This course develops the skills of seeing, hearing, noticing, and describing that are the foundation of literary study. We all have feelings about what we like and don’t like, but can you articulate precisely what it is about that book, that song, that film, that makes it amazing and sets it apart from everything else? Doing so imparts the ability to understand and evaluate complexity in a broad range of fields, making the study of English excellent preparation for any further study and any future life. The course also provides introductory knowledge of the grammar and history of English, the mechanics of academic writing, the scansion of poetic meter, and the traditional periods and genres of literature in English.