Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) Critical Reading of Texts I Syllabus - Mumbai University 2026
Syllabus for Critical Reading of Texts - I
The University sets this paper under Scheme I only, so your college may not run it.
Module 1: Foundations of Critical Reading
- 1 Introduction to Critical Reading
- Definition and importance of critical reading
- Difference between reading for comprehension and critical analysis
- Active vs. passive reading strategies
- 2 Techniques of Close Reading
- Identifying key themes, motifs, and symbols
- Analyzing tone, diction, and syntax
- Understanding narrative perspective and voice
- 3 Literary and Rhetorical Devices
- Metaphor, irony, allusion, and symbolism
- Argumentation and persuasion in texts
- Role of figurative language in shaping meaning
- 4 Reading Across Genres
- Fiction vs. non-fiction: Different approaches to analysis
- Poetry, drama, and prose – key structural elements
- Analyzing essays, speeches, and opinion pieces
Module 2: Critical Approaches to Reading Poetry and Prose
- This module is divided into two sections:
- Section A: Understanding Poetry – Focuses on analyzing poetic forms, techniques, and thematic concerns.
- Understanding Poetry: Techniques of Interpretation (7 Lectures)
- 1 Analyzing Poetic Structure and Form
- Understanding basic Elements of Poetry
- Understanding different poetic forms: Sonnet, Ode, Ballad, Free Verse
- Meter, Rhyme Scheme, and Rhythm in poetry
- 2 Figurative Language and Symbolism
- Identifying and interpreting metaphors, similes, personification, and symbolism
- The role of imagery and sensory language in shaping meaning
- 3 Phonetic and Sound Patterns in Poetry
- Alliteration, assonance, consonance, and their effects on tone and mood
- The relationship between sound and meaning
- Rhyme, Sound and Musicality
- 4 Contextual Reading and Interpreting Poetry
- Section B: Understanding Prose –Techniques of Interpretation: Covers the critical reading of fiction, essays, and other non-fictional prose. (8 Lectures)
- 1 Fundamentals of Prose Analysis
- Understanding different types of prose: Fiction, Non-fiction, Essays, Memoirs
- Key elements: Narrative structure, tone, diction, and style
- 2 Close Reading Techniques for Fiction
- Plot development, characterization, setting, and themes
- Narrative techniques: First-person, third-person, unreliable narrators
- 3 Analyzing Essays and Non-Fiction Prose
- Rhetorical strategies: Argumentation, persuasion, exposition
- Identifying authorial intent and bias
- Understanding Genre and Form
- 4 Contextual Reading and Interpreting Prose
Reference Books
- 1 Abrams, M. H. A Glossary of Literary Terms. 11th ed., Cengage, 2015.
- 2 Barry, Peter. Beginning Theory: An Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory. 4th ed., Manchester UP, 2017.
- 3 Bloom, Harold, editor. The Best Poems of the English Language: From Chaucer Through Frost. HarperCollins, 2004.
- 4 Booth, Wayne C. The Rhetoric of Fiction. 2nd ed., U of Chicago P, 1983.
- 5 Chatman, Seymour. Story and Discourse: Narrative Structure in Fiction and Film. Cornell UP, 1978.
- 6 Culler, Jonathan. Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford UP, 2011.
- 7 Eagleton, Terry. How to Read Literature. Yale UP, 2013.
- 8 Forster, E. M. Aspects of the Novel. Harcourt, 1927.
- 9 Genette, Gérard. Narrative Discourse: An Essay in Method. Translated by Jane E. Lewin, Cornell UP, 1980.
- 10 Lodge, David. The Art of Fiction. Vintage, 1992.
- 11 Rimmon-Kenan, Shlomith. Narrative Fiction: Contemporary Poetics. 2 nd ed., Routledge, 2002.
- 12 Tyson, Lois. Critical Theory Today: A User-Friendly Guide. 3rd ed., Routledge, 2015.
- 13 Vendler, Helen. Poems, Poets, Poetry: An Introduction and Anthology. 4 th ed., Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2017.
- 14 Bose and Sterling, Elements of English Rhetoric and Prosody
- 15 Sarkar, Jaydip, Handbook of Rhetoric and Prosody, Orient Blackswan, 2018