Welcome to the Blog for ENGL 200 at Case Western Reserve University!

This course introduces students to the reading of literature in the English language and is intended to give English majors the skills necessary to succeed in more advanced literature courses and those students in other disciplines an additional critical consciousness crucial to any major. These include familiarity with literary terms and concepts; close reading skills; awareness of the sorts of questions raised by literary texts and addressed by literary scholars; and practice writing literary analysis papers that defend an arguable thesis based on a close reading of texts. In our discussions, we will focus on defining three genres of writing: poetry, prose fiction, and drama. Additionally, we will examine several examples that challenge prevailing definitions of these three genres. Finally, the course is intended to enhance students’ ability to appreciate and enjoy literature. In our pursuit of these objectives, we will ask ourselves some of the most basic (yet most complicated) questions about literature: What is the role of an author, and what is the role of a reader? How does a reader’s interaction with a text change among different genres? How do we make meaning when we read? Why should we study literature critically?