Literary Criticism essays

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2 Pages 947 Words
Jeanette Walls' memoir, The Glass Castle, narrates Jeanette's unusual youth portrayed by tenacious neediness and the disarray and perplexity of broken guardians and their itinerant way of life. What is exceptional about Jeanette's story is that despite the fact that Jeanette's folks were untrustworthy, careless, and imprudent, they managed to ingrain in their kid's key admirable characteristics and raise composed...
Literary CriticismThe Glass Castle
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3 Pages 1522 Words
During the 19th century, the traditional values of the Igbo people clashed with the values of western culture (Osei-Nyame 149-150). More specifically, the ideas of gender roles presented in Achebe’s Things Fall Apart contrast how the Igbo people view the role of men and women. During this time period, western literature did not appropriately depict African culture, therefore, Achebe gave...
Literary CriticismThings Fall Apart
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1 Page 506 Words
A profound aspect that Tony Kushner incorporates throughout act one scene seven of ‘Angels in America’ is the manner in which he defies the logic of Harper’s hallucination. Despite Harper never having met Prior and stating that the mind “shouldn’t make up anything that wasn’t there to start with”, both Harper and Prior have specific knowledge of one another. Harper...
Angels in AmericaLiterary Criticism
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1 Page 550 Words
Sonnet 18 was written by the English poet William Shakespeare, that articulates and emphasizes the sentiment of love. The poem expresses the poet’s endearment and perpetual devotion to his subject, and how the subject surpasses all tangible beauty. He explicitly expresses this notion through the manipulation and application of figurative language, poetic devices, and imagery. The poet discusses his subject,...
Literary CriticismSonnet
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1 Page 457 Words
This play is distinctively known for its comedic elements. One of the main elements that compose this text is the comedy of manners. This is basically deriding the upper-class society which could be interpreted as a mockery of the way heterosexual people have vilified homosexuals and treated them as an abomination. If we take into account the time period this...
Literary CriticismOscar Wilde
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1 Page 567 Words
Once in our lives, there is a minute that we may consider ourselves superior to somebody or something different. There may likewise be a moment when creating a choice prompts an incredible blunder in judgment. In the play, Oedipus the King, composed by Sophocles, both of these attributes can be found in the primary character. These qualities are called appalling...
Literary CriticismOedipusOedipus the King
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1 Page 529 Words
According to Aristotle, “ a tragedy should arouse in the spectators the feeling piety and fear – ‘pity’ mainly for the hero’s tragic fate and ‘fear’ at the sight of the dreadful suffering that occurs the characters, particularly the hero. By arousing these feelings of pity and fear, a tragedy aims at the catharsis or purgation of these and similar...
Literary CriticismOedipusOedipus the King
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2 Pages 911 Words
Introduction In the realm of classical literature, the notion of fate often emerges as an omnipotent force, shaping the destinies of individuals regardless of their personal desires or actions. Sophocles' tragic play "Oedipus Rex" is a quintessential exploration of this theme, depicting the inexorable fate of its protagonist, Oedipus. This essay examines the extent to which fate governs Oedipus's life,...
Literary CriticismOedipusOedipus the King
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2 Pages 830 Words
The Greek philosopher, Aristotle, defines a tragic hero as a character having valiant traits that earn the audience's sympathy but also have human flaws that ultimately lead to their own downfall. Aristotle states a tragic hero's fortune should be not from bad to good but from good to bad caused by their own doing. A tragic hero's misfortune is seen...
Literary CriticismOedipusOedipus the King
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4 Pages 1710 Words
Thank you, Your Honor. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, thank you for your time as all the evidence was carefully presented. So, all the facts and evidence have been presented to you today and with that, I’d like to say the fate of Oedipus’ life now is within your hands. Oedipus has been convicted of committing an inhumane crime...
Literary CriticismOedipusOedipus the King
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3 Pages 1258 Words
Literature is an art that allows an author to exhibit the undesired primal aspects of humanity. The Picture of Dorian Gray written by Oscar Wilde is a prime example of this. Published in London in 1890, the gothic literature carries heavy themes of aestheticism, the superficiality of beauty, homosexual undertones, and hedonism which directly attacked Victorian society’s repressive nature for...
Literary CriticismOscar Wilde
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2 Pages 823 Words
Aristotle in his famous book 'Poetics' describes the traits needed to complete the tragedy. As in accordance to Aristotle, any tragedy is a perfect tragedy when the action has soberness, expansive, and ideal in it. Some of the important factors of a perfect tragedy are Peripeteia, Anagnorisis, and catharsis. King Oedipus of Greek mythology owns all the features of a...
Literary CriticismOedipusOedipus the King
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6 Pages 2671 Words
‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ (1895) and ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ (1890) both address women in different ways whether this be because of their class or because the genre of the individual texts changes the overall portrayal of the characters. The comedic nature of the play allows for the women to flourish as they continue to match the quick...
Literary CriticismOscar Wilde
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2 Pages 733 Words
According to Sophocles, one must not only see something but also understand it. The only ones who can truly see are the blind. This is a popular theme, especially in Oedipus Rex where Sophocles rears the idea that in real vision the eye is not needed to see the surface things. Sophocles uses the theme of light vs darkness in...
Literary CriticismOedipusOedipus the King
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1 Page 492 Words
Do many people wonder what is the meaning of life? What is our purpose? There comes a very important time in our lives when we must sit down and ask whether we are living our lives or if we are just being content with what we have. There are also times in our lives when our instincts will tell us...
Annie DillardLiterary Criticism
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3 Pages 1212 Words
The book “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe is a fictional story based around the cultural and social life of an African tribe of the lower Niger River region. It depicts the daily life of the tribe and its members. It additionally shows the culture and customs of the tribe. The book focuses on one of the tribe members, Okonkwo....
Literary CriticismThings Fall ApartTragedy
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1 Page 433 Words
The whole poem consists of six stanzas, each stanza is three lines long and there is an alternate long and short sentence to express a rhythmic rocking sound. The rhythm of the poem is related to a lullaby where mothers sing it to their precious baby, which ties into the title of the poem. The poem's first line significantly captures...
Literary CriticismPoetrySylvia Plath
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1 Page 512 Words
Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex is, according to Aristotle, the ideal tragedy. Various reasons influence Aristotle’s position on the matter. One of them is the peripeteia, which refers to a drastic turnaround. In Poetics, Aristotle defines the element of surprise that peripeteia denotes as “a change by which the action veers round to its opposite” (Cain et al. 98). He argues that...
Literary CriticismOedipus the KingTragedy
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1 Page 433 Words
In the story Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck uses three stylistic elements. This story contains Imagery, Symbolism, and Allegory. Imagery affects the text by describing contents that have a feel on our 5 senses. For example, “You can hear the crunch of the fallen leaves as you walk through the scary forest.” Symbolism adds more depth to the story through...
AllegoryLiterary CriticismOf Mice and Men
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3 Pages 1346 Words
It is in the human nature of every man alive to develop an eager, as well as an exorbitant desire for power and supremacy. From this greed, arises the need of the individual to prioritize his own requirements in order to find the right actions to make, to then be able to obtain what he desperately wants. By working hard...
Literary CriticismMacbethTragedy
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1 Page 617 Words
The poem The White House written by Claude Mckay focuses on the hardships that black citizens have to face within the American culture. Mckay’s poem presents a poetic voice demonstrating the bitterness and suppressed anger that is being exposed to society. This limits the opportunities that African Americans have against political rights as they are being shunned against their race...
Claude MckayLiterary Criticism
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5 Pages 2510 Words
During the Victorian period, the inequalities between genders were tense because the gap distinction was increasing instead of decreasing. Women were tired of the discrimination and the injustice that society was implementing on their shoulders. The frustration of pretending to be the submissive wife and hiding under male pen names to have their works published was pushing women to the...
Literary CriticismReading BooksWuthering Heights
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1 Page 583 Words
Intentionalism suggests that the meaning of the work must be considered regarding the views of the author. Whilst according to anti-internationalists, you can generate a good understanding of the work solely based on literary techniques and ignore the author`s beliefs. The key to a good interpretation in the literary arts is how well the interpreter constructs their Interpretation by analyzing...
Literary CriticismPablo Neruda
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1 Page 603 Words
Analysis of the quote from Fahrenheit 451 In Fahrenheit 451, the narrator at one point states that at least once in his career, every fireman gets an itch. What do the books say, he wonders. Oh, to scratch that itch, eh? Well, Montag, take my word for it, I've had to read a few in my time, to know what...
AllegoryFahrenheit 451Literary Criticism
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2 Pages 912 Words
Coming of Age in Mississippi is a book written by Anne Moody that details her life as a black woman in rural Mississippi during the mid-20th century. It encompasses Moody’s life from her childhood to her mid 20’s, the most impactful and important part being her involvement in the Civil Rights Movement which began while she was a student at...
Coming of AgeLiterary CriticismMemories
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4 Pages 1735 Words
A Grasp For Free Will “We must believe in free will because we have no choice.” This event was one of the most profound statements that have ever been spoken to me, and I heard it from my grandfather, Grandpa Bob, days before he passed away. This moment and the readings from our class have led me to believe that...
AllegoryConversationLiterary Criticism
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2 Pages 1074 Words
Ode to a Nightingale by John Keats Romanticism as reflected in Nature Nature and romanticism are inextricably linked in the romantic era because the romantic movement widely emphasized the grandeur and beauty of nature. Therefore, the power of the natural world was significantly highlighted. Many intellectuals of romanticism are of the opinion that certain artists of this period treated nature...
Literary CriticismOdePoetry
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2 Pages 1118 Words
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In the past years, gender equality has been a subject of interest for many feminists. Women have always struggled to get equal recognition with men, especially in many professions. Society has taken too long to accept that a woman’s place is no longer in the kitchen. In this regard, Virginia Woolf, in her work, Professions for Women, examines the role...
Literary CriticismVirginia Woolf
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4 Pages 1768 Words
The Babylonian, Egyptian, and Hebrew traditions recount the stories of people encountering and sometimes struggling with Gods and other supernatural forces. Some had pleasant interactions with Gods and were blessed, while others faced their wrath of them and were punished for any sins they committed. Throughout the process of learning more about these traditions, it’s been discovered that the mythopoeic...
Epic of GilgameshLiterary Criticism
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1 Page 670 Words
Edgar Allan Poe is a famous American author. Poe wrote many famous poems such as “The Raven” and “Tell-Tale Hearts”. Poe’s poems are held in high regard today. He is seen as an amazing American author. Although many people believe that Poe’s mindset while writing poems was insane. Many things will be gone over in this research paper. Such as...
Gothic FictionLiterary CriticismThe Raven
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