A thoroughly revised and updated edition of Thomas C. Foster's classic guide—a lively and entertaining introduction to literature and literary basics, including symbols, themes, and contexts—that shows you how to make your everyday reading experience more rewarding and enjoyable.

While many books can be enjoyed for their basic stories, there are often deeper literary meanings interwoven in these texts. How to Read Literature Like a Professor helps us to discover those hidden truths by looking at literature with the eyes—and the literary codes—of the ultimate professional reader: the college professor.

What does it mean when a literary hero travels along a dusty road? When he hands a drink to his companion? When he's drenched in a sudden rain shower? Ranging from major themes to literary models, narrative devices, and form, Thomas C. Foster provides us with a broad overview of literature—a world where a road leads to a quest, a shared meal may signify a communion, and rain, whether cleansing or destructive, is never just a shower—and shows us how to make our reading experience more enriching, satisfying, and fun.

This revised edition includes new chapters, a new preface, and a new epilogue, and incorporates updated teaching points that Foster has developed over the past decade.

Table of Contents 
Preface xi 
Introduction: How'd He Do That? xxvii 
1 Every Trip Is a Quest (Except When It's Not) 1 
2 Nice to Eat with You: Acts of Communion 9 
3 Nice to Eat You: Acts of Vampires 20 
4 Now, Where Have I Seen Her Before? 31 
5 When in Doubt, It's from Shakespeare 44 
6 Or the Bible 58 
7 Hanseldee and Greteldum 72 
8 It's Greek to Me 82 
9 It's More Than Just Rain or Snow 97 
10 Never Stand Next to the Hero 107 Interlude: Does He Mean That? 127 
11 More Than It's Gonna Hurt You: Concerning Violence 133 
12 Is That a Symbol? 148 
13 It's All Political 163 
14 Yes, She's a Christ Figure, Too 176 
15 Flights of Fancy 189 
16 It's All About Sex.. 203 
17 Except Sex 214 
18 If She Comes Up, It's Baptism 227 
19 Geography Matters 242 
20 So Does Season 259 Interlude One Story 273 
21 Marked for Greatness 285 
22 He's Blind for a Reason, You Know 297 
23 It's Never Just Heart Disease And Rarely Just Illness 305 
24 Don't Read with Your Eyes 329
25 It's My Symbol and I'll Cry If I Want To 341 
26 Is He Serious? And Other Ironies 358 
27 A Test Case 373 Postlude: Who's in Charge Here? 420
Envoi 430 
Appendix: Reading List 435
Acknowledgments 458

Thomas C. Foster, author of How to Read Literature Like a Professor and Reading the Silver Screen, is professor emeritus of English at the University of Michigan, Flint, where he taught classes in contemporary fiction, drama, and poetry, as well as creative writing and freelance writing. He is also the author of several books on 20th-century British and Irish literature and poetry.

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