Literature Essays

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“Doctor Faustus” as an Embodiment of the Spirit of the Renaissance

1 Page 417 Words
Dr. Faust portrays the spirit of the Renaissance in various ways. First, the author of Dr. Faustus Christopher Marlowe was himself a hallmark of the Renaissance period. He was inundated with the essence of the Renaissance through his immense thirst for vast knowledge, his desire for sensual enjoyment of natural life, his extreme determination and his ultimate desire for supremacy...

The Red Pony': Death Theme in the Story

2 Pages 800 Words
Death is something every living thing on this planet will face. On the other hand, we don’t really know when we will face our death or how we’ll face it. The word “death” freaks some people out, but for others it doesn’t. In “The Red Pony” a novel written by John Steinbeck, Jody the protagonist has a visitor named Gitano,...

Conflict: Aestheticism vs Morality in 'Dorian Gray'

6 Pages 2601 Words
Oscar Wilde prefaces his novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, with a reflection on art, the artist, and the utility of both. After careful scrutiny, he concludes: “All art is quite useless”. In this one sentence, Wilde encapsulates the complete principles of the Aesthetic Movement popular in Victorian England. That is to say, real art takes no part in molding...

The Bell Jar: A Plot Analysis

2 Pages 917 Words
Introduction Sylvia Plath's novel, "The Bell Jar," is a profound exploration of mental illness, identity, and the societal expectations faced by women in mid-20th-century America. First published in 1963, the novel is a semi-autobiographical account of Plath's own struggles with depression and her experiences as a young woman in a rapidly changing world. The protagonist, Esther Greenwood, provides readers with...

George Washington Character Traits

1 Page 619 Words
What qualities mark a great, respectable man? Surely, in order for others to consider him an exceptional man, he must be virtuous and brave. Historians illustrate a large multitude of historical figures to be admirable, yet they don’t elaborate as to why. In Jane Addams’ address commemorating George Washington’s birthday, she clearly articulates how and why Washington earned his legacy...

The Seafarer': Summary

2 Pages 811 Words
The poem opens with the Seafarer, who recalls his travels at sea. He tells how he endured the hardships when he was at sea. The Seafarer remembers that when he would be overwhelmed and saturated by the sharpness of cliffs and wilderness of waves when he would take the position of night watchman at the bow of the ship. He...

Robert Browning: Analysis of 'The Last Ride Together'

2 Pages 858 Words
Robert Browning, an English poet and playwright, well-known for his dramatic monologues is one of the foremost Victorian poets, whose poems are known for their irony, characterization, dark humour, social commentary, historical settings and challenging vocabulary and syntax. “In 1846, he married the older poet Elizabeth Barrett, and went to live in Italy. By the time of her death, in...

Analysis of Salman Rushdie’s Novels

11 Pages 5121 Words
Many Western readers, ignorant of Islam and Hinduism, the 1947 partition of the Indian subcontinent and the creation of Pakistan, the India-Pakistan war of 1965, and the Pakistani civil war of 1974, may tend to read Salman Rushdie’s (born 19 June 1947) novels as bizarre entertainments. This is unfortunate, since each is a picaresque allegory into which the author has...

The Myth of Perseus and Medusa in Art

2 Pages 915 Words
There is a famous Greek myth about Perseus and Medusa. In Greek mythology, the Greek hero beheaded Medusa. A representation of this myth is present in the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. It is a painting by the Italian artist Luca Giordano that dates from ca. 1680. This oil on canvas belongs to the Baroque period. It is a great...
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A Short Analysis of Andrew Marvell’s ‘The Definition of Love’

2 Pages 1040 Words
‘The Definition of Love’ is a poem by Andrew Marvell (1621-78), an English poet who lived in Hull and whose work is closely associated with the Metaphysical Poets of the seventeenth century. In this post we offer a short summary and analysis of ‘The Definition of Love’, paying particular attention to its language, meaning, and themes. We’ll begin with a...

The Haunting of Hill House: Full Book Summary

2 Pages 957 Words
Hoping to cause a sensation in the field of parapsychology, Dr. John Montague rents Hill House, a secluded manor with a reputation for being haunted. He carefully selects two participants for his study—Eleanor Vance, a thirty-two-year-old woman who was reported to have had experiences with a poltergeist as a child, and Theodora, a woman marked in one of his lab’s...

Exploring How Dante the Pilgrim is Different to Dante the Poet

2 Pages 761 Words
‘The Divine Comedy’ written by the Italian poet Dante Alighieri was published in 1320 a year before his death. The long narrative is written in the format of a poem, which is divided into three parts and explores the journey of Dante’s alter ego and his fictional self which exists within the poem is in search of the true way...

Why Nations Fail' Summary

2 Pages 998 Words
Why do some nations prosper while others struggle and are plagued with poverty and greed? Some people say it has everything to do with a nation’s location, culture, or lack of knowledge. But surely this can’t be the whole picture. Just look at Botswana. It currently has one of the fastest increasing economies in the world. Meanwhile, close by Congo...

‘The Unknown Citizen’: A Short Analysis of the Poem

2 Pages 971 Words
‘The Unknown Citizen’ begins with a prefatory dedication which identifies this ‘unknown citizen’ only by a number (which roughly follows the structure of US social security numbers). Auden’s dedication suggests the poem was written to be inscribed on a marble monument to this ‘unknown citizen’, but of course, such a monument is fictional (as is the ‘Bureau of Statistics’ in...

The Philosophy of Jack London Exposed in White Fang

2 Pages 887 Words
“It was the masterful and incommunicable wisdom of eternity laughing at the futility of life and the effort of life. It was the Wild, the savage, frozen-hearted, Northland Wild.” In this quote, American author Jack London establishes the key theme of his novel White Fang. Throughout this work, London seeks to portray his conception of nature, which is dark, ominous,...

Invictus': Analysis of Poem

2 Pages 832 Words
'Invictus' is a poem which focuses on the human spirit and its ability to overcome adversity. It is a rallying cry for those who find themselves in dark and trying situations, who have to dig deep and fight for their lives. The poet certainly knew hard times and needed all his strength to battle against disease. Born in Gloucester, England...
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Estrangement and Its Role on Tolstoy’s Mission of Social Reform

5 Pages 2396 Words
There were indeed a great number of things that made Leo Tolstoy such a relevant figure in the literary tradition. He was deeply interested in politics and social issues of 19th-century Russia, including class struggles and issues regarding the rights and freedoms of the serfs. Later in his life, Tolstoy partially renounced his luxurious lifestyle, naming his wife as keeper...
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Feminism in Christina Rossetti’s “Goblin Market”

7 Pages 3239 Words
One of the more interesting results from the relationship between writers and their readers lies in the transcendental nature of the work they produce. The work writers leave behind will always be left open to interpretation by future generations of their readers. What I find fascinating is the writer, however, can never fully grasp the historical and cultural implications their...

Analysis of Biography and Literary Works of Shirley Jackson

2 Pages 742 Words
Shirley Jackson was born on the 14th of December, in 1916, in San Francisco, California. She was a bright daughter of Leslie Jackson and Geraldine. Her parents were conservative country-club people, who raised their children in luxuries. Shirley’s childhood world was ruined by her vapid mother who was disappointed by her daughter as Shirley was accidentally conceived. Her mother went...

Eudora Welty’s ‘A Worn Path’: Summary and Analysis

3 Pages 1339 Words
A Worn Path, by Eudora Welty, is a story of a fierce old woman, and of a love that knows no bounds. This Penlighten article provides a summary and analysis of this moving story. Before writing ‘The Worn Path’, Eudora Welty was a publicity agent for Works Progress Administration in the ’30s. During that time, she captured many moments of...

A Dead Men's Path' Analysis

2 Pages 1008 Words
Imagine one day you are enjoying peace amongst your family and a white man forces his way into your place of living, driving you to surrender your social convictions. While he discloses to you that he and his men are better finished than you, yet they are the foreigners. Simply not recognizing what’s in store, in result you end up...

Reassessing prevailing opinions on women's rights

3 Pages 1464 Words
Women over centuries have been painted with the brush of kind, gentle, and innocent, as if they are trapped in childhood. Even though these are not bad descriptive words, they are not faltering either, they take away from their potential. Wollstonecraft addresses concerns with the depiction of women, as these artificial objects that men possess. She does this in her...

Analysis of Chapters 3-5 in Hardy's 'Return of the Native'

2 Pages 952 Words
Introduction Thomas Hardy's "Return of the Native" is an intricate tapestry of human emotions and societal norms intricately woven into the wild landscape of Egdon Heath. Chapters 3-5 serve as a critical foundation for the unfolding narrative, offering insights into the characters' motivations and the thematic structures that propel the story forward. These chapters are pivotal, as they introduce and...

Tertullian's Writings and Significance

2 Pages 897 Words
If he ever came to speak at your church you would probably never forget him. He was passionate, articulate, totally committed. He boldly taunted the might of the Roman empire, courageously defended oppressed believers, and harshly reprimanded compromising Christians. In later life, he lost favor with much of the Church when he at least temporarily took up with the Montanists--...

The Jungle': Muckraking the Meat-Packing Industry

5 Pages 2482 Words
Upton Sinclair wrote The Jungle to expose the appalling working conditions in the meat-packing industry. His description of diseased, rotten, and contaminated meat shocked the public and led to new federal food safety laws. Before the turn of the 20th century, a major reform movement had emerged in the United States. Known as progressives, the reformers were reacting to problems...

Oedipus' Denial of Fate and Its Role in His Life

4 Pages 1869 Words
Attending the University of Connecticut, becoming a professional athlete, marrying your high school sweetheart; what leads to all these things? From birth, do we have a predetermined life that is set by a supernatural presence which will result in the same outcome regardless of our actions or is it the actions we choose to take that determines the outcome of...
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Gender Criticism in 'A Rose for Emily'

2 Pages 987 Words
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Inequality headlines the media every day: racism, skin color discrimination, sexual preference, and gender. Women from the past, present, and future have been fighting against inequality. The Feminist Movement developed based on their battle for their right to be equal to males. In William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily”, the theme of gender equality can be seen through the townsfolk’s...

Analysis of A Terre by Wilfred Owen

2 Pages 768 Words
This is the lengthiest of Owen’s war poems, running to 65 lines. It is bitter in tone and mourns the loss of time on earth. He suggests that it would be preferable to be a germ or a rat on earth because they don’t need to die in war. This poem lacks the heightened tone of a Dulce et Decorum...
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