Sir Gawain and the Green Knight The poem "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" tells the story of Sir Gawain as he journeys to meet his supposed death at the hands of the titular Green Knight, having promised to appear a year and a day following their f Continue Reading...
Gender Relations in Frankenstein In tracing the historical etymology of the word "monster," the Oxford English Dictionary offers a primary definition of something to be stared at or marveled over (from the same root as "demonstrate") but notes the s Continue Reading...
It is only with this understanding that the needless sacrifice can end. Shirley Jackson presents a myriad of symbols in "The Lottery." The title of the story, the procedure of the lottery, the names of the characters, and the people that participat Continue Reading...
James does imply in the prologue of the Turn of the Screw that there is a deeper meaning to the governess' narrative than merely a straightforward ghost story. So it is unlikely that, as some critics claim, it was merely meant to be a simple ghost Continue Reading...
Clare merely has the appearance of a working man, just as Tess merely has the appearance of a maiden in white: "His aspect was probably as un-Sabbatarian a one as a dogmatic parson's son often presented; his attire being his dairy clothes, long wadi Continue Reading...
The poem emotionally appealing and with such invigorating language, is easily translatable as a sermon. The reader could easily manipulate the tone of the poem with slight incensed articulation by accenting the poem as horrifying, delightful, spirit Continue Reading...
The conversation in the Irish castle about the war lends to a greater understanding of the quiet life he lead around his friends; they, too, were in the dark when it came to the person lying inside the heart of their tragic, literary friend. If th Continue Reading...
Her status as a woman does giver her the ability to instill within these women a certain dignity, and a material importance that even the poet's own poetry may lack, in her view. However, "Clifton Hall" views women in the context of nature not from Continue Reading...
Thus, the idea of a strong, female leader is created through conceptual blending, and the ultimately oxymoronic pairing of unlike words. Something new is created, through the use of cultural, political, religious, and historical references, and of t Continue Reading...
Lais of Marie de France and the Song of Roland -- Epic Expressions of Romantic Cultural Imagination and a Romantic Epic of National Identity Both The Lais of Marie de France and The Song of Roland are early works of medieval verse. The Lais hail fr Continue Reading...
Penelope as Heroine While today we primarily read the works of Homer for the eloquence and literary skill of this great Greek poet, we may also examine his texts for the clues that they provide to a deeper understanding of Greek society. For we must Continue Reading...
Mrs. Dalloway When discussing Virginia Woolf's fictitious character's in the novel Mrs. Dalloway, one can ultimately decide that these characters are filled with diversity and dimensional character. As the reader, I wholeheartedly disagree that the Continue Reading...
Pablo Neruda The poet Pablo Neruda was a favorite poet for many and his works continue to be popular today. Neruda is best known for two things: his original use of imagery and his use of nature in his poems. It is these two qualities, combined with Continue Reading...
collective perception, art is one facet of life that is governed more by individual thought and emotional predisposition than by institutional prejudices. It should seem a natural disposition of the artist to look within himself for expression, rath Continue Reading...
Man Enters Woman is a short poem written by Anne Sexton, which discusses femininity and a man and a woman's relationship. The poem's title is apparently suggestive, referring to the sexual nature of the relationship between the two subjects of the p Continue Reading...
Social status, most will recognize, is highly contingent upon any number of factors from lineage and occupation to ability and physical attractiveness. As such, it would appear that there is an unlimited social mobility potential for almost anybody. Continue Reading...
Nights at the Circus" is a fairy tale in the modern times. It revolves around the circus star, Sophie Fevvers, who is half-human and half-swan, and who is the passionate object of professional and moral pursuit of Jack Walser, a devout journalist wh Continue Reading...
Close Textual Analysis: “The Flea” by John Donne The British poet John Donne is one of the best-known and most often-quoted of the metaphysical poets. Donne was a devout Christian but often used strange, arresting metaphors to convey the Continue Reading...
McCandless Journey Hero McCandless' Journey to Discovery and Heroic-Sanctity In Into the Wild, Chris McCandless embarks on several different movements -- wandering, questing, the pilgrimage, the going-forth. At times, he seems to have a goal, and a Continue Reading...
Coming of Age Stories: Explorations of Components of the Narrative In literature, one of the most frequently dealt with theme is the story of one character's developing over time and reacting to the various experiences that he or she faces through t Continue Reading...
Flea by John Donne In the 1500's, Europe was a very dirty place, and fleas were a major problem. It was, in fact, fleas that were responsible for the Black Death, or Plague, that had ravaged Europe since the 1300's. However, in the late 1500's, a fl Continue Reading...
Rather than opening her arms to all those who yearn to breathe free, the main reason that Rosa and Enrique come to America, America more often than not proves to be a dead-end street. A particular effective use of point-of-view in the film regardin Continue Reading...
..which affects certain natures, as at times the moon does others?" (Stoker, 133). Here we have a clear reference to the power of the sun over Count Dracula who sleeps in his coffin during the day and rises after sunset. Thus, Renfield's reaction to Continue Reading...
Simile -- A common device in poetry is the use of comparisons, often comparing something unusual or uncommon with something that is more familiar to the reader or audience. One kind of comparison is the simile, which uses the words like or as and com Continue Reading...
Thus, the notion of ruler ship in marriage is actually an orchestrated ideological shift in the hands of Chaucer the writer, as notions of marriage and change from the point-of-view of the miller, the Wife of Bath, to the Franklin. Even in the more Continue Reading...
Aphra Behn is known for her substantial contributions to British writers, very little is known about her. She lived from 1640-1689 and she was a major contributor the Restoration movement. She wrote plays -- for which she is most known for, but she Continue Reading...
Poetry in an Prosaic World: Marianne Moore and Rafael Camp's Metapoetic Texts on the Form Both the first lines of "Poetry" by Marianne Moore and the title of the poem "The Next Poem Could Be Your Last" by Rafael Campo startle the reader from a mom Continue Reading...
Mark Twain wrote about a trip to Europe and the Middle East in his book Innocents Abroad, and in the course of the book he also reveals much that he observes about American foreign policy in the broadest sense. This means not so much about foreign po Continue Reading...
The Politics of Twentieth Century Poetry: Amiri Baraka versus Allen Ginsberg The poetry of Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones) and Allen Ginsberg are example of how serious literary works can be used as a vehicle of social change. Both poets wrote during tumu Continue Reading...
Gloria Anzaldua captures the essence of the Aztlan homeland and its mestizo nature in "Wind tugging at my sleeve." Using diction conveying a strong sense of place and geography invokes the specific qualities of the land and climate necessary for anch Continue Reading...
Jonathan Edwards "Sinners in the hands of an Angry God"- write about your response to Edward's sermon as a member of his congregation. (http://www.ccel.org/ccel/edwards/sermons.sinners.html) Edward's "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" is fascin Continue Reading...
O'Connor "Everything That Rises Must Converge": An Analysis of What the Critics Say Flannery O'Connor's "Everything That Rises Must Converge" is a short story filled with symbols of emptiness and darkness. Paul Elie observes that "the symbolism is Continue Reading...
As a symbolic extension of the physical meaning of the word "small," the word can refer to something that is insignificant or of little importance, and this has many applications in the book. Antigua is seen as a "small place" by many in that it is Continue Reading...
Tempest In the epilogue of A Midsummer's Night Dream, Puck speaks to the audience directly not as an actor or a character in a play, while in The Tempest, Prospero is still in character but begs the audience to set him free so he can return to Naple Continue Reading...
Cawthorne, Nigel, Witch Hunt: History of a Persecution. Booksales Inc., 2006. 144pp., index, illustrations. Nigel Cawthorne is a prolific author whose nonfiction books encompass subjects as broad as Robin Hood, English law and pirates. In fact, one Continue Reading...
This short picture book is about the lives of 20 species of animals that have gone extinct over the last three centuries. This book can be used with students up to age eight to help teach them the importance of valuing what they have. A teacher can Continue Reading...
The narrator in Balzac's novel is passing judgments and making comments related to the characters and their environments, in the purest realist style. He is observing and describing as if he was watching them through a huge magnifying glass. His own Continue Reading...
This is a fact that Austen herself most certainly appreciated as an unmarried female of the same social set she was writing about, which explains the centrality of this concept to so many of her novels. Persuasion is far from the only Austen novel w Continue Reading...
In her book Edith Wharton's Women author Susan Goodman writes that Lily suspects "…not much separates the business of marriage from the business of prostitution" (Goodman, 49-50); still, Lily is aware that a prostitute sells "her time, not he Continue Reading...
Sometimes, as we see in King Lear, the thirst for power leads to nothing but trouble. It should be noted that the power did come but it was not enough to erase what had already happened. As a result, of this power hunt, King Lear and Cordelia discov Continue Reading...
