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Literary Analysis & Reference

We don't study literature because it's fun or to brag about the books we've read. We study literature to experience the world from different perspectives, and to understand ourselves and everyone else more deeply.

Literary analysis is an acquired skill. It isn't simply reading a book to relate the plot and names of the characters, though you need to be able to do that. Literary analysis involves looking beyond a story's obvious elements to the underlying meaning. This may require background information about the author, the time period in which the story takes place, the era in which it was written, etc. As a result, most literary analysis courses and aids deal with specific literary works, so methods of studying the text itself as well as the background information can be clearly demonstrated. Students are expected to learn how to apply basic methods to any work they encounter.

Another important aspect of literary analysis is the study of a text's style and construction. An author's style reveals a lot about his ideas. Understanding what to look for results in more productive study and greater appreciation of literature. A lot of people shy away from "great books" because they haven't been trained to engage the often unfamiliar language; discussing technique and style is an effective way to remove this barrier.

There's a dearth of literary analysis materials for homeschoolers. There are plenty of reading guides and unit studies, but they don't normally focus specifically on analysis, instead trying to cover a variety of disciplines and topics. Others are more or less glorified reading programs, designed to get kids interested in good literature. If they have no way to analyze and process what they're reading, however, simply getting kids to read isn't very profitable.

A lot of literary analysis courses are set in the context of worldview—students identify the author's worldview as well as their own, thus turning the study of literature into a primarily practical pursuit. The really good programs teach students how to interpret literature and interact with texts, not simply to identify a given text as "good" or "bad," "Christian" or "non-christian".

The materials we offer aren't all curricula; many are simply books designed as study aids for the work of specific authors or types of literature. Some are fairly elaborate programs designed for use by high schoolers, and involve lots of reading and written work. Many people feel it's not necessary to study literature at such a level, but the truth is everyone can benefit from advanced literary study. Not only will it help you to think more clearly and analytically, it will open you to ways of thinking you have never experienced. Most of all, seriously pursuing literary study will bring you closer to the real goal of education—not merely knowledge, but the altogether more relevant goal of understanding.

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American Literature - Teacher Edition with DVD
by James P. Stobaugh
from Broadman & Holman
for 10th-12th grade
$12.00 $12.00 (1 in stock)
Brightest Heaven of Invention
by Peter Leithart
from Canon Press
for 10th-Adult
$17.50
British Literature - Student Edition
by James P. Stobaugh
from Broadman & Holman
for 10th-12th grade
$12.00
Classics Club - Huckleberry Finn
by Adam Andrews
from Center for Literary Education
for 10th-Adult
$19.00
Classics Club - Shakespeare's Hamlet
by Adam Andrews
from Center for Literary Education
for 10th-Adult
$19.00
Classics Club - Wind in the Willows
by Adam Andrews
from Center for Literary Education
for 3rd-9th grade
$19.00
Classics Club - Yearling
by Adam Andrews
from Center for Literary Education
for 10th-Adult
$19.00
Deep Comedy
by Peter Leithart
from Canon Press
for 10th-Adult
$12.50
Discarded Image
by C. S. Lewis
from Cambridge University
Medieval and Renaissance Lit Guide/Resource for 9th-Adult
$24.99 $17.50 (1 in stock)
Evaluating Books
by Richard Maybury
2nd edition from Bluestocking Press
for 9th-Adult
$10.95
Excellence in Literature - American Literature
by Janice Campbell
from Institute for Excellence in Writing
for 11th-12th grade
$29.00
Excellence in Literature - British Literature
by Janice Campbell
from Institute for Excellence in Writing
for 11th-12th grade
$29.00
Experiment in Criticism
by C. S. Lewis
2nd edition from Cambridge University
Literature Guide/Resource for 9th-Adult
$19.99
Grammar of Poetry
Imitation in Writing Series
by Matt Whitling
from Canon Press
Writing Curriculum for 5th-12th grade
$22.00
Grammar of Poetry - DVD
Imitation in Writing Series
by Matt Whitling
from Roman Roads Media
Writing Curriculum for 5th-12th grade
$85.00
Grammar of Poetry - Teacher Edition
Imitation in Writing Series
by Matt Whitling
2nd edition from Canon Press
Writing Curriculum for 5th-12th grade
$24.00
Great Conversation Volume I - Teacher Edition
by Dennis Woods
from Bright Rock Press
for 10th-Adult
$17.50
Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter
by Leland Ryken
1st edition from Crossway Books
for 9th-12th grade
$5.99
He Gave Us Stories
by Richard L. Pratt Jr.
from P&R Publishing
for Adult
$15.00 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Homer's The Odyssey
by Leland Ryken
1st edition from Crossway Books
for 9th-12th grade
$5.99
How to Read a Book
by Mortimer Adler & Charles Van Doren
2nd edition from Simon and Schuster
for 10th-Adult
$16.99 $11.00 (1 in stock)
How to Read Literature Like a Professor
by Thomas C. Foster
1st edition from HarperCollins
for 10th-Adult
$14.99
How to Read Slowly
by James Sire
3rd edition from Shaw Books
for 10th-Adult
$14.95
Iliad - Teaching Unit
by T. Marston & others
from Logos School
for 9th-12th grade
$20.00
Invitation to the Classics
by Louise Cowan & Os Guinness
from Baker Books
for 11th-Adult
$19.99 $15.00 (1 in stock)
Landscape with Dragons
by Michael O'Brien
2nd edition from Ignatius Press
$12.50
Lewis Agonistes
by Louis Markos
from Broadman & Holman
for Adult
$19.99
Linguistic Development Through Poetry Memorization - Book Only
by Andrew Pudewa
from Institute for Excellence in Writing
for 2nd-10th grade
$29.00
Linguistic Development Through Poetry Memorization - CDs Only
by Andrew Pudewa
from Institute for Excellence in Writing
for 2nd-10th grade
$41.00
Lord of the Elves and Eldils
by Richard L. Purtill
2nd edition from Ignatius Press
for 9th grade-Adult
$13.50
Milton's Paradise Lost
by Leland Ryken
1st edition from Crossway Books
for 9th-12th grade
$5.99
Miniatures and Morals
by Peter Leithart
from Canon Press
for 9th-Adult
$13.50
Naturalism: Worldviews in Literature
by Matt Whitling
from Logos School
for 8th-12th grade
$20.00
Oxford Concise Companion to English Literature
by Margaret Drabble & Jenny Stringer
from Oxford University
for 9th-Adult
$18.95
Pilgrim's Progress - Study Guide
by Maureen L. Bradley
from P&R Publishing
for 9th-Adult
$8.99
Politically Incorrect Guide to English and American Literature
P.I.G. series
by Elizabeth Kantor, Ph.D.
from Regnery Publishing, Inc.
for 10th-Adult
$16.00
Reading Between the Lines
by Gene Veith
from Crossway Books
for 10th-Adult
$15.99 $11.00 (1 in stock)
Reading Roadmaps
from Center for Literary Education
$35.10
Reading Strands
by Dave Marks
from National Writing Institute
for Kindergarten-12th grade
$20.00 $14.00 (2 in stock)
Reading with Purpose
by Nancy Wilson
from Logos School
for 10th-Adult
$6.00
Ready Readers 1
by Missy Andrews
from Center for Literary Education
for 1st-6th grade
$29.00
Ready Readers 2
by Missy Andrews
from Center for Literary Education
for 3rd-8th grade
$29.00
Ready Readers 3
by Missy Andrews
from Center for Literary Education
for 6th-12th grade
$29.00
Realms of Gold
by Leland Ryken
from Wipf and Stock Publishers
$21.00
Shakespeare the Christian I
by Ralph Smith
from Covenant Media Foundation
for 10th-Adult
$65.00
Shakespeare's Macbeth
by Leland Ryken
1st edition from Crossway Books
for 9th-12th grade
$5.99
Skills for Literary Analysis - Teacher Edition with DVD
by James P. Stobaugh
Pap/DVD Tc from B&H Books
for 9th-12th grade
$12.00
Student's Guide to Classics
by Bruce S. Thornton
from Intercollegiate Studies Institute
for 9th-12th grade
$8.00
Student's Guide To Literature
by R.V. Young
from Intercollegiate Studies Institute
for 9th-12th grade
$8.00
Syllabus for Introduction to Literary Analysis
from Institute for Excellence in Writing
$15.00
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