For over twenty-five years, this three-genre anthology has been a leading title for introductory literature courses. It provides a comprehensive introduction to the principal forms of fiction, poetry, and drama. Each section includes a simple discussion of the elements of the form and carefully selected stories, poems, or plays for illustration. Each section also includes an anthology of additional selections for further reading. In the Seventh Edition, the tradition of clear, precise writing and practical organization initiated by Laurence Perrine years ago is continued by Thomas R. Arp, Professor Perrine's colleague at Southern Methodist University and co-author of the Perrine trilogy for many years. He has used the same criteria of literary excellence and teaching usefulness that he and Professor Perrine utilized during the years of their collaboration to select new stories, poems, and plays for the anthology and has updated certain sections to reflect reader preferences and recent literary interests. Features: * Continues to present the best of classic literature, along with new contemporary writers. * Organized around the elements of literature within each genre, the section sare arranged progressively to give students information to understand and use. * Includes a Writing About Literature appendix to help guide students through the process of thinking and writing about literature. New to this edition: * Nine new short stories and one new novella (about 25% of the total selections), including works by Toni Cade Bambara, Margaret Atwood, Ann Beattie, Dagoberto Gilb, Zora Neale Hurston, and Katherine Ann Porter. * Numerous new poems (about 30% of the total selections), many by women and minority poets. * Completely rewritten chapter on Meter and Rhythm to include expanded coverage of non-metrical verse. * Several limericks by Laurence Perrine, a master of that verse form. * New one-act plays by six playwrights, including Vaclav Havel, Tom Stoppard, J.E. Franklin, Luis Valdez, and Christopher Durang, in addition to classics by Shakespeare, Chekhov, Sophocles, Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, and others.