. Along the way, he investigates questions large and small: What’s the relationship between
artists and museums, illuminated in a New Guinean display of shrunken heads? What’s the difference
between empiricism and intuition?”
ONE DAY WE’LL ALL BE DEAD

AND NONE OF THIS WILL MATTER: ESSAYS
BY SCAACHI KOUL
“In One Day We’ll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter, Scaachi Koul deploys her razor-sharp
humor to share all the fears, outrages, and mortifying moments of her life. She learned from an early
age what made her miserable, and for Scaachi anything can be cause for despair. Whether it’s a
shopping trip gone awry; enduring awkward conversations with her bikini waxer; overcoming her fear
of flying while vacationing halfway around the world; dealing with Internet trolls, or navigating the
fears and anxieties of her parents. Alongside these personal stories are pointed observations about life
as a woman of color: where every aspect of her appearance is open for critique, derision, or outright
scorn; where strict gender rules bind in both Western and Indian cultures, leaving little room for a
woman not solely focused on marriage and children to have a career (and a life) for herself.”
TELL ME HOW IT ENDS: AN ESSAY IN 40 QUESTIONS

BY VALERIA LUISELLI AND JON LEE ANDERSON (TRANSLATOR)
“A damning confrontation between the American dream and the reality of undocumented children
seeking a new life in the U.S. Structured around the 40 questions Luiselli translates and asks
undocumented Latin American children facing deportation, Tell Me How It Ends (an expansion of her
2016 Freeman’s essay of the same name) humanizes these young migrants and highlights the
contradiction between the idea of America as a fiction for immigrants and the reality of racism and
fear—both here and back home.”
ALL THE LIVES I WANT: ESSAYS ABOUT

MY BEST FRIENDS WHO HAPPEN TO BE FAMOUS STRANGERS
BY ALANA MASSEY
“Mixing Didion’s affected cool with moments of giddy celebrity worship, Massey examines the lives of
the women who reflect our greatest aspirations and darkest fears back onto us. These essays are
personal without being confessional and clever in a way that invites readers into the joke. A cultural
critique and a finely wrought fan letter, interwoven with stories that are achingly personal, All the
Lives I Want is also an exploration of mental illness, the sex industry, and the dangers of loving too
hard.”
TYPEWRITERS, BOMBS, JELLYFISH: ESSAYS

BY TOM MCCARTHY
“Certain points of reference recur with dreamlike insistence—among them the artist Ed Ruscha’s Royal
Road Test, a photographic documentation of the roadside debris of a Royal typewriter hurled from the
window of a traveling car; the great blooms of jellyfish that are filling the oceans and gumming up the
machinery of commerce and military domination—and the question throughout is: How can art
explode the restraining conventions of so-called realism, whether aesthetic or political, to engage in the
active reinvention of the world?”
NASTY WOMEN: FEMINISM, RESISTANCE,

AND REVOLUTION IN TRUMP’S AMERICA
BY SAMHITA MUKHOPADHYAY AND KATE HARDING
“When 53 percent of white women voted for Donald Trump and 94 percent of black women voted for
Hillary Clinton, how can women unite in Trump’s America? Nasty Women includes inspiring essays
from a diverse group of talented women writers who seek to provide a broad look at how we got here
and what we need to do to move forward.”
SCP- EL7 | 32
DON’T CALL ME PRINCESS: ESSAYS

ON GIRLS, WOMEN, SEX, AND LIFE
BY PEGGY ORENSTEIN
“Named one of the ’40 women who changed the media business in the last 40 years’ by Columbia
Journalism Review, Peggy Orenstein is one of the most prominent, unflinching feminist voices of our
time. Her writing has broken ground and broken silences on topics as wide-ranging as miscarriage,
motherhood, breast cancer, princess culture and the importance of girls’ sexual pleasure. Her unique
blend of investigative reporting, personal revelation and unexpected humor has made her books
bestselling classics.”
WHEN YOU FIND OUT THE WORLD IS AGAINST YOU:

AND OTHER FUNNY MEMORIES ABOUT AWFUL MOMENTS
BY KELLY OXFORD
“Kelly Oxford likes to blow up the internet. Whether it is with the kind of Tweets that lead Rolling
Stone to name her one of the Funniest People on Twitter or with pictures of her hilariously adorable
family (human and animal) or with something much more serious, like creating the hashtag #NotOkay,
where millions of women came together to share their stories of sexual assault, Kelly has a unique,
razor-sharp perspective on modern life. As a screen writer, professional sh*t disturber, wife and
mother of three, Kelly is about everything but the status quo.”
TOO FAT, TOO SLUTTY, TOO LOUD:

THE RISE AND REIGN OF THE UNRULY WOMAN
BY ANNE HELEN PETERSEN
“You know the type: the woman who won’t shut up, who’s too brazen, too opinionated—too much.
She’s the unruly woman, and she embodies one of the most provocative and powerful forms of
womanhood today. In Too Fat, Too Slutty, Too Loud, Anne Helen Petersen uses the lens of ‘unruliness’
to explore the ascension of pop culture powerhouses like Lena Dunham, Nicki Minaj, and Kim
Kardashian, exploring why the public loves to love (and hate) these controversial figures. With its
brisk, incisive analysis, Too Fat, Too Slutty, Too Loud will be a conversation-starting book on what
makes and breaks celebrity today.”
WELL, THAT ESCALATED QUICKLY:

MEMOIRS AND MISTAKES OF AN ACCIDENTAL ACTIVIST
BY FRANCHESCA RAMSEY
“In her first book, Ramsey uses her own experiences as an accidental activist to explore the many ways
we communicate with each other—from the highs of bridging gaps and making connections to the
many pitfalls that accompany talking about race, power, sexuality, and gender in an unpredictable
public space…the internet.”
SHREWED: A WRY AND CLOSELY

OBSERVED LOOK AT THE LIVES OF WOMEN AND GIRLS
BY ELIZABETH RENZETTI
“Drawing upon Renzetti’s decades of reporting on feminist issues, Shrewed is a book about feminism’s
crossroads. From Hillary Clinton’s failed campaign to the quest for equal pay, from the lessons we can
learn from old ladies to the future of feminism in a turbulent world, Renzetti takes a pointed, witty
look at how far we’ve come—and how far we have to go.”
WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE? ESSAYS

BY MARILYNNE ROBINSON
“In this new essay collection, she trains her incisive mind on our modern political climate and the
mysteries of faith. Whether she is investigating how the work of great thinkers about America like
Emerson and Tocqueville inform our political consciousness or discussing the way that beauty informs
and disciplines daily life, Robinson’s peerless prose and boundless humanity are on full display.”
SCP- EL7 | 33
DOUBLE BIND: WOMEN ON AMBITION

BY ROBIN ROMM
“‘A work of courage and ferocious honesty’ (Diana Abu-Jaber), Double Bind could not come at a more
urgent time. Even as major figures from Gloria Steinem to Beyoncé embrace the word ‘feminism,’ the
word ‘ambition’ remains loaded with ambivalence. Many women see it as synonymous with strident or
aggressive, yet most feel compelled to strive and achieve—the seeming contradiction leaving them in a
perpetual double bind. Ayana Mathis, Molly Ringwald, Roxane Gay, and a constellation of ‘nimble
thinkers . . . dismantle this maddening paradox’ (O, The Oprah Magazine) with candor, wit, and rage.
Women who have made landmark achievements in fields as diverse as law, dog sledding, and butchery
weigh in, breaking the last feminist taboo once and for all.”
THE DESTINY THIEF: ESSAYS ON WRITING,

WRITERS AND LIFE
BY RICHARD RUSSO
“In these nine essays, Richard Russo provides insight into his life as a writer, teacher, friend, and
reader. From a commencement speech he gave at Colby College, to the story of how an oddly placed
toilet made him reevaluate the purpose of humor in art and life, to a comprehensive analysis of Mark
Twain’s value, to his harrowing journey accompanying a dear friend as she pursued gender-
reassignment surgery, The Destiny Thief reflects the broad interests and experiences of one of
America’s most beloved authors. Warm, funny, wise, and poignant, the essays included here traverse
Russo’s writing life, expanding our understanding of who he is and how his singular, incredibly
generous mind works. An utter joy to read, they give deep insight into the creative process from the
prospective of one of our greatest writers.”
Curry by Naben RuthnumCURRY:

EATING, READING, AND RACE
BY NABEN RUTHNUM
“Curry is a dish that doesn’t quite exist, but, as this wildly funny and sharp essay points out, a dish
that doesn’t properly exist can have infinite, equally authentic variations. By grappling with novels,
recipes, travelogues, pop culture, and his own upbringing, Naben Ruthnum depicts how the distinctive
taste of curry has often become maladroit shorthand for brown identity. With the sardonic wit of Gita
Mehta’s Karma Cola and the refined, obsessive palette of Bill Buford’s Heat, Ruthnum sinks his teeth
into the story of how the beloved flavor calcified into an aesthetic genre that limits the imaginations of
writers, readers, and eaters.”
THE RIVER OF CONSCIOUSNESS

BY OLIVER SACKS
“Sacks, an Oxford-educated polymath, had a deep familiarity not only with literature and medicine but
with botany, animal anatomy, chemistry, the history of science, philosophy, and psychology. The River
of Consciousness is one of two books Sacks was working on up to his death, and it reveals his ability
to make unexpected connections, his sheer joy in knowledge, and his unceasing, timeless project to
understand what makes us human.”
ALL THE WOMEN IN MY FAMILY SING: WOMEN WRITE THE WORLD: ESSAYS ON EQUALITY,
JUSTICE, AND FREEDOM (NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH SO HELP ME GOD)
BY DEBORAH SANTANA AND AMERICA FERRERA
“All the Women in My Family Sing is an anthology documenting the experiences of women of color at
the dawn of the twenty-first century. It is a vital collection of prose and poetry whose topics range from
the pressures of being the vice-president of a Fortune 500 Company, to escaping the killing fields of
Cambodia, to the struggles inside immigration, identity, romance, and self-worth. These brief,
trenchant essays capture the aspirations and wisdom of women of color as they exercise autonomy,
creativity, and dignity and build bridges to heal the brokenness in today’s turbulent world.”
SCP- EL7 | 34
WE WEAR THE MASK: 15 TRUE STORIES OF PASSING IN AMERICA

BY BRANDO SKYHORSE AND LISA PAGE
“For some, ‘passing’ means opportunity, access, or safety. Others don’t willingly pass but are ‘passed’
in specific situations by someone else. We Wear the Mask, edited by Brando Skyhorse and Lisa Page,
is an illuminating and timely anthology that examines the complex reality of passing in America.
Skyhorse, a Mexican American, writes about how his mother passed him as an American Indian before
he learned who he really is. Page shares how her white mother didn’t tell friends about her black ex-
husband or that her children were, in fact, biracial.”
FEEL FREE: ESSAYS

BY ZADIE SMITH
“Since she burst spectacularly into view with her debut novel almost two decades ago, Zadie Smith has
established herself not just as one of the world’s preeminent fiction writers, but also a brilliant and
singular essayist. She contributes regularly to The New Yorker and the New York Review of Books on a
range of subjects, and each piece of hers is a literary event in its own right.”
THE MOTHER OF ALL QUESTIONS:

FURTHER REPORTS FROM THE FEMINIST REVOLUTIONS
BY REBECCA SOLNIT
“In a timely follow-up to her national bestseller Men Explain Things to Me, Rebecca Solnit offers
indispensable commentary on women who refuse to be silenced, misogynistic violence, the fragile
masculinity of the literary canon, the gender binary, the recent history of rape jokes, and much more.
In characteristic style, Solnit mixes humor, keen analysis, and powerful insight in these essays.”
THE WRONG WAY TO SAVE YOUR LIFE: ESSAYS

BY MEGAN STIELSTRA
“Whether she’s imagining the implications of open-carry laws on college campuses, recounting the
story of going underwater on the mortgage of her first home, or revealing the unexpected pains and
joys of marriage and motherhood, Stielstra’s work informs, impels, enlightens, and embraces us all.
The result is something beautiful—this story, her courage, and, potentially, our own.”
AGAINST MEMOIR: COMPLAINTS, CONFESSIONS & CRITICISMS BY MICHELLE TEA

“Delivered with her signature honesty and dark humor, this is Tea’s first-ever collection of journalistic
writing. As she blurs the line between telling other people’s stories and her own, she turns an
investigative eye to the genre that’s nurtured her entire career—memoir—and considers the price that
art demands be paid from life.”
A TWENTY MINUTE SILENCE FOLLOWED BY APPLAUSE

BY SHAWN WEN
“In precise, jewel-like scenes and vignettes, A Twenty Minute Silence Followed by Applause pays
homage to the singular genius of a mostly-forgotten art form. Drawing on interviews, archival research,
and meticulously observed performances, Wen translates the gestural language of mime into a lyric
written portrait by turns whimsical, melancholic, and haunting.”
ACID WEST: ESSAYS

BY JOSHUA WHEELER
“The radical evolution of American identity, from cowboys to drone warriors to space explorers, is a
story rooted in southern New Mexico. Acid West illuminates this history, clawing at the bounds of
genre to reveal a place that is, for better or worse, home. By turns intimate, absurd, and frightening,
Acid West is an enlightening deep-dive into a prophetic desert at the bottom of America.”
SCP- EL7 | 35
SEXOGRAPHIES
BY GABRIELA WIENER AND LUCY GREAVES AND JENNIFER ADCOCK (TRANSLATORS)
“In fierce and sumptuous first-person accounts, renowned Peruvian journalist Gabriela Wiener records
infiltrating the most dangerous Peruvian prison, participating in sexual exchanges in swingers clubs,
traveling the dark paths of the Bois de Boulogne in Paris in the company of transvestites and
prostitutes, undergoing a complicated process of egg donation, and participating in a ritual of
ayahuasca ingestion in the Amazon jungle—all while taking us on inward journeys that explore
immigration, maternity, fear of death, ugliness, and threesomes. Fortunately, our eagle-eyed voyeur
emerges from her narrative forays unscathed and ready to take on the kinks, obsessions, and
messiness of our lives. Sexographies is an eye-opening, kamikaze journey across the contours of the
human body and mind.”
THE NATURE FIX:WHY NATURE

MAKES US HAPPIER, HEALTHIER, AND MORE CREATIVE
BY FLORENCE WILLIAMS
“From forest trails in Korea, to islands in Finland, to eucalyptus groves in California, Florence Williams
investigates the science behind nature’s positive effects on the brain. Delving into brand-new research,
she uncovers the powers of the natural world to improve health, promote reflection and innovation,
and strengthen our relationships. As our modern lives shift dramatically indoors, these ideas—and the
answers they yield—are more urgent than ever.”
CAN YOU TOLERATE THIS?: ESSAYS

BY ASHLEIGH YOUNG
“Can You Tolerate This? presents a vivid self-portrait of an introspective yet widely curious young
woman, the colorful, isolated community in which she comes of age, and the uneasy tensions—
between safety and risk, love and solitude, the catharsis of grief and the ecstasy of creation—that
define our lives.”
SCP- EL7 | 36
Search Indicator
http://www.middlebury.edu/academics/fys/info4students/writing-speaking-and-learning-in-
the-fys/twelve-elements-of-the-scholarly-essay
Jay, E. (2018. March 11). What Is Contemporary Literature?. Taken from wisegeek.org.
Velasco, S. (s / f). History and anthology of Hispanic American literature. Taken from
linguasport.com.
Escolares.net. (s / f). Characteristics of contemporary literature. Taken from escuela.net
Systime Lab. (S / f). What is contemporary literature?. Taken from won.systime.dk
Colón, C. (s / f). Mexican Literature-History and Political Climate of Mexico. Taken from
thelatinoauthor.com .
Smith, A. (2018, January 10). 10 of the Best Contemporary Spanish Writers. Taken from
theculturetrip.com
Ucrós, C. (2017, June 11). 7 Contemporary Colombian Authors who are not García Márquez.
Taken from bookwitty.com.
McCrum, R. (2012, November 19). The rise of literary genres. Taken from theguardian.com.
SCP- EL7 | 37
I
LET’S NITIATE!
Activity 1. Let us try to check your understanding of the topics. Write your answers on the space
provided below every after the questions.
1. Create your definition of essay by means of acrostic poem following the letters of your surname.
2. What are the elements of essay?
3. Given the definition of essay, cite one author/poet and discuss his/her own definition of essay.
SCP- EL7 | 38
I
LET’S NQUIRE!
Activity 1. In this activity, you are required to expound your answer to each of the questions
below.
1. Describe the writing style and include the sample essay.
2. What genre of contemporary essay is difficult for you to understand? Why?
SCP- EL7 | 39
I
LET’S NFER!
Activity 1. Create a Venn Diagram and compare and contrast the two samples essay
given in your SCP.
EL 7_SCP
Week 4 Modern Short Stories

Lesson Title Short Story in the Modern World
Learning Outcome(s) 1. Identify the characteristics of contemporary and popular short
story.
2. Define the commonly used elements in contemporary short story.
I
LEARNING NTENT!
Terms to Ponder
Modern Short Story - Like, a novel, the modern short story always shows us something of how people
respond to life. The method of the short story is inevitably more limited than that of a novel. A novel
tries to create a world, its own reality, within which its characters developed. In some novels we are
apparently shown the ‘whole life’ of a character. As it is impossible to write about every second of that
character’s existence, the novelist presents the ‘whole life’ in a series of moments, key incidents that
create a strong sense of the kind of persons he or she has invented.so do the content and messages of
this writing.
Essential Content
Features of a good short story
"A good short story reflects life and does not contain black and white characters "Themes could be
topical or universal. Topical themes have a sense of immediacy and particularity. They would be
pertinent to a particular place and time. Topical themes evoke greater interest and has immediate and
contemporary relevance. On the other hand, there are problems, conflicts, and experiences that man
has always faced and would continue to face irrespective of time and place. Such things are as for
instance, birth and death, love and hate, good and evil, grief, pain and suffering.
They are of universal significance. Such themes have greater depth and endurance. It is said that great
stories like symphonies contain more than one theme. Thematically topical subjects may well become
'the rags of time’. But themes of universal significance, artistically well-crafted into stories form would
be according to W.B. Yeats " Monuments of their own significance, gathered into artifice of eternity.'A
short story may not deal with a vague or general experience. It is a section of a particular experience,
special and isolated. But the particularity of the experience a universality of application in theme and
value. The best stories contain both. In James Joyce's words, a short story must have 'epiphany' which
means self-revelation or getting a sudden vision of life.
This is a self-awareness and a sense of profound insight, the protagonist or hero is exposed to, towards
the end. It is said that a good short story is like a diamond; it has many facets. For example, it may
reflect the facets of society, the characters, feelings, life etc. the short story, however, we may catch
only a glimpse of individuals – either through a dramatic incident, or by showing them in an everyday
situation, or by showing fleeting moments from their lives – from which the reader may gain some, but
not an entire impression of characters. While we may feel that we really know characters in a novel,
and may respond to them as to people in real life, it is really possible to feel the same for a character in
short story. Characters in the short story are closer to those people in real life with which we have
fleeting contact, like chance meetings, holiday acquaintances. We share time with them but know little
about them, of their past or of what they are really like- and then perhaps loose contact. All that
remains in a brief impression based on a few shared moments. Much of the appeal of the short story
lies in this incompleteness. It raises questions, doubts, ambiguities. The incompleteness is rather like
that of something that is not resolved. More is suggested in a short story than it ever tells us. Our
imagination is always creatively engaged. Usually, the short story raises more questions than it
answers. It arouses our curiosity. – Why do certain characters behave as they do?
EL 7_SCP
What will they do next? Just as poetry often seeks to communicate feeling or emotion which is often
difficult – perhaps impossible – to put into words, so the ‘incompleteness’ of the story can hint at
states of mind or feeling common to us all, but difficult to bring out with clarity. Like a poem a short
story can rely on a kind of ‘suggestiveness’, for example where it tries to evoke a mood rather than
showing it. It certainly shares some qualities with poetry. – It seems no accident that poets like Walter
de la Mare, Dylan Thomas and Ted Huges have also written short stories.
The short story is often based around a single key moment or incident in the life of the characters. At
times it represents a turning point in a character’s life. It can be a moment that actually triggers
tension or conflict between two individuals, or an individual and society. It may be less the moment
itself than the characters response to it. In such cases the key moment might already have occurred or
been reported. Some moments can be trivial and ordinary; others seem dramatic and quite out of
ordinary.
The short story can show change in the main character, not though one incident but though several
small moments at a significant time in character’s life. While still lacking the space for the full
psychological development of the character, this kind of story might look at a period in the character’s
life rather than at a specific isolated moment.
5 Contemporary Short Stories to Inspire Your Own Fiction

1 'Paper Menagerie' by Ken Liu
2 'A Thousand Years of Good Prayers' by Yiyun Li
3 'Brokeback Mountain' by Annie Proulx.
4 'Cathedral' by Raymond Carver
5 'All Summer In One Day' by Ray Bradbury.
Edna Ann Proulx (/ˈpruː/; born August 22, 1935) is an American novelist, short story writer, and
journalist. She has written most frequently as Annie Proulx but has also used the names E. Annie
Proulx and E.A. Proulx.
She won the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction for her first novel, Postcards. Her second novel, The
Shipping News (1993), won both the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the U.S. National Book Award for
Fiction[3] and was adapted as a 2001 film of the same name. Her short story "Brokeback Mountain"
was adapted as an Academy Award, BAFTA and Golden Globe Award-winning motion picture released
in 2005.
“Brokeback Mountain” begins with two italicized paragraphs in present tense that feature the story’s
protagonist, Ennis Del Mar, well after the story’s main events have taken place. Ennis, a middle-aged
ranch hand, wakes before five in his trailer. The ranch’s owner has sold the place, and Ennis must
move out this morning. He is unsure of what he will do, where he will go, or what his next job will be,
but for now the uncertainty is assuaged by the pleasure of a dream he has just had about a man
named Jack Twist.
The story leaps backward in time, to the spring of 1963, when Ennis and Jack first meet at the trailer
office of Wyoming’s Farm and Ranch Employment. The narration shifts into past tense, signaling the
beginning of the narrative of which we have just glimpsed the ending. Jack and Ennis are teenagers,
born and bred in opposite corners of Wyoming on poor ranches. Both are well acquainted with a life of
hard work and rough living, and both are high school dropouts. Ennis lost both parents when he was
young and grew up in the care of two older siblings. At age fourteen he received a hardship grant for a
truck to drive to school, but the truck soon broke down and he went to work on a ranch. Now he is
engaged to Alma Beers.
Jack and Ennis sign on to become sheep herder and camp tender, respectively, for a foreman, Joe
Aguirre, whose livestock spend the summer on Brokeback Mountain. Jack has done this once before,
but Ennis is new to the job. Aguirre instructs the herder to sleep with the sheep in a pup tent, armed
but without a fire, to prevent coyotes from killing the animals. Jack and Ennis drink and talk in a bar,
then head up the mountain and get to work. After Jack complains about the four-hour commute to get
to the herd, the men switch roles: Ennis heads up the mountain while Jack prepares meals in the
camp. When they are together, they talk, drink whiskey, and become friends.
EL 7_SCP
The men move the sheep to graze in a farther field, increasing the distance between pasture and base
camp. One cold night, after much talking and drinking, Ennis decides to remain in base camp rather
than trek back to the herd. It’s freezing and Jack tells him to join him in his sleeping roll inside the
warm tent. In the tent, Jack reaches for Ennis’s hand and pulls it to his groin, only to be roughly
turned and entered from behind by Ennis—the first time Ennis has been with a man. The sex happens
many times after that, but they deny their homosexuality.
During a surprise visit to the campsite, Joe Aguirre sees the men together through his binoculars. In
August, the sheep get mixed up with a Chilean herd, and Ennis and the Chilean herder struggle to
separate them. In late August, Aguirre calls the men and sheep down from the mountain and frowns
as he pays Jack and Ennis, knowing that some of the sheep aren’t his. The two men say goodbye, each
evasive about his plans for the next summer. Jack has a bruised jaw—Ennis had punched him the day
before. They part ways as though they don’t care. Once Jack is out of sight, Ennis has to pull over
because he is sick with grief.
Ennis marries Alma and has two girls, getting work as a wrangler and on a highway crew to support
his family. Alma wants to live in town, but Ennis likes the impermanence of their remote apartment.
Four years pass. Jack sends Ennis a postcard saying he is coming to town, and Ennis replies with his
address. When Jack arrives, Ennis runs to greet him. Alma steps outside and sees them kissing in
front of their apartment, then quickly goes back inside. She comes out again when the men have
separated, and Ennis introduces Jack to her. The men tell each other about the children they have.
Jack has married a Texan girl, Lureen. The men go to a motel, where they have sex all night. The next
day, they reminisce about their time on Brokeback and talk about their feelings.
Ennis says he hasn’t slept with other men, and Jack lies and said he hasn’t either. Jack tells Ennis he
thinks Aguirre knew what happened on the mountain. He tells Ennis he was surprised by the punch
on the last day. Ennis says his brother used to punch him and that he finally punched his brother one
day, taking him by surprise. Jack suggests they set up a ranch together. But Ennis tells Jack about
the time his father took him, as a child, to see the mutilated body of a gay rancher. He says they just
have to endure this separation.
A rift grows between Alma and Ennis, and she divorces him when their daughters are nine and seven.
She remarries. At a Thanksgiving dinner, she confronts Ennis about his affair with Jack, and he
storms out.
The two men continue to see each other occasionally, but they never return to Brokeback. They tell
each other about their affairs with women. During one trip, Ennis tells Jack he won’t be able to see
him until November, although they’d planned to meet in August. While Jack has his wife’s money and
her inherited business to fall back on, Ennis lives paycheck to paycheck and can’t miss work. Jack
admits he travels to Mexico for sex because Ennis can’t give him enough of a life. They argue, but
nothing is resolved. Jack remembers a time on Brokeback when Ennis simply embraced him and
stood with him by the fire.
Months later, a postcard Ennis has mailed to Jack is returned to him, stamped “DECEASED.” Ennis
calls Lureen, and she says that Jack had an accident: he was changing a tire when it blew up, sending
the rim into his face. Ennis thinks it was no accident and that men killed him with the tire iron.
Lureen says Jack wanted to have his ashes interred in a place called Brokeback Mountain, but she
didn’t know where it was, so she buried half the ashes and gave the rest to his parents. Ennis decides
to visit Jack’s family in Lightning Flat, Wyoming.
Ennis is met by Jack’s mother and his disapproving father in their tiny, depressing ranch house. Mr.
Twist says Jack had long spoken of coming home to Lightning Flat with Ennis to help run the ranch,
but had recently begun talking of bringing home another man, a Texan, instead. His mother invites
Ennis to see Jack’s room. In the closet Ennis discovers an old shirt of Jack’s, stained with Ennis’s
blood, layered over a shirt of Ennis’s, from their Brokeback days. Jack’s father says he’s putting his
son’s ashes in the family plot.
EL 7_SCP
Ennis buys a postcard of Brokeback and tacks it to his trailer wall; he hangs the two shirts beneath it
on a nail. Around this time, Jack begins to appear in Ennis’s dreams.
Quote
“They never talked about the sex, let it happen, at first only in the tent at night, then in the
full daylight with the hot sun striking down, and at evening in the fire glow, quick, rough,
laughing and snorting, no lack of noises, but saying not a goddamn word except once Ennis
said, “I’m not no queer,” and Jack jumped in with “Me neither. A one-shot thing. Nobody’s
business but ours.”
After their first sexual encounter on Brokeback Mountain, Ennis and Jack quickly fall into a
passionate relationship—one in which, as this passage attests, actions speak much louder than words.
The verbal silence that accompanies their sex hints at a relationship so fragile that to rationalize,
explain, or defend it would put an end to its pleasure. Indeed, whenever Jack and Ennis give voice to
their doubts, hopes, and fears, it results in an argument, not a resolution.
There is, literally, no way for the men to talk their way into a good ending to their story. A similar
wordlessness accompanies Ennis’s lovemaking with Alma, and it too suggests the desire not to express
the harsh reality of the situation at hand. The choice few words that are spoken between Jack and
Ennis in this passage are desperate denials of the truth. Jack and Ennis have much more than a one-
shot deal; their relationship is decades long. And although they try to tell each other that it isn’t
anyone else’s business, the prevailing homophobic viewpoint is very much a third party in their love
affair. At this early point in their relationship, alone on the mountain, it is easy and uncomplicated for
the men to lie to themselves and each other. Over time, however, this denial becomes harder and
harder to pull off—until, finally, it becomes impossible.
Search Indicator
http://www.scholarspark.com/the-modern-short-story.html
Jay, E. (2018. March 11).
What Is Contemporary Literature?. Taken from wisegeek.org.
Velasco, S. (s / f). History and anthology of Hispanic American literature. Taken from linguasport.com.
theculturetrip.com
Ucrós, C. (2017, June 11). 7 Contemporary Colombian Authors who are not García Márquez. Taken
from bookwitty.com.
EL 7_SCP
I
LET’S NITIATE!
a. Create your definition of modern short story by means of acrostic poem

following the letters of your beloved one?
b. What is the theme of Brokeback Mountain?
c. Given the definition of modern short story, cite one short story writer and
discuss his/her own definition of contemporary short story.
EL 7_SCP
I
LET’S NQUIRE!
1. Describe the differences between traditional plot and modern plot of short
story.
2. Why is it hard for you to teach the theme of this story? What are the
restrictions?
EL 7_SCP
I
LET’S NFER!
Activity 1. Create a Venn Diagram and compare and contrast the traditional and contemporary short
story.
EL 7_SCP
Week 5 Modern Short Stories (2)

Lesson Title Short Story in the Modern World
Learning Outcome(s)
Critique the short stories using a reading journal.
I
LEARNING NTENT!
Terms to Ponder
Modern Short Story - Short-form storytelling can be traced back to ancient legends, mythology,
folklore, and fables found in communities all over the world. Some of these stories existed in written
form, but many were passed down through oral traditions. By the 14th century, the most well-known
stories included One Thousand and One Nights (Middle Eastern folk tales by multiple authors, later
known as Arabian Nights) and Canterbury Tales (by Geoffrey Chaucer).
It wasn’t until the early 19th century that short story collections by individual authors appeared more
regularly in print. First, it was the publication of the Brothers Grimm fairy tales, then Edgar Allen
Poe’s Gothic fiction, and eventually, stories by Anton Chekhov, who is often credited as a founder of
the modern short story.
The popularity of short stories grew along with the surge of print magazines and journals. Newspaper
and magazine editors began publishing stories as entertainment, creating a demand for short, plot-
driven narratives with mass appeal. By the early 1900s, The Atlantic Monthly, The New Yorker, and
Harper’s Magazine were paying good money for short stories that showed more literary technique. That
golden era of publishing gave rise to the short story as we know it today.
Essential Content
Features of a good short story
"All Summer in a Day," a group of schoolchildren live on the planet Venus with their families. They are
nine years old, and they are eagerly awaiting a momentous occasion. After 5 years of continuous rain,
the scientists on Venus have predicted that the sun will come out today for a brief period of time. The
children have only seen the sun once in their lives, but they were two years old and they don't
remember how it looks or feels. To prepare for the day, they have constantly read about the sun and
completed classroom activities, such as writing a poem, about the sun.
This is true for all but one of the children. Margot, a thin, pale girl that the rest of the children resent
for various reasons, lived in Ohio until she was five. She still has many memories of the sun, and the
sun continues to fascinate her. Marot refuses to participate in any classroom activity that doesn't
include the sun. In fact, she has been in a depressed state for most of her time on Venus.
Rumors have it that her parents are strongly considering taking her away from the underground
colony on Venus and back to her home on Earth.
Margot looks out of the window, waiting silently for the rain to stop and the sun to come out. The other
children become upset with her and begin to push and taunt her. One of the boys jokes with her, "It
was all a joke, wasn't it? Nothing's happening today” Suddenly, the children seize Margot and conceive
of the idea to hide Margot in a closet while their teacher is gone. Margot resists but they overpower her
and lock her in a faraway closet.
EL 7_SCP
The teacher returns and they all go to the tunnel's exit, as she thinks everyone is present and
accounted for from her class. Then, moments later, the rain stops and the sun appears. All of the
children exit the tunnels and begin to run around and enjoy the sun. It is unlike anything they could
imagine. They exult, "It's better than the sun lamps, isn't it?" as they run around the jungles of Venus.
After lying out, playing, and enjoying the weather, one of the girls cries out because she is cradling a
big, fat raindrop in her hand. Everyone stopped. They stood for a moment, thinking about how
wonderful the sun felt on their skins. While they do this, the rain clouds move in. The sun retreats; the
rain falls harder. All of the children stop for a moment before re-entering the tunnels, reflecting on how
wonderful the past hour was.
As they re-entered the hallway, they asked their teacher questions. "Will it really be seven more years?"
Once again, another student gave a muffled cry. She remembered that Margot was still in the closet.
She had been there for the entire time that they were outside enjoying the sun-soaked weather. They
slowly walked towards the closet where they had left Margot, and they were all nervous to approach it.
They slowly walked to the closet door, and no noises were emitted from behind the closet door. They
unlocked the door and Margot slowly emerged.
Analysis
Bradbury uses a variety of metaphors to depict an image of life on Venus, an idea that is foreign to us
yet familiar through Bradbury's language. Not only does his language bring us a clear image of Venus,
but it also creates the tangible feeling of discovering the pleasures of the sun. Venus "was the color of
rubber and ash, this jungle, from the many years without sun. It was the color of stones and white
cheeses and ink, and it was the color of the moon” The reader is instantly able to picture Bradbury's
Venus landscape with his illustrative language.
The power of the sun over the children living on Venus is notable. They are pale and colorless, not just
physically but also emotionally. The lack of the sun has not only washed away the color on their skin
but also their compassion and empathy for other people. They do not gain this until they've spent time
under the sun's rays. The sun is life giving for the landscape as well as the inhabitants of Venus.
Margot's initial exclusion from the group may speak to the difficulties of integrating immigrants into a
community. Margot struggles to fit in everyday of her time on Venus, and she does not get along with
the other children. They resent her for her past experiences on Earth with the sun, and they are also
angry and jealous that she has the opportunity to travel back to Earth regardless of the financial
costs. Though abstract, Margot represents one version of an immigrant story.
At the conclusion of the story, the children who were once hypercritical of Margot begin to arrive at an
understanding of what she has been feeling since arriving in Venus. They did not understand her
depression or refusal to participate in certain activities, primarily because they did not understand
how Margot was so enraptured by the sun. It is not until they spend time outside, basking in the
sunlight, that they begin to comprehend how much Margot sacrificed when she moved from Ohio to
Venus.
This development in the story highlights a broader theme of ignorance and its presence and absence
throughout the story. When the children only knew "sun lamps" and could not remember the last time
the sun had shone, the daily monotony of rain was not a major concern in their lives. They were
ignorant to the possible benefits of the sun. Now that they have experienced the sun and their
ignorance has lifted, it will be a difficult shift back to the constant rain. As the rain begins to fall once
again, they are disheartened when they ask their teacher, "Will it be seven more years?" They finally
comprehend the gravity of their teacher's answer.
EL 7_SCP
Censorship
Bradbury is perhaps best known for his discussion of censorship in his full-length work, Fahrenheit
451, but he also uses his short stories to address this theme. In this collection, censorship is a major
theme in "The Murderer," "The Exiles," "The Pedestrian," and "The Flying Machine," and it plays a more
minor role in his other stories. Censorship applies to censorship of literary works, behavior, and
technology. In "The Murderer" and "The Pedestrian," the authorities have censored ways of thinking
and being, like the Murderer's dislike of technology gadgets and the Pedestrian's insistence on walking
rather than spending time in front of a television screen. While in some cases Bradbury clearly
condemns censorship, his thoughts are murkier in the case of "The Flying Machine" when they apply
to undirected technological development. In all of these works, Bradbury forces the reader to consider
his or her own beliefs about censorship and the risks associate with it.
Technological Innovation
Bradbury has been accused of being against technology, and he is certainly critical of the technology
that features in his short stories. In his stories from the Martian Chronicles in particular, humans
have left Earth for Mars in hope of a better and more promising future. The Earth has imploded
because of humanity’s over-reliance on gadgets, and weapons have proliferated to a point where
mutual destruction is nearly ensured on Earth. Many of the characters are either fleeing technology,
destroyed by it, or have taken a role in destroying technology. The Murderer has tried to destroy the
technology that has interfered in his life, and the Pedestrian has actively tried to avoid technologies
encroachment. Additionally, the family in "The Veldt" ends up imploding because of their
technologically advanced home, and this is the case with many of the characters in Bradbury’s short
stories, whether on a physical or emotional level.
Time Travel
Time travel features predominantly in Bradbury's famous story, "A Sound of Thunder," where he
explores the idea of time travel as well as the possible repercussions of entering the past. He plays with
the idea of "the ripple effect," where even the minutest events in the past can have drastic
repercussions for the future. Bradbury's discussion of the ripple effect forces the reader to consider his
or her own place in the world and their responsibilities for future generations. The reader must ask the
questions, "How are my actions affecting the people who will come after me? Am I leaving the world a
better place for them?" Not only must one examine their relationship with the future, but also their
relationship with the people around them. How do their actions affect the others that they live with?
Bradbury is able to raise all of these questions through his novel discussion of time travel in his
fantasy literature.
Space Travel
Space travel is the primary theme of the short stories that were originally published in The Martian
Chronicles, such as "The Million Year Picnic," and "Dark They Were, and Golden Eyed." "All Summer in
a Day," also discusses space travel, but the setting is Venus instead of Mars. In the case of travel to
Mars, the Earthmen are typically fleeing the potential destruction of Earth. There are threats of bombs
and the planet is in the midst of war, driven to this existence because of an over reliance on
technology, but ironically it is this technology that enables them to travel to Mars. Bradbury's
fascination with space travel takes place in the midst of the beginning of the space race. Written just
about a decade before man first walked on the moon, Bradbury anticipated the excitement around
space travel and exploration. Also, a temporal reference is the idea of fleeing a nuclear situation. Many
of Bradbury's stories that deal with space travel were written just after the development of the atomic
bomb.
Ripple Effect
The theme of the ripple effect has a strong connection with the theme of time travel, particularly in the
story "A Sound of Thunder." Bradbury's exploration of time travel leads him to discuss the potential
effects the past and present have on the future, as well as the interconnectivity we have as human
beings living on the same planet. In a less direct manner, the ripple effect relates to the short stories
that deal with humans traveling to Mars, such as "Dark They Were, and Golden Eyed," as well as, "The
Million Years Picnic." Humans have fled Earth and begun to colonize Mars because of the ripple effect
of war and destruction on Earth. Instead of the past affecting the future far down the line, present
actions have deep and profound effects on how people live during the present day.
EL 7_SCP
Companionship
In both "I See You Never" and "The Fog Horn," Bradbury experiments with the idea of companionship
and loneliness. Mr. Ramirez must say goodbye to his landlady, Mrs. O'Brien, after he has been
deported to Mexico. He has enjoyed his time in America but has not made many lasting friendships,
except for with his landlady, a stern but respectable woman. He tries to communicate his appreciation
for her companionship when he leaves and says goodbye, saying, "I see you never," and meaning that
he will never see her again. In "The Fog Horn," companionship is the main theme of the story. A
monster, which is rumored to sit alone in the depths of the lonely ocean, responds to the call of the
Fog Horn, which sounds remarkably similar to its own screams. The lighthouse workers believe the
monster returns to the lighthouse annually because it believes that something of its kind will be there
waiting for it. The monster's perpetual and consistent journey speaks to the power and allure of
companionship.
Progress vs. Tradition

The theme of progress vs. tradition speaks to the idea of man vs. nature in Bradbury's work. The battle
between progress and tradition features predominantly in "The Pedestrian," where the man continues
to walk despite the onslaught of technological advances. He is considered an out of touch traditionalist
because he continues to walk every night. This theme forces the reader to consider if progress and
preservation of tradition can coexist together. In the short stories, those who oppose technology are
eliminated or isolated, but that is not always the case outside of Bradbury's literature.
"Who was it said, 'Children are carpets, they should be stepped on occasionally'! We've never lifted a
hand. They're insufferable - let's admit it. They come and go when they like; they treat us as if we were
offspring. They're spoiled and we're spoiled."
George Hadley in "The Veldt," p. 6

George Hadley says this to his wife over dinner while they wait for their children to return from the
fair. They are troubled by the fact that the nursery will no longer change to other settings - it remains
on the hot African savannah and the feasting lions. George wants to shut the house off, but Lydia is
worried about the children's reaction. The children have become increasingly averse to any sort of
change in the status of the house or any parenting decision made by George and Lydia. When George
says this to Lydia, it represents the breakdown in inter-family communication - they think their
children are insufferable, as well as their inability to interfere as parents and maintain their personal
identities. They are equally dependent on the house, and this is the first time they acknowledge that in
the story.
"There will come soft rains and the smell of the ground,
And swallows circling with their shimmering sound;
And frogs in the pools singing at night,
And wild plum trees in tremulous white;
Robins will wear their feathery fire,
Whistling their whims on a low fence-wire;
And not one will know of the war, not one
Will care at last when it is done.
Not one would mind, neither bird nor tree,
If mankind perished utterly;
And Spring herself, when she woke at dawn
Would scarcely know that we were gone."

EL 7_SCP
"There Will Come Soft Rains," p. 6

This poem is read by the house shortly before it begins to die and is eventually destroyed. The poem
seems to have predicted exactly what has happened - no one minds that mankind has perished.
Outside of the house, the neighborhood is in ruins, and no one appears to be living in the house or in
the vicinity of it. Despite that, life in the house continues as if there were still inhabitants. The house
cooks breakfast, cleans up, sets up for bridge, and reads this poem.
"The stamp of your foot, on one mouse, could start an earthquake, the effects of which could shake
our Earth and destinies down through Time, to their very foundations."
Travis in "A Sound of Thunder," p. 4

Travis delivers this line to Eckels and the rest of the men in the safari expedition as he tries to explain
the necessity of staying on the designated path. The Time Safari has gone to great lengths to ensure
that none of their customers disrupt the future by interrupting a natural process in the past. Travis'
address highlights Bradbury's broader theme of interconnectivity in the short story. Even though time
travel is not possible, Bradbury is still able to communicate the idea that our actions have
repercussions for future generations. It is an idea that is often considered but rarely acted upon - for
instance the rhetoric of politicians often asks us to think of future generations even if the policy is not
mindful of those generations. This quote illustrates that we are not isolated; rather we live in a
cosmopolitan world that connects all of us to one another and the future generations of all species.
"They stood as if someone had driven them, like so many stakes, into the floor. They looked at each
other and then looked away. They glanced out at the world that was raining now and raining and
raining steadily. They could not meet each other's glances. Their faces were solemn and pale. They
looked at their hands and feet, their faces down."
"All Summer in a Day," p. 6

After the children have come in from the two hours in the sun, they come to the sudden realization
that Margot is still locked in the closet. It is a moment of recognition and understanding of what they
have done and how they have treated her in the past. Before experiencing the sun themselves, they did
not know how special the two hours of unadulterated sunlight would be. Before they had resented
Margot, but now they can comprehend what she has been experiencing on the rainy Venus. Their
regret in this scene exemplifies the sun's healing properties. Before they were emotionless, but now
they possess empathy. The sun is life giving to both the landscape of Venus as well as the people who
inhabit the planet.
"The town's empty, but we found native life in the hills, sir. Dark people. Yellow eyes. Martians. Very
friendly. we talked a bit, not much. They learn English fast. I'm sure our relations will be most friendly
with them, sir."
Lieutenant in "Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed," p. 12

This quote is said in the concluding moments of the story. A rocket arrived five years after the initial
settlement believed they would never be able to return to Earth. They had resisted the change that
Mars tried to impart upon the colonizers, but slowly they began to accept the change and even
embrace it. This quote shows just how extremely they have changed over the past five years. They are
no longer recognizable as Earthlings. The environment and conditions of Mars have altered them so
severely that they now appear to be native Martians. Even more significant, the "natives" speak an
entirely different language (though they can easily transition back to English with the officers) and do
not remember what happened to the original settlers, even though that was part of their own
development. The quote signifies the story's larger themes of change, acceptance, resistance, and
memory.
EL 7_SCP
"Well," he said at last.
He kissed his wife for a long time.
"We've been good for each other, anyway."
"Do you want to cry?" he asked.
"I don't think so."
Husband and Wife in "The Last Night of the World," p. 4

As the world is about to end, the husband and wife in the story have gone about their business as
usual. While they always imagined a chaotic and tearful end - especially considering they knew it was
about to happen. Instead, they are calm and collected. They do not wish to go out and do something
wild and crazy, rather they want to spend time at home with their children. They do the dishes, put
the children to bed, and sit by the fire with one another. When they speak the words above to one
another, it is a poignant moment. While many people imagine a dramatic end to their lives as the
answer to, "What would you do if this was your last day on Earth?" But with this quote, Bradbury
shows that it can be notable to be ordinary.
"We waited a moment. And then I began to hear it. First a great vacuumed sucking of air, and then the
lament, the bewilderment, the loneliness of the great monster, folded over and upon us, above us, so
that the sickening reek of its body filled the air, a stone's thickness away from our cellar. The monster
gasped and cried. The tower was gone. The light was gone. The thing that had called to it across a
million years was gone."
"The Fog Horn," p. 6

Loneliness and companionship are two key themes in "The Fog Horn." The monster had continuously
returned to the lighthouse because it believed that one of its companions might be calling out to it
across the sea. The likeness of the Fog Horn's noise provides hope that companionship may still exist,
despite the all-encompassing nature of its loneliness. When the monster destroys the lighthouse in
anger, it ends the relationship that has sustained it during its slumber in the deep sea. The noise no
longer comes from the lighthouse, and the monster is devastated. Its loneliness has now taken on an
even greater sense of permanence.
"But there are times," said the emperor, more sadly still, "when one must lose a little beauty if one is to
keep what little beauty one already has."
Emperor Yuan, "The Flying Machine," p. 2

This is Emperor Yuan's explanation to the Inventor for why he is going to execute him and destroy the
flying machine. He agrees that the machine is beautiful, but he fears that the beauty of the invention
will be eliminated when the machine is used for unjust means, such as throwing rocks at the Great
Wall of China. This quote raises the moral dilemma of technological development and its censorship. Is
censorship just? What are the limitations of censorship? Does eliminating the beauty of the flying
machine actually preserve the beauty of the empire, or does the act of censorship actually diminish the
beauty of the empire and the emperor himself? These questions were applicable when Bradbury wrote
the story in 1953 in the midst of the Cold War, and they continue to apply as geopolitical situations
become increasingly intense and regional powers look towards chemical weapons and weapons of
mass destruction.
EL 7_SCP
I'm burning a way of life, just like that way of life is being burned clean of Earth right now. Forgive me
if I talk like a politician. I am, after all, a former state governor, and I was honest and they hated me
for it. Life on Earth never settled down to doing anything very good. Science ran too far ahead of us too
quickly, and the people got lost in a mechanical wilderness, like children making over pretty things,
gadgets, helicopters, rockets; emphasizing the wrong items, emphasizing machines instead of how to
run the machines. Wars got bigger and bigger and finally killed Earth. That's what the silent radio
means. That's what we ran away from.
Dad in "The Million Year Picnic," p. 6

Once again, Bradbury's distrust of technological advancement stars in his short stories. While in other
stories technology has disrupted the characters' lives or made things slightly unpleasant, in "The
Million Year Picnic," Earth is en route to total and complete destruction. Not only is it the advance of
technology that Bradbury warns of in the story, but it's also the potentially destructive human
behavior that can become of it. For instance, people can become overly obsessed with their gadgets
and fail to see the people around them and how their actions affect others. Because of his frustrations
with the way in which people on Earth were living, the father in "The Million Year Picnic" has set out
for Mars to create a more idealistic society that lives according to his principles.
But I thought that's why we bought this house, so we wouldn't have to do anything?
George Hadley, "The Veldt," p. 4

When George Hadley says this to his wife, they are questioning the value of their lives and their
parenting skills. They believed that the purchase of the Happy Home would improve their quality of life
and make everything easier - no more cooking, cleaning, or maintaining the house, but instead they
have seen their quality-of-life decline. This phenomenon with the Hadley's highlights Bradbury's
concern that the advance of technology could be limiting our potential rather than expanding it, a
theme that permeates many of his short stories.
Search Indicator
https://www.gradesaver.com/ray-bradbury-short-stories
What Is Contemporary Literature?.Taken from wisegeek.org.
theculturetrip.com
from bookwitty.com.
EL 7_SCP
I
LET’S NITIATE!
a. Create your description of “All Summer in a Day”.
b. What is the theme of All Summer in a Day?
c. Why does the author write that it has been raining for "thousands upon thousands
of days" and that "a thousand forests had been crushed under the rain”?
EL 7_SCP
I
LET’S NQUIRE!
1. What is the best evidence for Bradbury creating a gloomy/dreary mood

in "All Summer in a Day"? Elaborate the scenario.
2. Describe the following evidence suggest about Margot from All Summer
in a Day. "She was a very frail girl who looked as if she had been lost in
the rain for years and the rain had washed out the blue from her eyes
and the red from her mouth and the yellow from her hair."?
EL 7_SCP
I
LET’S NFER!
Activity 1. What quote from "All Summer in a Day" is the best evidence to show the children's
frenzied excitement? Illustrate your answer through a comic icon.
EL 7_SCP
Week 7 Play
Lesson Title Play in the Modern World
Learning Outcome(s) 1. Identify the characteristics of contemporary and popular play.
2. Define the commonly used elements in contemporary play.
I
LEARNING NTENT!
Terms to Ponder
Modern Drama - Modern Drama is essentially a drama of ideas rather than action. The stage is used
by dramatists to give expression to certain ideas which they want to spread in society. Modern Drama
dealing with the problems of life has become far more intelligent than ever it was in the history of
drama before the present age.
With the treatment of actual life, the drama became more and more a drama of ideas, sometimes veiled
in the main action, sometimes didactically act forth. After a period of being dormant for much of the
nineteenth century, drama made a comeback in the last decades of the century and the early decades
of the twentieth century, thanks to writers like Henrik Ibsen, George Bernard Shaw, and Eugene
O'Neill. Though these writers were very different, their work shared characteristics that were
representative of a new form of drama known as modern drama.
Drama, literature that is written to be performed on the stage, is a form that goes back to the ancient
Greeks and includes such writers as Shakespeare, Sophocles, and Christopher Marlowe. However, it is
a form that tends to go in and out of fashion depending on the availability of theaters and audiences.
Unlike the earlier drama of Shakespeare and Sophocles, modern drama tended to focus not on kings
and heroes, but instead on ordinary people dealing with everyday problems. And like much of the
literature of this period, which expressed reactions to rapid social change and cataclysmic events like
World War I, it often dealt with the sense of alienation and disconnectedness that average people felt in
this period.
Three of the most emblematic plays of modern drama are Ibsen's A Doll's House, Shaw's Major
Barbara, and O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into Night.
Essential Content
Features modern drama
Modern drama is often said to start with Henrik Ibsen and, in particular, his 1879 play about the
travails of an upper-class housewife. Set in Ibsen's native Norway, A Doll's House focuses on Nora, a
typical housewife married to the successful banker Torvald.
Despite having a seemingly perfect life on the surface, Nora feels unfulfilled and comes to realize she
and Torvald do not really know each other. The play ends with Nora leaving Torvald, possibly forever.
The play is considered the beginning of modern drama for many reasons, starting with the fact that it
focuses on a character that previously would have been thought not important enough for drama: an
average housewife. By dramatizing Nora's conflict between her inner desire and what she has been
taught to want, Ibsen argues that average people, and their seemingly trivial problems, are as
important as Oedipus or Hamlet.
EL 7_SCP
What is Modern Drama?

The drama which had suffered a steep decline during the Victorian Age was revived with great force at
the beginning of the 20th century and the course of six decades has witnessed many trends and
currents in the 20th-century drama.
The drama of the Modernist Movement in England was much less innovative in technique than it was
its poetry and novel.
History of Modern Drama

English Drama during the Modernist Period (1845-1945) A.D. falls into three categories:
The first and the earliest phase of modernism in English Drama is marked by the plays of G.B. Shaw
(read Summary of Candida) and John Galsworthy, which constitute the category of social drama
modeled on the plays of Ibsen and.
The 2nd and the middle phase of Modernist English drama comprise the plays of Irish movement
contributed by some elites like Yeats. In this phase, the drama contained the spirit of nationalism.
The 3rd and the final phase of the Modernist English Drama comprise plays of T.S. Eliot and
Christopher Fry. This phase saw the composition of poetic dramas inspired by the earlier Elizabethan
and Jacobean tradition.
The three categories reflect the three different phases as well as the three different facets of Modern
English Drama.
Modern Drama Characteristics

Realism
Realism is the most significant and outstanding quality of Modern English Drama. The dramatists of
the earlier years of the 20th century were interested in naturalism and it was their endeavor (try) to
deal with real problems of life in a realistic technique to their plays.
It was Henrik Ibsen, the Norwegian dramatist who popularized realism in Modern Drama. He dealt
with the problems of real life in a realistic manner of his play. His example was followed by Robertson
Arthur Jones, Galsworthy and G. B. Shaw in their plays.
The modern drama has developed the Problem Play and there are many Modern Dramatists who have
written a number of problems play in our times. They dealt with the problems of marriage, justice, law,
administration, and strife between capital and labor in their dramas.
They used theatre as a means for bringing about reforms in the conditions of society prevailing in their
days. Henrik Ibsen’s play A Doll’s House is a good example of a problem play.
The problem play was a new experiment in the form and technique and dispensed with the
conventional devices and expedients of theatre.
Play of Ideas
Modern Drama is essentially a drama of ideas rather than action. The stage is used by dramatists to
give expression to certain ideas which they want to spread in society.
Modern Drama dealing with the problems of life has become far more intelligent than ever it was in the
history of drama before the present age.
With the treatment of actual life, the drama became more and more a drama of ideas, sometimes veiled
in the main action, sometimes didactically act forth.
Romanticism
The earlier dramatists of the 20th century were Realists at the core, but the passage of time brought
in, a new trend in Modern Drama. Romanticism, which had been very dear to Elizabethan Dramatists
found its way in Modern Drama and it was mainly due to Sir J.M. Barrie’s efforts that the new wave of
Romanticism swept over Modern Drama for some years of the 20th century. Barrie kept aloof from
realities of life and made excursions into the world of Romance.
EL 7_SCP
Poetic Plays
T.S. Eliot was the main dramatist who gave importance to poetic plays and was the realistic prose
drama of the modern drama. Stephen Phillips, John Drink Water, Yeats, etc were from those who
wrote poetic plays.
History and Biographical Plays

Another trend, visible in the Modern English drama is in the direction of using history and biography
for dramatic technique. There are many beautiful historical and biographical plays in modern dramatic
literature.
Shaw’s Caesar and Cleopatra are historical plays of great importance. John Drink Water’s Abraham
Lincoln and Mary Stuart are also historical plays.
Irish Movement
A new trend in the Modern English Drama was introduced by the Irish dramatists who brought about
the Celtic Revival in the literature.
In the hands of the Irish dramatists like Yeats, J.M. Synge, T.C. Murrey etc. drama ceased to be
realistic in character and became an expression of the hopes and aspirations of the Irish people from
remote ways to their own times.
Comedy of Manners
There is a revival of the Comedy of Manners in modern dramatic literature. Oscar Wild, Maugham, N.
Coward, etc. have done much to revive the comedy of wit in our days.
The drama after the second has not exhibited a love for comedy and the social conditions of the period
after the war is not very favorable for the development of the artificial comedy of the Restoration Age.
Impressionism
It is a movement that shows the effects of things and events on the mind of the artist and the attempt
of the artist to express his expressions. Impressionism constitutes another important feature of
modern drama.
In the impressionistic plays of W.B. Yeats, the main effort is in the direction of recreating the
experience of the artist and his impressions about reality rather than in presenting reality as it is.
The impressionistic drama of the modern age seeks to suggest the impressions on the artist rather
than making an explicit statement about the objective characteristics of things or objects.
Expressionism
It is a movement that tries to express the feelings and emotions of the people rather than objects and
events. Expressionism is another important feature of modern drama. It marks an extreme reaction
against naturalism.
The movement which had started early in Germany made its way in England drama and several
modern dramatists like J.B. Priestly, Sean O’ Casey, C.K. Munro, Elmer Rice have made experiments
in the expressionistic tendency in modern drama.
EL 7_SCP
Search Indicator
https://study.com/academy/lesson/modern-drama-definition-examples.html
https://englishsummary.com/modern-english-drama-characteristics/#gsc.tab=0
theculturetrip.com
from bookwitty.com.
I
LET’S NITIATE!
a. In this lesson, you read about three dramatic plays identified as modern drama
of the late nineteenth century and twentieth century. All three are serious
dramas about important modern issues. Take a look also at the comedy of the
twentieth century. For example, read a Neil Simon play like The Odd Couple or
Barefoot in the Park. Both of these plays treat the issue of personal relationships
in a humorous way. How are these comedies tied to the cultural climate of the
mid-twentieth century? How would you update a play like Barefoot in the Park
for the twenty-first century? What elements or characters would need to be
changed?
b. In the twentieth century, minority cultures began to be represented on the stage

in modern drama. Read a play like Fences by August Wilson or Angels in America
by Tony Kushner. Think about how these plays might be received by diverse
audiences. What is the message each playwright is sending through their
writing?
c. As you read in the lesson, modern drama features the stories of ordinary people
in life-changing or desperate situations. Read a bit about the Theater of the
Absurd, and then read a play of this genre like Samuel Beckett's Waiting for
Godot or Luigi Pirandello's Six Characters in Search of an Author. Who are these
characters featured in this type of drama? What larger concepts do they
represent? Why might this type of drama have arisen in the twentieth century?
EL 7_SCP
I
LET’S NQUIRE!
Activity 1. In this activity, you are required to expound your answer to each of the
questions below.
1. Elaborate your understanding on this statement “Modern Drama is essentially a

drama of ideas rather than action.”
2. Compare and contrast the comedy of manners in the old times and its revival in the
contemporary world.
EL 7_SCP
I
LET’S NFER!
Activity 1. Discuss the similarities in style among these different playwrights, with their emblematic
plays of modern drama: Ibsen's A Doll's House, Shaw's Major Barbara, and O'Neill's Long Day's
Journey into Night.
EL 7_SCP
SCP-TOPICS: MIDTERM PERIOD

TOPICS
Week 8-9 Science Fiction
Lesson Title Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Learning Outcome(s) 1. Explain the characteristics and the development of science fiction.
2. Differentiate various classifications of science fiction.
I
LEARNING NTENT!
Terms to Ponder
Science Fiction - Science fiction is a modern genre. Though writers in antiquity sometimes dealt with
themes common to modern science fiction, their stories made no attempt at scientific and
technological plausibility, the feature that distinguishes science fiction from earlier speculative
writings and other contemporary speculative genres such as fantasy and horror. The genre formally
emerged in the West, where the social transformations wrought by the Industrial Revolution first led
writers and intellectuals to extrapolate the future impact of technology. By the beginning of the 20th
century, an array of standard science fiction “sets” had developed around certain themes, among them
space travel, robots, alien beings, and time travel. The customary “theatrics” of science fiction include
prophetic warnings, utopian aspirations, elaborate scenarios for entirely imaginary worlds, titanic
disasters, strange voyages, and political agitation of many extremist flavours, presented in the form of
sermons, meditations, satires, allegories, and parodies—exhibiting every conceivable attitude toward
the process of techno-social change, from cynical despair to cosmic bliss.
Science fiction writers often seek out new scientific and technical developments in order to
prognosticate freely the techno-social changes that will shock the readers’ sense of cultural propriety
and expand their consciousness. This approach was central to the work of H.G. Wells, a founder of the
genre and likely its greatest writer. Wells was an ardent student of the 19th-century British scientist
T.H. Huxley, whose vociferous championing of Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution earned him the
epithet “Darwin’s Bulldog.” Wells’s literary career gives ample evidence of science fiction’s latent
radicalism, its affinity for aggressive satire and utopian political agendas, as well as its dire predictions
of technological destruction. form storytelling can be traced back to ancient legends, mythology,
folklore, and fables found in communities all over the world. Some of these stories existed in written
form, but many were passed down through oral traditions. By the 14th century, the most well-known
stories included One Thousand and One Nights (Middle Eastern folk tales by multiple authors, later
known as Arabian Nights) and Canterbury Tales (by Geoffrey Chaucer).
Essential Content
The Evolution of Science Fiction
Antecedents of science fiction can be found in the remote past. Among the earliest examples is the
2nd-century-CE Syrian-born Greek satirist Lucian, who in Trips to the Moon describes sailing to the
Moon. Such flights of fancy, or fantastic tales, provided a popular format in which to satirize
government, society, and religion while evading libel suits, censorship, and persecution. The clearest
forerunner of the genre, however, was the 17th-century swashbuckler Cyrano de Bergerac, who wrote
of a voyager to the Moon finding a utopian society of men free from war, disease, and hunger. The
voyager eats fruit from the biblical tree of knowledge and joins lunar society as a philosopher—that is,
until he is expelled from the Moon for blasphemy. Following a short return to Earth, he travels to the
EL 7_SCP
Sun, where a society of birds puts him on trial for humanity’s crimes. In creating his diversion,
Cyrano took it as his mission to make impossible things seem plausible. Although this and his other
SF-like writings were published only posthumously and in various censored versions, Cyrano had a
great influence on later satirists and social critics. Two works in particular—Jonathan Swift’s
Gulliver’s Travels (1726) and Voltaire’s Micromégas (1752)—show Cyrano’s mark with their weird
monsters, gross inversions of normalcy, and similar harsh satire.
Another precursor was Louis-Sébastien Mercier’s L’An deux mille quatre cent quarante (c. 1771; “The
Year 2440”; Memoirs of the Year Two Thousand Five Hundred), a work of French political speculation
set in a 25th-century utopian society that worships science. While many writers had depicted some
future utopian “Kingdom of God” or a utopian society in some mythical land, this was the first work to
postulate a utopian society on Earth in the realizable future. The book was swiftly banned by the
French ancien régime, which recognized that Mercier’s fantasy about “the future” was a thin disguise
for his subversive revolutionary sentiments. Despite this official sanction—or perhaps because of it—
Mercier’s book became an international best seller.
The 19th and early 20th centuries

Proto-science fiction
In 1818 Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley took the next major step in the evolution of science fiction when
she published Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus. Champions of Shelley as the “mother of
science fiction” emphasize her innovative fictional scheme. Abandoning the occult folderol of the
conventional Gothic novel, she made her protagonist a practicing “scientist”—though the term scientist
was not actually coined until 1834—and gave him an interest in galvanic electricity and vivisection,
two of the advanced technologies of the early 1800s. Even though reanimated corpses remain fantastic
today, Shelley gave her story an air of scientific plausibility. This masterly manipulation of her readers
established a powerful new approach to creating thrilling sensations of wonder and fear. Frankenstein
has remained in print since its first publication, and it has been adapted for film repeatedly since the
first silent version in 1910. Frankenstein’s monster likewise remained a potent metaphor at the turn of
the 21st century, when opponents of genetically engineered food coined the term Frankenfood to
express their concern over the unknown effects of the human manipulation of foodstuffs.
The “golden age” of science fiction

The previously mentioned Hugo Gernsback, an emigrant from Luxembourg based in New York City,
made a living publishing technical magazines for radio and electrical enthusiasts. Noting the growing
fondness of his youthful audience for fictional accounts of thrilling technical wonders, Gernsback
began to republish the works of Verne and Poe and the early writings of H.G. Wells in great profusion.
Gernsback’s magazine Amazing Stories (founded 1926) broke ground for many imitators and
successors, including his own later periodicals Science Wonder Stories, Air Wonder Stories, and
Scientific Detective Monthly (later known as Amazing Detective Tales), and a torrent of other pulp
publications. This practice soon yielded so much fruit that many people, especially Americans, falsely
assumed that Americans had created science fiction.
By 1934 SF readership in the United States was large enough to support the establishment of the
Science Fiction League, Gernsback’s professionally sponsored fan organization (with local chapters in
the United Kingdom and Australia). Like a kind of freemasonry, SF fandom spread across the United
States. Eager young devotees soon had their own stories published, and, as time passed, they became
the hardened, canny professionals of the SF pulp world. Literary groups such as New York’s
Futurians, Milwaukee’s Fictioneers, and the Los Angeles Science Fiction League argued ideology in
amateur presses. Conventions were held, feuds and friendships flourished, and science fiction began
its long climb, never to respectability but rather toward mass acceptance.
Another influential figure was John W. Campbell, Jr., who from 1937 to 1971 edited Astounding
Science Fiction. Campbell’s insistence on accurate scientific research (he attended the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology and received his B.S. in physics from Duke University) and some sense of
literary style shaped the career of almost every major American science fiction writer from the period.
As a writer, Campbell is noteworthy for his story Who Goes There? (1938) and its film versions (The
Thing from Another World [1951] and The Thing [1982] and [2011]), but he is best remembered as an
editor. Many fans refer to Campbell’s early years at Astounding, roughly 1938–46, with its frequent
EL 7_SCP
publication of stories by Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, A.E. Van Vogt, and Theodore Sturgeon, as
SF’s golden age.
Certain literary critics countered wittily that the “golden age” of science fiction is the chronological age
of 14—the reputed age at which many fans become hooked on science fiction and the all-too-typical
literary level of a genre relished far more for its new scientific “ideas” than its literary merits.
Nevertheless, even the sharpest critic would have to admit that for all its often juvenile nature—
particularly as conceived in the United States—science fiction was a singular source of scientific
wonder and discovery that inspired generations of scientists and engineers to pursue in reality what
they had dreamed about in their youth.
Soviet science fiction
Only the gargantuan world of Soviet state publishing could match the production of U.S. science
fiction. The Soviet promotion of “scientific socialism” created a vital breathing space for science fiction
within Soviet society. The genre’s often allegorical nature gave Soviet writers of science fiction many
creative opportunities for relatively free expression.
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Guy Montag is a fireman who burns books in a futuristic American city. In Montag’s world, firemen
start fires rather than putting them out. The people in this society do not read books, enjoy nature,
spend time by themselves, think independently, or have meaningful conversations. Instead, they drive
very fast, watch excessive amounts of television on wall-size sets, and listen to the radio on “Seashell
Radio” sets attached to their ears.
Montag encounters a gentle seventeen-year-old girl named Clarisse McClellan, who opens his eyes to
the emptiness of his life with her innocently penetrating questions and her unusual love of people and
nature. Over the next few days, Montag experiences a series of disturbing events. First, his wife,
Mildred, attempts suicide by swallowing a bottle of sleeping pills. Then, when he responds to an alarm
that an old woman has a stash of hidden literature, the woman shocks him by choosing to be burned
alive along with her books. A few days later, he hears that Clarisse has been killed by a speeding car.
Montag’s dissatisfaction with his life increases, and he begins to search for a solution in a stash of
books that he has stolen from his own fires and hidden inside an air-conditioning vent.
When Montag fails to show up for work, his fire chief, Beatty, pays a visit to his house. Beatty explains
that it’s normal for a fireman to go through a phase of wondering what books have to offer, and he
delivers a dizzying monologue explaining how books came to be banned in the first place. According to
Beatty, special-interest groups and other “minorities” objected to books that offended them. Soon,
books all began to look the same, as writers tried to avoid offending anybody. This was not enough,
however, and society as a whole decided to simply burn books rather than permit conflicting opinions.
Beatty tells Montag to take twenty-four hours or so to see if his stolen books contain anything
worthwhile and then turn them in for incineration. Montag begins a long and frenzied night of reading.
Overwhelmed by the task of reading, Montag looks to his wife for help and support, but she prefers
television to her husband’s company and cannot understand why he would want to take the terrible
risk of reading books. He remembers that he once met a retired English professor named Faber sitting
in a park, and he decides that this man might be able to help him understand what he reads. He visits
Faber, who tells him that the value of books lies in the detailed awareness of life that they contain.
Faber says that Montag needs not only books but also the leisure to read them and the freedom to act
upon their ideas.
Faber agrees to help Montag with his reading, and they concoct a risky scheme to overthrow the status
quo. Faber will contact a printer and begin reproducing books, and Montag will plant books in the
homes of firemen to discredit the profession and to destroy the machinery of censorship. Faber gives
him a two-way radio earpiece (the “green bullet”) so that he can hear what Montag hears and talk to
him secretly.
Montag goes home, and soon two of his wife’s friends arrive to watch television. The women discuss
their families and the war that is about to be declared in an extremely frivolous manner. Their
superficiality angers him, and he takes out a book of poetry and reads “Dover Beach” by Matthew
Arnold. Faber buzzes in his ear for him to be quiet, and Mildred tries to explain that the poetry reading
is a standard way for firemen to demonstrate the uselessness of literature. The women are extremely
disturbed by the poem and leave to file a complaint against Montag.
EL 7_SCP
Montag goes to the fire station and hands over one of his books to Beatty. Beatty confuses Montag by
barraging him with contradictory quotations from great books. Beatty exploits these contradictions to
show that literature is morbid and dangerously complex, and that it deserves incineration. Suddenly,
the alarm sounds, and they rush off to answer the call, only to find that the alarm is at Montag’s own
house. Mildred gets into a cab with her suitcase, and Montag realizes that his own wife has betrayed
him.
Beatty forces Montag to burn the house himself; when he is done, Beatty places him under arrest.
When Beatty continues to berate Montag, Montag turns the flamethrower on his superior and proceeds
to burn him to ashes. Montag knocks the other firemen unconscious and runs. The Mechanical
Hound, a monstrous machine that Beatty has set to attack Montag, pounces and injects Montag’s leg
with a large dose of anesthetic. Montag manages to destroy it with his flamethrower; then he walks off
the numbness in his leg and escapes with some books that were hidden in his backyard. He hides
these in another fireman’s house and calls in an alarm from a pay phone.
Montag goes to Faber’s house, where he learns that a new Hound has been put on his trail, along with
several helicopters and a television crew. Faber tells Montag that he is leaving for St. Louis to see a
retired printer who may be able to help them. Montag gives Faber some money and tells him how to
remove Montag’s scent from his house so the Hound will not enter it. Montag then takes some of
Faber’s old clothes and runs off toward the river. The whole city watches as the chase unfolds on TV,
but Montag manages to escape in the river and change into Faber’s clothes to disguise his scent. He
drifts downstream into the country and follows a set of abandoned railroad tracks until he finds a
group of renegade intellectuals (“the Book People”), led by a man named Granger, who welcome him.
They are a part of a nationwide network of book lovers who have memorized many great works of
literature and philosophy. They hope that they may be of some help to mankind in the aftermath of the
war that has just been declared. Montag’s role is to memorize the Book of Ecclesiastes. Enemy jets
appear in the sky and completely obliterate the city with bombs. Montag and his new friends move on
to search for survivors and rebuild civilization.
Search Indicator
https://www.britannica.com/art/science-fiction
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Fahrenheit-451-novel-by-Bradbury
EL 7_SCP
I
LET’S NITIATE!
a. Create your description of Science Fiction by composing an acrostic poem following the
letters of “Sci-Fi”.
b. What is the difference between a fiction and a science fiction?
c. Why do you think Beatty hates books?
EL 7_SCP
I
LET’S NQUIRE!
1. What is the cogent argument of the future envisioned in this novel?

Specifically, do you think the author provides a convincing account of
how censorship became so rampant in this society?
2. Do you agree with Granger as the statement goes, individuals are more
important than culture and history? Why?
EL 7_SCP
I
LET’S NFER!
Activity 1. Based on the reading, science fiction writers often seek out new scientific
and technical developments in order to prognosticate freely the techno-social changes
that will shock the readers’ sense of cultural propriety and expand their consciousness.
Please provide a specific example to support this.
EL 7_SCP
Week 10-11 Fantasy Fiction

Lesson Title Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchet
Learning Outcome(s) 1. Explain the characteristics and the development of fantasy genre.
2. Differentiate various classifications of fantasy genre.
I
LEARNING NTENT!
Terms to Ponder
Fantasy Fiction - is a genre of writing in which the plot could not happen in real life (as we know it, at
least). Often, the plot involves magic or witchcraft and takes place on another planet or in another —
undiscovered — dimension of this world. Most often the overall theme of the setting is medieval in
tone, meaning that some combination of the architecture, clothing, language, and technology
resembles the European Middle Ages. Many times, the plot also involves mythical creatures or talking
animals (that might wear clothes and live in houses), and witches or sorcerers.
Often, writers of fantasy fiction devote a series of books to the same world or characters.
Some of the most famous examples of fantasy fiction are The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lord of the
Rings, His Dark Materials (which begins with The Golden Compass), and The Wizard of Earthsea
collections. Note that the Harry Potter series also qualifies as fantasy fiction, even though the books
take place on contemporary Earth.
The Background of Fantasy Fiction
Fantasy Fiction could be described as something that contains rudiments that are not realistic, such
as magical powers, talking animals, etc. The genre is often characterized by a departure from the
accepted rules by which individuals perceive the world around them; it represents that which is
impossible (unexplained) and outside the parameters of our known, reality. Make-believe is what this
genre is all about.
Another description of a Fantasy Novel is any book that contains unrealistic settings, or magic, often
set in a medieval universe, or possibly involving mythical beings or supernatural forms as a primary
element of the plot, theme, or setting. Something magical is almost always part of fantasy and magic
may be seen in the setting or in the plot. It may even be practiced by the characters.
Fantasy usually describes those stories that could not happen in real life. Fairy tales by known
authors, such as those by Hans Christian Andersen, are considered modern fantasy and have no
problem relating to young children; in fact, most adolescents grow up believing in fantasy. They wish
on candles, wait for tooth fairies, talk to their stuffed animals and play with imaginary friends.
History of the genre

Though the genre in its modern sense is less than two centuries old, its precedents have a long and
distinguished history. Fantasy Fiction has a rich history of inspirations for critics to dissect and apply
to the modern genre. It is often examined as the modern counterpart to mythology, but whether one of
these practices inspired the other, and which inspired which, is hotly debated.
With its roots in myth and legend, fantasy is the most elemental of all the genres. It is certainly
interesting that many people for many generations believed in myth and legend in a way that
dramatically affected their life and their culture.
EL 7_SCP
One thing is certain: there is something timeless about stories that pit motivating heroes who face long
odds against dynamic villains. (It could also be argued that this is the elementary basis of most
commercial fiction genres.) Good is good and evil is evil. Eventually there is often a happy ending
although important secondary characters may have been killed.
Stories of the Odyssey, Arthur, and the like have influenced and shaped culture for centuries. Heroic
fantasy yearns for a time of rigid class distinction, when good and evil were a part of breeding. When
the strong ruled the weak and weak lived happily - providing rustic atmosphere in the way good
peasants should. In fantasy, the reader may return to a simpler time - the world as we wish it might
be.
Sub Genres
Characteristics of fantasy fiction and its many overlapping sub-genres are the subjects of debate
among some fans and writers. Fiction can and is often a multiple thing. A piece can belong to the
fantasy genre as well as the detective genre, the romance genre etc.
Science-Fiction and Fantasy are substantially different categories, however the line between them is
often a thin one. Star Wars is a good example, since it is clearly within the science-fiction genre yet
includes certain unexplained fantasy elements (particularly "The Force," may it be with you all). Both
types of genres are usually shelved together, both because of their readerships' tendencies to overlap
and because of the authors' tendencies to blur the lines between these categories. Many science fiction
authors have also written works of fantasy.
Speculative fiction is a difficult genre to categorize neatly. For example, some authors might argue that
most speculative fiction is pure fantasy - and yet a fantastical tale set in a far distant future would be
more likely classified as 'science fiction'.
In recent times, the term 'fantasy', when regarded as part of an individual genre, generally brings to
mind tales of dragons and castles and knights in shining armor - but in truth, the genre as a whole
encompasses so much more. Some examples of sub-genres are:
Romance Fantasy
Fairy Tales
Alternative History
Arthurian Fantasy
Comic Fantasy
Dark Fantasy
Epic Fantasy
Fairy Tales and Mythology

Heroic Fantasy
High Fantasy
Mystery Fantasy
Magic Realism
Modern Fantasy
Sword and Sorcery
Cross Over's
Fantasy is the genre least likely to be affected by age. Many adults have enjoyed the Hobbit or the
Harry Potter books. More recently, the success of the film versions of the Lord of the Ring and the
Harry Potter stories has dramatically increased interest in fantasy along with C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles
of Narnia, and the film version of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Fantasy continues to
substantially outsell science fiction.
EL 7_SCP
Myth and legend have been an important part of culture since the beginning. Literature began with
these stories. They explained the world that people lived in, provided lessons about behavior and
consequences, and entertained as well. Fantasy opens the door to experiencing the magic that is in the
world around us and more importantly the magic in ourselves. It can encompass a whirlwind of
images and plot twists and is one of the few genres in which the same book can be read by an adult
and a 12-year-old - comfortably and without any explanation.
In Terry Pratchett's Wyrd Sisters, wicked Lord Felmet kills the king of Lancre and takes over the
throne. Three witches, Granny, Nanny, and Magrat, who have secreted away the heir to the throne,
must overthrow Lord Felmet by revealing the truth. They turn Lord Felmet's lie-filled play around,
making the players speak the truth and freeing the kingdom for a new ruler.
When the king is assassinated at the beginning of the novel, the coven of three witches unwittingly
winds up with the infant heir to the throne. Granny, Nanny and Magrat, after defeating the usurper's
assassins, entrust the baby to traveling thespians. Lord Felmet, usurper of the throne, is disturbed by
reports of tax-exempt witches in his kingdom. He orders tax collectors to visit the witches and collect.
The taxmen, however, are no match for the witches' mother-like authority and are unable to complete
their task.
Lord Felmet's Fool convinces his majesty to consider a war of words, undermining the witches'
authority through rumor and implication. The spirit of the kingdom, however, sensing Felmet's disdain
for it, rebels against the new king with an earthquake. The witches, too, are contacted by various
representatives of the kingdom, both man and animal, and asked to intercede against Lord Felmet.
The witches are reluctant to meddle. Meanwhile, the Fool and Magrat, youngest of the witch coven,
meet by chance and fall in love.
When the ghost of the dead king lures Nanny to the castle, the remainder of the coven is forced to
rescue her. This puts the witches face to face with the usurper Felmet, whereupon they realize they
cannot interfere without undermining the authority of the crown. The Fool's campaign of rumors,
however, has taken its toll. Open disrespect from the citizenry pushes Granny to drop her
compunction against meddling. The other witches follow suit.
With the Fool's assistance, Lord Felmet hatches a plot to rewrite history via a play, which will tell the
"truth" about the old king and his untimely death. Granny decides, meanwhile, that she will see the
king's heir, Tomjon, seated upon the throne. Granny, with the help of Nanny and Magrat, casts a spell
that hurls the entire kingdom forward in time fifteen years.
Lord Felmet sends the Fool to Ankh-Morpork to find a playwright. There the Fool encounters the
grown-up Tomjon and the theatre troupe to which he belongs. Without realizing that Tomjon is the
prince, the Fool hires the playwright Hwel to write the play and stage it in Lancre. Seeing via crystal
ball that Tomjon is preparing for a trip to Lancre, the witches assume he intends to recover the throne.
Hwel stages the play in Lancre, but the production is a disaster. The witches interfere, forcing the
actors to speak the truth. The Fool, moving to protect Magrat from arrest, bears witness against the
lord, accusing him of murder. Lord Felmet becomes entirely unhinged, flees, and dies to an accidental
fall. Lady Felmet, the instigator behind Lord Felmet, is arrested and imprisoned.
Tomjon refuses the throne of Lancre. He wishes to return to his theatre troupe in Ankh-Morpork. The
Fool, who happens to be Tomjon's illegitimate older brother Verence, ascends to the throne instead
and continues his relationship with Magrat. Nanny and Granny reveal to Magrat that, while Verence is
indeed Tomjon's half-brother, they share a mother, not a father. Magrat intends to keep it a secret.
EL 7_SCP
Search Indicator
https://www.cliffsnotes.com/cliffsnotes/subjects/literature/what-is-fantasy-fiction
http://www.findmeanauthor.com/fantasy_fiction_genre.htm
http://www.bookrags.com/studyguide-wyrd-sisters/#gsc.tab=0
Smith, A. (2018, January 10). 10 of the Best Contemporary Spanish Writers. Taken from theculturetrip.com
Ucrós, C. (2017, June 11). 7 Contemporary Colombian Authors who are not García Márquez. Taken from
bookwitty.com.
McCrum, R. (2012, November 19). The rise of literary genres. Taken from theguardian.com.
EL 7_SCP
I
LET’S NITIATE!
a. What is the difference between fiction and fantasy fiction?
b. What are the elements of Science-Fiction that are also found in Fantasy?
c. What is speculative fiction?
EL 7_SCP
I
LET’S NQUIRE!
1. If the kingdom rejected Duke Felmet as king, how might it have

reacted to a King Tomjon?
2. In what way are the witches of Wyrd Sisters the same or different
from the common stereotype of witches?
EL 7_SCP
I
LET’S NFER!
Activity 1. Create a Venn Diagram and compare and contrast the fiction and fantasy fiction.
EL 7_SCP
Week 13-14 Crime Fiction

Lesson Title A Judgment in Stone by Ruth Rendell
Learning Outcome(s) 1. Explain the characteristics and the development of crime fiction.
2. Differentiate various classifications of crime fiction.
LEARNING I NTENT!
Terms to Ponder
Crime fiction- Crime fiction is the genre of fiction that deals with crimes, their detection, criminals,
and their motives. Most - though not all - crime novels crime novels share a common structure. First
there is the crime, usually a murder; then there is the investigation; and finally, the outcome or
judgment, often in the shape of the criminal's arrest or death.
Crime is usually distinguished from mainstream fiction and other genres such as science fiction or
historical fiction, but boundaries can be, and indeed are, blurred. The genre's flexibility is perhaps one
reason for its wide and enduring appeal and means different things to different people at different
times. Unlike some literary fiction, the crime novel retains many of the time-honored techniques of
fiction character, theme, narrative, tension, etc.
Essential Content
Where did it all begin?

"Brief History of Crime Fiction”
Looking at the history of crime fiction as a serious genre, it didn't begin to be considered a serious
genre until around 1900. Crime fiction generally started in 1841 with the publication of Edgar Allan
Poe's story 'The Murders in the Rue Morgue'. From there it gradually spread over the United States,
Great Britain and France. By the turn of the century crime fiction was generally acknowledged as a
new and special kind of literature.
The position of the most famous crime fiction author in this brief history must surely be Arthur Conan
Doyle 1880 - 1920 (a medical practitioner from Edinburgh) who invented Sherlock Holmes. The
Sherlock Holmes mysteries are said to have been singularly responsible for the huge popularity in this
'locked room mysteries' genre. The evolution of locked room mysteries was one of the landmarks in the
history of crime fiction.
Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories first appeared in serial form in the monthly Strand
magazine in Britain. The series quickly attracted a wide and passionate following on both sides of the
Atlantic, and when Doyle killed off Holmes in The Final Problem, the public outcry was so great and
the publishing offers for more stories so attractive that he was reluctantly forced to resurrect him.
Equally as important in the history of the crime fiction genre was Agatha Christie (1890-1976) who
was born in Devon and educated at home, studying singing and piano in Paris.
Agatha served as a Voluntary Aid Detachment nurse in Torquay during WW1, and worked in the
dispensary of University College Hospital, London, during WW2. Her best-known detectives are
Hercule Poirot, Jane Marple and Mr. Parker Pyne.
The evolution of the print mass media in Britain and America in the latter half of the 19th century was
crucial in popularizing crime fiction and related genres.
EL 7_SCP
Search Indicator
http://www.findmeanauthor.com/crime_fiction.htm
What Is Contemporary Literature?. Taken from wisegeek.org.
theculturetrip.com
from bookwitty.com.
I
LET’S NITIATE!
a. Create your definition of crime fiction by composing an acrostic poem with the
letters CRIME.
b. How does crime fiction differ from suspense?
c. Given the definition of a crime fiction, cite one crime fiction writer and discuss
his/her own definition of crime fiction.
EL 7_SCP
I
LET’S NQUIRE!
1. Early in the story, Giles was hoping to go to India. How did he prepare for
this?
2. When Joan joined the Epiphany People, her confession scandalized many
people, and caused her husband a lot of embarrassment. What did she
confess about her past?
EL 7_SCP
I
LET’S NFER!
Activity 1. Create an image of Eunice Parchman activity to supplement her income while
living in London.
EL 7_SCP
Week 15-16 Horror Fiction

Lesson Title The Salem’s Lot by Stephen King
Learning Outcome(s) 1. Explain the characteristics and the development of horror genre.
2. Differentiate various classifications of horror genre.
3. Expose the subjects and themes used in depicting horror genres
I
LEARNING NTENT!
Terms to Ponder
Horror Genre - is a genre of speculative fiction which is intended to frighten, scare, or disgust.
Literary historian J. A. Cuddon defined the horror story as "a piece of fiction in prose of variable
length, which shocks, or even frightens the reader, or perhaps induces a feeling of repulsion or
loathing.
In literature, horror (pronounced hawr-er) is a genre of fiction whose purpose is to create feelings of
fear, dread, repulsion, and terror in the audience—in other words, it develops an atmosphere of horror.
The term’s definition emphasizes the reaction caused by horror, stemming from the Old French orror,
meaning “to shudder or to bristle.”
Horror literature has roots in religion, folklore, and history; focusing on topics, fears, and curiosities
that have continuously bothered humans in both the 12th and 21st centuries alike. Horror feeds on
audience’s deepest terrors by putting life’s most frightening and perplexing things—death, evil,
supernatural powers or creatures, the afterlife, witchcraft—at the center of attention. of contemporary
literature reflect a society's social and/or political viewpoints, shown through realistic characters,
connections to current events and socioeconomic messages. The writers are looking for trends that
illuminate societal strengths and weaknesses to remind society of lessons they should learn and
questions they should ask. So, when we think of contemporary literature, we cannot simply look at a
few themes or settings. Since society changes over time, so do the content and messages of this
writing.
Essential Content
The Horror should make the reader feel afraid through imagery and language.
Example 1
As the teenage boy stepped into the old mansion, his friends cackling behind him, he thought he could
hear things that, he forced himself to believe, were in his head—rattling bones, scurrying rats, hushed
whispers…and the slow drip, drip, drip, coming from a spot he told himself wasn’t really there; the red,
oozing stain in the ceiling boards above. He only had to spend one hour in the house and he would
prove to his friends that he wasn’t afraid. Just one hour. He took one last glance out the door before
shutting out the light of the full moon, enclosing himself in complete darkness, with only the sound of
his racing, terrified thoughts.
First, example above uses words and phrases that create a creepy, unsettling air—rattling bones, rats,
whispers, oozing, and so on. Second, there is an emphasis on the fact that the main character will be
continuing his task alone, which is never comforting. Lastly, the setting—an old and likely haunted
mansion, darkness, the full moon—helps to accomplish the feeling of foreboding in the situation.
EL 7_SCP
a. Gothic horror
Gothic horror, also known as gothic fiction or gothic fantasy, is a dark style of fiction that combines
horror and Romanticism. Its style combines the artistic pleasures of Romantic literature with the
frightening elements of horror, making it terrifying in a seductive and pleasing way. Gothic horrors
stories are written both with and without supernatural elements, but are always mysterious in nature.
Examples include novels like Dracula, Frankenstein, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
b. Supernatural Horror
A supernatural horror is work of fiction that relies heavily on supernatural or paranormal elements to
drive the story, featuring things like ghosts, monsters, demons, aliens, witchcraft, zombies, and so on.
The main source of terror in supernatural horrors is the human reaction to being faced with the
unknown, usually in the midst of a serious conflict—i.e. a haunting, a possession, an invasion, a curse
or omen, etc.
c. Non-supernatural Horror
A non-supernatural horror is a work of fiction that does not include supernatural elements, The terror
of non-supernatural horror comes from the idea that what is happening in the story could plausibly
occur in real life—usually involving the possibility of death—making it the ideal style for frightening
crime or mystery stories.
IV. Importance of Horror

In what is often considered the most important essay on the horror genre ever written, “Supernatural
Horror in Literature,” horror fiction author H.P Lovecraft begins by stating, “the oldest and strongest
emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.”
Accordingly, horror is important because it unearths an audience’s deepest nightmares and anxieties
and truly pushes the limits of human emotion and fear. Appreciably, horror writers often employ
topics and ideas that the everyday person would be apprehensive of addressing.
V. Examples of Horror in Literature

Example 1
Short stories are an ideal and widely used form for horror literature, and Edgar Alan Poe is one of
literature’s greatest Gothic horror story writers. His short stories are quintessential pieces of the genre
and have been inspiring horror authors for decades. Below is a selection from his famous work, “The
Tell Tale Heart”:
There came a light tap at the library door—and, pale as the tenant of a tomb, a menial entered upon
tiptoe. His looks were wild with terror, and he spoke to me in a voice tremulous, husky, and very low.
What said he? —some broken sentences I heard. He told of a wild cry disturbing the silence of the
night—of the gathering together of the household—of a search in the direction of the sound; and then
his tones grew thrillingly distinct as he whispered me of a violated grave—of a disfigured body
enshrouded, yet still breathing—still palpitating—still Poe expertly chooses his words to develop an air
of terror, shock, and mystery. To learn more about the victim—the disfigured but still breathing body
the reader will have to continue, though they fear to find out who or what is responsible for this gory
scene.
Example 2
Not all horror has to be directly bloody or violent with its language. For example, William Faulkner’s
short story “A Rose for Emily” uses subtle cues and an air of mystery throughout the plotline, without
truly revealing Emily’s dark side until the end of the tale—
The man himself lay in the bed. For a long while we just stood there, looking down at the profound and
fleshless grin. The body had apparently once lain in the attitude of an embrace, but now the long sleep
that outlasts love, that conquers even the grimace of love, had cuckolded him. What was left of him,
rotted beneath what was left of the nightshirt, had become inextricable from the bed in which he lay;
and upon him and upon the pillow beside him lay that even coating of the patient and biding dust.
EL 7_SCP
In this passage, Faulkner tells the audience what happened to a man that disappeared from Emily’s
town (and the story) years before. He has been found—or rather, his skeleton, which is subtly revealed
through the language: a “fleshless grin.” With this short passage, the reader learns that there has been
a murder, who the murderer is, and that Emily is more disturbed than anyone ever could have
imagined.
VI. Examples of Horror in Pop Culture

Present day author Stephen King is a giant in contemporary horror fiction. For 40 years his works
have been dominating the horror market in literature and have had a huge presence in film and
television—in fact, hundreds of his works have been adapted for the screen. Below is a clip from the
icon horror novel and movie of the same name, The Shining:
Example 2
Many pieces of horror literature have become cult classic horror films, for example, William Peter
Blatty’s supernatural horror novel The Exorcist and the subsequent film, for which he also wrote the
screenplay. Below is a clip of a well-known scene from the film, in which the priests perform an
exorcism on Regan, a young girl whose body it has been possessed by a demon:
From “The Exorcist”

The horrifying nature of this scene is obvious—a possessed child with a grotesque appearance, the
presence of a supernatural spirit or demon, the use of religious power or magic to solve the situation,
and so on. Though its visual effects may now be outdated, The Exorcist remains one of the most
notoriously terrifying and disturbing horror movies to date.
VII. Related Terms

Thriller
A thriller is a genre of whose primary feature is that it induces strong feelings of excitement, anxiety,
tension, suspense, fear, and other similar emotions in its readers or viewers—in other words, media
that thrills the audience. Essentially all horrors are thrillers because of the nature of their content;
however, not all thrillers are horrors.
VIII. Conclusion
In conclusion, horror is a genre of literature designed for readers who want to be frightened and have
their imaginations expanded through fear of the unknown and unexpected. It can be combined with
other genres and styles to develop creative and frightening tales that leave audiences on the edge of
their seats.
Sample Passage: The Salem’s Lot by Stephen King

Ben Mears returns to the town of Jerusalem's Lot in Maine, where he spent four years as a child
twenty-five years earlier. He's working on a book about the creepy Marston House. (He is the hero
because he's a writer from Maine, and writers from Maine are cool. Just ask a writer from Maine like
Stephen King.) Ben meets Susan Norton, a recent college graduate and author who falls for him quick
because this isn't a romance book, and the plot's got other things to do.
Meanwhile, Kurt Barlow, an immigrant, purchases the Marston House with help from his bald buddy
Richard Straker. They claim they are opening an antique store, but in fact Barlow is a demonic
creature of the night come to suck the townspeople's blood. Straker murders a little boy, Ralphie Glick,
as a sacrifice to Barlow, who then turns Ralphie's brother, Danny, into the town's first vampire. Things
go from worse to worse than that, with people dying left and right and vampires rising and the town
sinking swiftly into degradation, filth, and large incisors.
Ben figures out what's happening because, hey, he's a writer and (all together now) writers know
what's up. Joining up with him to fight the good fight are Susan, an English teacher named Matt
Burke (did we mention that Stephen King worked as an English teacher, too?), Matt's doctor Jimmy
Cody, the local Irish priest Father Callahan, and Mark Petrie, a smart, tough kid who likes horror
films. Alone, they'd have no chance against the fearsome vampires, but together… well, it still doesn't
seem like they have much chance.
EL 7_SCP
And, in fact, things don't go super well for them. Matt has a minor heart attack after confronting a
vampire in his house and ends up in the hospital. Susan's ex-boyfriend Floyd Tibbets is turned into a
half-vampire by Barlow, and under his orders beats Ben up and puts him in the hospital, too.
Susan decides to confront Barlow in the Marston House on her own. She runs into Mark… and the two
of them get captured almost immediately by Straker. Mark breaks free, bashing Straker in the head in
the process, and leaving him all bloody so that Barlow can't resist and ends up eating him.
Unfortunately, Mark isn't in time to free Susan, who is caught and turned into a vampire. This makes
Ben sad, as you'd imagine. If only Susan had been a writer, she would have been too cool to get killed.
Acting under Matt's advice, Ben, Mark, Jimmy and Father Callahan go to the Marston House during
the daytime. There, they find and stake Susan and seal the house off with the Host. Barlow leaves a
letter threatening Mark's parents, so Callahan and Mark go to warn them. Before they can convince
them to run, though, Barlow shows up and kills Mark's mom and dad, which makes Mark sad, as
you'd imagine. Mark escapes under cover of Callahan's faith-powered cross, but then Callahan loses
faith and Barlow makes him drink Barlow's vampire blood, which, besides being gross, marks him as
damned. Callahan catches a bus out of town and feels sorry for himself, not necessarily in that order.
Barlow and the vampires trick Jimmy into a booby trap involving sawed off stairs and knives and lots
of blood. Matt has a heart attack. So, it's just Ben and Mark left. They track Barlow to his new daytime
spot in Ben's boarding house, and, much to Barlow's surprise and indignation, they stake him, stake
him good (to paraphrase Devo.)
The other vampires are upset, but Ben and Mark have cleverly bathed in holy water, so they just walk
out.
Ben and Mark travel for a while, getting all the way to Mexico (this part of the story is told in the
novel's preface.) They'd hoped the vampires would go away or something after they staked Barlow. The
logic isn't entirely clear—though, to be fair, you probably wouldn't be thinking clearly either if you'd
just fought a town full of vampires.
Anyway, while reading news clippings, our heroes realize that nastiness is still going on back home.
So, they come back to the Lot a year later and set a fire to smoke out all the vampires so that they can
stake them all. It seems like Ben and Mark are going to kill all the vampires, though King later wrote a
story in which it turns out that this didn't quite happen (see "What's Up With the Ending?").
EL 7_SCP
Search Indicator
https://literaryterms.net/horror/
https://www.shmoop.com/study-guides/literature/salems-lot/summary
EL 7_SCP
I
LET’S NITIATE!
a. Create your definition of contemporary horror by means of acrostic

poem following the letters of the term itself “HORROR”.
b. Explain the characteristics and the development of horror genre.
c. What are the different variants and classifications of horror genre?
EL 7_SCP
I
LET’S NQUIRE!
1. Describe the differences between traditional and contemporary

horror in terms of structure and theme.
2. Where did Barlow hide towards the end of the book? Why?
EL 7_SCP
I
LET’S NFER!
Activity 1. Create an illustration in a comic sketch about the summary of Salem’s Lot.
SCP- EL7 | 89
Week 17 Spy Fiction

Lesson Title The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum
Learning Outcome(s) 1. Explain the characteristics and the development of spy fiction.
2. Differentiate various classifications of spy fiction
I
LEARNING NTENT!
Terms to Ponder
Spy Fiction - a genre of literature involving espionage as an important context or plot device, emerged
in the early twentieth century, inspired by rivalries and intrigues between the major powers, and the
establishment of modern intelligence agencies. Spy fiction as a genre started to emerge during the 19th
Century. For several decades Spy/Espionage Fiction was the leading sub-genre of Adventure Fiction.
The end of the Cold War brought about its decline in the early 1990s. Recently, the James Bond books
by John Gardner and Raymond Benson have contributed to a resurgence of the popularity of the
genre. Other writers, such as John LeCarre, have kept the genre alive by transferring the scene of
spying operations from the Cold War to industrial espionage, Third World or Middle Eastern conflicts,
or terrorist conspiracies.
The Spy genre is characterized by most of the attributes of adventure novels - action, heroic exploits by
larger-than life protagonists, strong plots – however, the essential characteristic of a spy book is that it
has the main protagonist as a spy. Often the character is a disillusioned antihero; then, his or her own
struggle to see his place in the plot becomes the driving force of the book. Unlike pure adventure
stories, spy stories often have a subtle plot that may not finish with the clear-cut triumph of good over
evil.
There are many in dividual novels and spy series including the romantic international intrigue by
Helen MacInnes, male fantasy adventure by Robert Ludlum, historical war fiction by Jack Higgins or
Frederick Forsyth, and all include plot twists and quirks to tease the reader’s brain.
Works of contemporary literature reflect a society's social and/or political viewpoints, shown through
realistic characters, connections to current events and socioeconomic messages. The writers are
looking for trends that illuminate societal strengths and weaknesses to remind society of lessons they
should learn and questions they should ask. So when we think of contemporary literature, we cannot
simply look at a few themes or settings. Since society changes over time, so do the content and
messages of this writing.
Essential Content
The Emergence of the Spy Novels

Novels featuring espionage or spies emerged in the nineteenth century with "The Spy" published in
1821 by James Fenimore Cooper, which was based on the exploits of Harvey Birch, an American
secret agent. "Kim" by Rudyard Kipling was initially published in McClure's Magazine in 1900, then as
a book one year later. The story is set after the Second Afghan War in the late 1890s in British
controlled India with the story centering around an orphan of Irish descent who is pulled into the
espionage game at a young age. Both novels are still in print over 100 years later.
“The Riddle of the Sands” by Robert Erskine Childers, published in 1903, was immensely popular in
the years leading up to World War I and helped to define and influence the spy novel genre for years to
come. And "The Secret Agent" by Joseph Conrad, published in 1907, was inspired by the Greenwich
Bomb Outrage of 1894. While the spy fiction genre emerged in the 1800s it didn't really take off until
around the time of World War I.
SCP- EL7 | 90
During World War I, spy fiction gained popularity with the publication of the novel "The Thirty Nine
Steps" in 1915 by John Buchan, which was later adapted into a movie by Alfred Hitchcock. Popular
spy stories between the wars include "Ashenden: Or the British Agent," a collection of stories written
by W. Somerset Maugham and "Meet the Tiger" written by Leslie Charteris, both published in 1928.
"Meet the Tiger" introduced audiences to Simon Templar, better known as the Saint, which was later
adapted into a popular television series in the 1960s.
During World War II, the spy fiction genre became popular once again with the masses. "Above
Suspicion" written by Helen MacInnes was published in the year 1941 and later adapted into a movie
starring Joan Crawford and Fred MacMurray (side note: this is one of my favorite spy stories of all
time). It's a typical World War II spy saga involving a married couple that are asked to undertake a
complicated secret mission. Ultimately, things go south as they typically do in these types of stories.
While on paper it doesn't sound like much - it's an enjoyable read and the film is equally entertaining -
brimming with intrigue and suspense. Another favorite from the same time period includes Graham
Greene's "The Ministry of Fear" published in 1943, which was also made into a movie. The film came
out in 1944 and stars the legendary Ray Miland. Fritz Lang directed this quintessential film noir,
which also falls under the psychological thriller and war spy film genres. The story centers around an
innocent man recently released from an asylum who gets caught up in web of espionage after
accidentally receiving an item meant for a Nazi spy. If you're looking for a good classic suspense film
you can't go wrong with this one.
Spy Fiction: The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum

The Bourne Identity is a little like a hyper-excited dog who races spastically to the kitchen and over to
the bed and back to the bathroom and then up on the table and onto the chandelier before leaping up
on her owner who just walked in the door.
We start out with some random guy dumped in the Mediterranean Sea. He gets pulled out by some
fishermen, who deliver him to Dr. Geoffrey Washburn, a drunk with a heart of gold. Washburn fixes
him up and finds a piece of microfilm in his hip (you read that right) that contains information about a
bank account in Europe. From this and other telltale signs, Washburn cleverly deduces that there is
more to this amnesiac than meets the eye. This is confirmed when the amnesiac uses some sort of
super martial art to beat the stuffing out of a bunch of locals who are bothering him.
Having annoyed those locals, and with a bank account beckoning, the amnesiac toddles off across
Europe to Zurich, where he discovers that said bank account contains whopping piles of moolah—and
that his name is Jason Bourne (which means the book can finally refer to him by name, causing the
prose to sigh audibly in relief). He also finds out that he worked for something called the Treadstone
Corporation, though he doesn't have any luck getting in touch with his employers.
Bourne barely has a moment to enjoy his new wealth and given name, though, before he's attacked
coming out of the bank by a bunch of bad guys. To escape them, he kidnaps a beautiful Canadian
economist named Marie St. Jacques. She is, as you'd imagine, peeved, and she eventually manages to
escape—only to be caught by the bad guys, one of whom rapes her.
Bourne manages to track Marie down and rescue her, but he's badly wounded in the process. Marie's
grateful to him for the rescue, and she helps him recuperate in a hotel room, where he explains that
he's an amnesiac. The two fall in love, because that's what leading men and leading ladies do, and
Marie starts calling him "darling" all the time, because leading ladies apparently do that, too. We're
relieved to learn that amnesia's not a problem, as long as you're in love.
Bourne thinks the answers to his identity are in Paris, so he and Marie go there. Marie, as a whiz
international economist, helps Bourne get his hands on the money from Zurich. (We're not sure how
these credentials qualify her to get that money, but far be it from us to question superspy logic.)
Bourne and Marie make further discoveries connecting Bourne to an international terrorist assassin
SCP- EL7 | 91
known as Carlos the Jackal. ST.
Bourne
JOHNfears hemay
PAUL have beenOF
II COLLEGE anDAVAO
assassin himself—perhaps a minion
who betrayed Carlos. Marie assures him that he's a good guy, because otherwise how could she ever
call him "darling"?
Bourne discovers that Carlos is using a high-end fashion house, of all places, to route messages.
Bourne interrogates Jacqueline Lavier, the head of the fashion house. She explains that Bourne was
an assassin who performed a series of spectacular kills to challenge Carlos's supremacy. This upsets
Bourne, who is willing to terrorize random fashionistas but was really hoping he was not a horrible
stone-cold murderer.
Bourne plans to leave Marie, because he now thinks that he's no good for her, baby. But before he can
do the noble thing, a newspaper story apparently planted by Carlos appears, implicating Marie in a
massive global theft. Since she's now running from the law as well, Bourne figures he'd better stick by
her.
Somewhere around here, the novel hops across the Atlantic Ocean to Treadstone in New York, which,
it turns out, is a super-secret U.S. government operation that employed Bourne as a deep-cover agent
(known as "Cain") whose mission was to trap and kill Carlos. In one of the novel's more realistic twists,
the U.S. government's top-secret super-efficient spy apparatus turns out to be ludicrously
incompetent, and Carlos's agents kill everyone associated with Treadstone without even breaking a
sweat. Carlos makes it look like Bourne did the killing, so now U.S. intelligence, in all its oxymoronic
glory, is after our hero, too.
Clues from the fashion house lead Bourne and Marie to the phone number of General Villiers, a hugely
respected war hero and right-wing political figure in France. At first, Bourne thinks Villiers is in
cahoots with Carlos, but he soon finds out that Carlos killed the Villiers's beloved son.
It's not Villiers but his young wife Angélique who is the sneak. She turns out to be Carlos's cousin,
confidant, and lover. Villiers keeps tabs on her for a while—but, incensed by her behavior, he
eventually... kills her.
While Villiersis busy murdering his wife, Bourne has a meeting with a U.S. intelligence officer named
Conklin, who tries to kill him—but, of course, completely fails, because Bourne is the hero of our
novel. Now Bourne knows Treadstone (or what's left of it) is after him. Bourne decides his best bet is to
get Villiers to say that Bourne killed his wife, who is also Carlos's lover, which will really get Carlos
going. Bourne will then go to New York, letting Carlos know he is going there. Bourne plans to kill him
there, at which point U.S. intelligence will leave him alone.
If that seems shaky…well, it is. But the main point is that there is a big showdown in New York with
violence and shooting and dead minions. Villiers and Marie go to U.S. intelligence and finally convince
them that Bourne is not a bad guy, and with the help of Marie they go in and rescue him, though
(oops) Carlos manages to spaceborne catches a glimpse of Carlos's face, which he knows is the face of
a famous figure, though he can't quite place him.
As Bourne recuperates, intelligence officers explain to Marie that Bourne's real name is David Webb.
He was a Foreign Service Officer whose Thai wife and two children were killed in Vietnam by an
airplane attack. Webb became a guerilla fighter in a special unit called Medusa. One of his men,
named Jason Bourne, betrayed Medusa on a mission, and Webb killed him. After the war, Webb was
recruited for the Treadstone project to destroy Carlos and went into deep cover, taking the name Jason
Bourne and the alias Cain, pretending to be an assassin to lure Carlos out of hiding and trap him. The
novel ends as U.S. intelligence promises to protect Webb around the clock, and Marie and Bourne
(now Webb) reunite.
The end…though Carlos is still out there, and nothing we've seen so far in the novel suggests that U.S.
intelligence can find its left foot with state-of-the-art sonar, much less protect Jason Bourne or Cain or
David Webb or whatever he wants to call himself. So, the stage is set for sequels and carnage and
tragedy and, incredibly, even more pages—though for now we are, in fact, done.
SCP- EL7 | 92
Search Indicator
https://www.toledolibrary.org/blog/a-brief-history-of-the-spy-genre
https://www.shmoop.com/study-guides/literature/bourne-identity/summary
I
LET’S NITIATE!
a. Create your definition of spy fiction by means of acrostic poem following the
letters of SPY.
b. What are the examples of spy fiction?
c. Given the definition of spy fiction, cite one author/poet and discuss his/her
own definition of spy fiction.
SCP- EL7 | 93
I
LET’S NQUIRE!
1. Describe Bourne, with his ragged fisherman’s sweater and red duffel bag full of passports and
money, is told to stop by the consulate guards. What happens next?
2. What is Jason Bourne's first code-name in The Bourne Identity? Why?
I
LET’S NFER!
Activity 1. Explain the characteristics and the development of spy fiction.
SCP- EL7 | 94

SCP El7

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

You might also like

SCP El7

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

SCP El7

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

` ST.

JOHN PAUL II COLLEGE OF DAVAO

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT

SIMPLIFIED COURSE PACK (SCP) FOR SELF-DIRECTED

EL7 – Contemporary, Popular and Emergent Literature

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT

Vision By 2023, a recognized professional institution providing quality,

Serve the nation by providing competent JPCean graduates through quality

“Based 40” Cumulative Averaging Grading System

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT

Teaching English in the Elementary Grades - Simplified Course Pack (SCP)

Intro to Contemporary, Popular

Poetry in the Modern World and

Week 3 The Essay Week 9 Science Fiction 2 Week 15 Spy Fiction 2

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT

SCP-TOPICS: PRELIM PERIOD TOPICS

Week 1 Introduction of Contemporary and Popular Literature

Works of contemporary literature reflect a society's social and/or

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT

The Contemporary literature is a vast group of written works

Most agree that the era of contemporary writing began in the

Although there are a few disagreements about the beginning of

Much of contemporary literature comes from Western authors;

Genres included in this literary period span a variety of writing

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT

Typical characteristics of the contemporary period include

Contemporary literature features a somewhat modern narrative,

This period extends to the present. Contemporary literature is

In the same way, this literature is recognized by the historically

Now, some work or some writer could be considered

Under this concept, even some writers of other centuries seem

In fact, globalization has allowed us to appreciate contemporary

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT

From 1940 to 1990

In the course of this half century, mankind witnessed

In addition, technological innovations emerged, such as cell

Within this whole wave of changes, literature was enriched with

A feature of contemporary literature of this time was that many

In its later development until the 1990s, the contemporary

From 1990 to the present

In addition, it is a decade marked by wars, natural disasters

Thus, contemporary literature received all these influences and

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT

Personal point of view

The works of contemporary literature reflect the social and

Innovative narrative resources

There is a break with previous narrative techniques.

The development of magical realism as a narrative technique

The pressing issues

Most of the themes of contemporary literature are related to the

Influence of World War II

The works of contemporary literature tend to be influenced by

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT

Fiction and non-fiction superimposed

In contemporary literature the distinction between fiction and

On the other hand, nonfiction writers make historical figures

Classic fiction genre

This genre is made up of stories, novels, plays, poems and