Literary works come into life anew with every reading, thus it is plausible that everything happening takes place in the present. So, when writing about a literary work, you have to use the present tense. One exception is when dealing with two different time frames, in this case you introduce the past (in the past tense) and then go to the present (in the present tense), but make sure to keep your tenses straight. When writing about the author you can use the past tense, but when referring to the author with their work, use the present tense.
I found this interesting and refreshing. It provided a needed break from the same old repetitive stuff. I did not know this information either, and it is something that I will almost certainly need to know. It was a good article and provided pretty clear examples, demonstrating their points. These examples included Shakespeare, who everyone recognizes. It's last paragraph sums up the work; you will almost always be right if you use the present tense for literary details, and the past tense for historical details. The last sentence however, sounds like something from a science safety contract.
Thanks Kailey!
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