Critical introductions to a range of literary topics and genres. Providing an invaluable resource for any teacher of English: it both presents a fascinating overview of teaching Literature today, and offers a valuable and practical guide to anyone teaching advanced courses in the subject. The book asks whether it is possible to combine the recent focus on the contextual study of literary texts with a continuing emphasis on close reading and discusses the key literary skills that universities expect students of literature to have developed. The book demonstrates surprising ways in which the study of context can give a new and sharper focus to the words on the page.