This anthology provides broad coverage for the three genres of literature--fiction, poetry, and drama--and exceptionally clear presentation of the elements of literature. The text has a clear and up-to-date chapter on critical theory that features helpful checklists. It also features Robert DiYanni's well-known three-part pedagogy that presents each of the three genres in light of a reader's experience, interpretation, and evaluation. The compact edition includes full coverage of writing about literature with 2 student papers in each chapter, incorporates a beautifully illustrated poetry section with four-color art, author biographies, and in-depth cverage of 8 writers: D.H. Lawrence, Flannery O'Connor, Sandra Cisneros, Emily Dickenson, Robert Frost, Langston Hughes, Sophocles (containing both Oedipus and Antigone), and Shakespeare (containing both Hamlet ant Othello).