dabeetrus

Thanks again for all the awesome advice guys, looks like I've got a lot of reading to do!

Thanks for all the advice guys. I really do appreciate it. I'm not sure what Minnesotan means by not studying theory though; isn't that sort of a requirement in order write good critical essays which is what a lot of scholars and grad students do? I'm a little confused.

Hi, I'm currently a junior attending a top flagship state university I'd rather not specify and I'm starting to seriously consider attending graduate school for English literature. The only problem is that although I'm fairly well-read in classic novels and some poetry I've only recently changed my major to English and I feel that I might be a bit behind in my readings as far as criticism and, I guess, the academic literary "canon" in general. I really want to prepare myself for the coming semesters and especially for my senior honors thesis which I will hopefully start in about a year and I was wondering if you guys had some advice on specific areas to study or texts I should study in particular. As a recent graduate or current MA/PhD student what do you think was particularly helpful in preparing you for your graduate school applications or studies? What texts are must-haves for the English literature scholar? I'm especially interested in books concerned with criticism or to improve my knowledge and ability to write in an academic setting. I haven't really decided what area I would like to concentrate in but I know that I do have an interest in 20th century British lit. and the writings of transcendentalists like Emerson, Thoreau and others. I truly appreciate any advice you guys can give me and I apologize if this is in the wrong forum, but I figured this would be the one most relevant to my question. thanks!