Essays on Literary Genres

3630

Analyzing "Ave Atque Vale" and The Role of The Dead

4 pages / 1921 words

‘The long history of English elegy is a pouring of fresh tears into ancient vessels,’claims Rosenberg in ‘Elegy for an Age.’ Indeed, the elegy seems the best literary form to exemplify Eliot’s famous claim that “No poet, no artist of any art, has his complete...

Poetry The Dead

3631

Literal and Metaphorical of "Rhapsody on a Windy Night"

3 pages / 1323 words

T.S. Eliot once remarked that poetry must be difficult. The sentiments of this are expressed in much of his poetry and in his esoteric style, especially in Rhapsody on a Windy Night. If read literally, Rhapsody presents a bewildering scene of confusing, albeit beautifully-written nonsense....

Poetry T.S. Eliot

3632

A Closer Look on Live and Death in "Whispers of Immortality"

2 pages / 1111 words

T.S. Eliot’s “Whispers of Immortality” is a close examination of life and death. Penned during the war-torn years between 1915 and 1918, Eliot’s quatrain poem cites the writers John Donne and John Webster as examples of metaphysical poets whose work depicts an understanding of mortality...

Poetry T.S. Eliot

3633

Theme of Love in "Sure Thing" by David Ives

2 pages / 780 words

In David Ives’s Sure Thing, disagreements are avoided with a ringing bell, which serves as a device to shape consensus and allows the couple to fall in love at the end. Both characters are quick to judge and come close to giving up on each...

Drama Literature Review

3634

The Concept of Happiness in Ivan Bunin's Works

5 pages / 2096 words

In his short stories, Ivan Bunin frequently showcases the inability to attain earthly happiness. This reality is often manifested in his characters’ attempts to return to the past, when the evanescence of joy was still a mystery to the protagonists’ callow consciousness. In his story...

Fiction

3635

Frame Narratives Analysis in "Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town"

5 pages / 2177 words

The frame narratives in Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town provide a profound sense of meaning to the short story cycle. Leacock’s preface presents the reader with a simplified version of the story of his life, in which we can see many parallels to the...

Short Story

3636

Mirror as a Symbol in Margaret Atwood's Surfacing

3 pages / 1277 words

To truly delve into Margaret Atwood’s Surfacing, a reader must understand the symbolic meaning of a mirror in the novel as well as its function as an object of symbolization itself implemented through the characters, their interrelations, and faculties of mind, such as memory and...

Novel Symbolism

3637

Analyzing Leadership in Epic Literature

3 pages / 1359 words

Leadership is a prominent theme in both The Ramayana and Sundiata An Epic of Old Mali. A leader holds numerous qualities, whether they are skills that were developed or traits, that distinguish him or her from others. As and even before they undergo extreme situations,...

Leadership Poetry

3638

Supernatural in "The Epic of Sundiata"

2 pages / 1124 words

Introduction The Epic of Sundiata is often perceived as a fantastical narrative, replete with witches, superhuman strength, and an unwavering protagonist destined for greatness. Although this epic may not fit the conventional mold of reliable historical evidence, it offers a portal to delve deeper into...

Poetry Witchcraft

3639

Dystopian Society in "Super Sad True Love Story"

4 pages / 1668 words

In Gary Shteyngart’s Super Sad True Love Story novel we are introduced to a dystopian society that is eerily similar to our present United States of America. The story revolves around the complicated, paradoxical relationship of Lenny Abramov and Eunice Park. Lenny is an old...

Dystopia

3640

Analysis of The Novel "Stranger in a Strange Land"

3 pages / 1579 words

Robert Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land is heralded as a science fiction classic. The winner of several science fiction awards, Heinlein’s novel explores the spiritual journey of Valentine Michael Smith, a Martian who is brought to Earth and taught the ways of humans. Through...

Science Fiction

3641

Exploring Yourself: "Steppenwolf"

2 pages / 743 words

Within his fiction, German-Swiss author Hermann Hesse investigates a surprising, Eastern view on people’s perception of themselves. While traditionally Westerners describe each person with such definite characteristics as their names, appearances, and main traits, Hesse argues that this idea is both incorrect and even hurtful...

Novel

3642

Understanding of "Steppenwolf" as Main Idea

4 pages / 1664 words

It is rightly said that what a man thinks, he becomes. In light of this, Herman Hesse’s novel Steppenwolf deals with Harry Haller, the protagonist who thinks himself to be divided between his human nature and an animalistic one, considering himself a “wolf of the...

Novel

3643

Main Theme of "The Rime of The Ancient Mariner" and "Stanzas Written in Dejection, Near Naples"

4 pages / 1667 words

Amongst the ideas presented in the poems The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Stanzas Written in Dejection, near Naples, the theme of isolation is prominent. Although Coleridge’s poem departs from Romantic stylistic tendencies, it exemplifies many of the ideas which defined the era, while...

Percy Bysshe Shelley Poetry The Rime of The Ancient Mariner

3644

Donne and Spencer Comparative Characteristics

3 pages / 1572 words

Though his poetry was largely ignored and dismissed during his time, John Donne is known today for being one of the best poets of the late 16th and early 17th centuries. He gained this reputation by creating poetry that was different, that made him stand...

John Donne Poetry

3645

Meaning of Windows in "Sonny's Blues"

3 pages / 1444 words

There is a worn-out old saying about how when a door closes, there will always be a window to crawl through instead. But what if the window has bars on it? Or what if it is too high for someone to reach without anyone to...

Short Story Sonny’s Blues

3646

A Tale of Suffering

2 pages / 999 words

James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues” is a tale of suffering. Placed in an environment that is “encircled by disaster” (Baldwin 1615), the narrator constantly attempts to escape from the suffering around him. He avoids all contact with those around him and becomes disconnected from who he...

Short Story

3647

Theme of Suffering in "Sonny's Blues"

2 pages / 960 words

Humans are made of the tangible; flesh and blood, muscles and bones, cells and nerves. The survival of man can be dissected into the purely scientific, the emotionless, the artless. The value of the anatomical can clearly not be understated, as such is the basest...

Short Story Sonny’s Blues

3648

Masculinity Construction by James Baldwin

2 pages / 939 words

James Baldwin provides several constructions of black masculinity through his two texts Everybody’s Protest Novel and Sonny’s Blues. Since this essay is comparing works from the same author, it is essential to look at what these constructions are and also the consistency of them within...

Masculinity Short Story