Human beings are 'tale-telling animals'. We all tell stories, and we all listen to them, read them and watch them. This course looks at the ways in which people tell stories, the kinds of stories they tell, and the meanings those stories generate. It focuses, in particular, upon the telling, and gives special attention to questions concerned with that. Texts include a novel, a play, films, short stories, poems and oral tales.; To teach students how to read literary texts closely and critically.; To introduce students to literary texts from the various genres of poetry, fiction and drama and give them a sense of how these genres operate.; To introduce students to various modes (e.g. tragic, comic, satiric, etc.) and how these shape and inflect texts.