Textbook: Booker, Christopher. The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories. London and New York: Continuum. 2004.
(The book has been reprinted several times. The pagination has stayed the same.)
This course will explore the presence of folklore as it is used in the shaping of literature. In order to give the greatest depth and breadth to our study, we will examine writings from your own reading experience as well as the broad spectrum of literature discussed in the text. The term project, with required steps over the summer term, will be based on a novel you have read Previous to this class. The term paper is to be written in MLA style, the same style required in the English MA program at BYU. Upon completion of this course of study, you will be able to identify myriad examples and purposes of folklore present in most fictional novels, and you will be able to discuss the use of folklore in literature from a variety of literary and academic perspectives.