Martin Asiner

The Smart Student's Guide to Really Hard Classic Essays Martin Asiner

Does the prospect of reading Milton's "Areopagitica" fill you with dread? Or does the fire and brimstone imagery of Jonathan Edwards' "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" make you retch? Well, fear no more. Now "The Smart Student's Guide to Really Hard Classic Essays" will enable you to comprehend fully and completely thirty three classic British and American essayists and their timeless essays. Each chapter includes the following: a context that places the essayist in a historical/literary perspective; a summary for selected essays that clearly highlights the main points of each paragraph; an analysis that tells you what the summary means; and an essay question (just like what you might find on an essay exam) complete with a model response. The prose style is consistent with the reading level of the typical college undergraduate though erudite high school students will benefit as well. English teachers will find a continuing use for the essayists and essays covered. Finally, lovers of classic essays who have long since left school will be delighted to reacquaint themselves with the beauty and wisdom of these thirty three Masters of the Essay.