In this text students are introduced to three of Shakespeare's best known plays - Henry V, Othello and As You Like It - and a Restoration comedy, Aphra Behn's The Rover. The aim is to explore the concept of the literary canon and the complex process by which certain authors and works are accorded a high cultural status. Shakespeare personifies the canonical author, while Aphra Behn (the first professional woman writer, whose work was tremendously popular and controversial in the 17th century) has been largely ignored until her recent rediscovery by feminist critics. No previous knowledge of...