Katherine O. Acheson Knihy

This book gives students an answer to the question, “What does my professor want from this essay?” In lively, direct language, it explains the process of creating “a clearly-written argument, based on evidence, about the meaning, power, or structure of a literary work.” Using a single poem by William Carlos Williams as the basis for the process of writing a paper about a piece of literature, it walks students through the processes of reading, brainstorming, researching secondary sources, gathering evidence, and composing and editing the paper. Writing Essays About Literature is designed to strengthen argumentation skills and deepen understanding of the relationships between the reader, the author, the text, and critical interpretations. Its lessons about clarity, precision, and the importance of providing evidence will have wide relevance for student writers.

Marginalia in early modern and medieval texts—whether printed, handwritten, drawn, or pasted—create a rich tapestry illustrating how individuals and groups engaged with books and manuscripts over time. The chapters in this volume expand on previous scholarship that recognized marginalia as an intellectual method, as records of reading shaped by cultural, social, theological, and personal motivations, and as practices influenced by the material aspects of books and writing tools. They delve into the practices of marginalia as a mode, exploring how material opportunities intersect with intellectual and personal motivations to create meaning. Through idiosyncratic examples—such as erotic doodles in medical manuscripts, cut-and-paste additions to printed works, and shared ownership of books symbolizing marriage—case studies highlight the unique significance of marginalia in documenting diverse phenomena, including religious change, scientific discovery, and the evolution of the literary canon. Additionally, the volume raises broader historical, cultural, and theoretical questions about the interplay between human society and material culture, the nature of authorship, and the intricate relationship between words, objects, and the multifaceted identity of the reader.

Considering the variety of charts, diagrams and other kinds of images with which early modern printed books are copiously illustrated, this volume interrogates how visual rhetoric affected verbal expression. The genres of illustration considered include military strategy and tactics, garden design, instrumentation, Bibles, scientific schema, drawing instruction, natural history, comparative anatomy and Aesop's Fables. The book develops novel methods of using printed images as evidence in the interpretation of the rich, strange and beautiful literature of early modern England.