Articles in Literature
Articles Index
The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity...
The "Oxford English Dictionary" is one of the greatest achievements in English literature, but it didn't happen overnight. In "Professor and the Madman," Simon Winchester delves into the mysterious history of this great text. Along the way, he highlights several of the major contributors. It's really their story...
Spirituality and Religion in Walt Whitman's Song of Myself
Spirituality is a mixed bag for Walt Whitman... While he takes a great deal of material from Christianity, his conception of religion is much more complicated than the beliefs of one or two faiths mixed together. Whitman seems to draw from the many roots of belief to form his own religion, putting himself as the center.
Walt Whitman: Spirituality and Religion in Whitman's Song of Myself
Spirituality is a mixed bag for Walt Whitman... While he takes a great deal of material from Christianity, his conception of religion is much more complicated than the beliefs of one or two faiths mixed together. Whitman seems to draw from the many roots of belief to form his own religion, putting himself as the center.
The Age of Innocence
Discover more interesting information about Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence.
Arthur Miller: His Life and Works
In his newest biography, award-winning Martin Gottfried explores the life and works of Arthur Miller, a controversial figure in American theater. With more than 400 books, articles and theses written about just one of Miller's plays, Gottfried discusses why Miller's plays have been as popular as they've been hotly debated.
A Room of One's Own - On the Verge
Born Adeline Virginia Stephen in 1882, Virginia Woolf learned early on that it was her fate to be "the daughter of educated men." In a journal entry shortly after her father's death in 1904, she wrote: "His life would have ended mine... No writing, no books: — inconceivable." She expressed her concern about the position of women, especially professional women, in her essay "A Room of One's Own."
Why Take Notes?
Taking notes is a great way of helping you identify important concepts in class. Even if you have a great memory, you won't be able to remember everything that the teacher says, if you don't have some sort of written record. Read more about how to take notes...
Gustave Flaubert: Love and Other Dangerous Affairs
In "Madame Bovary," Emma Bovary has pursued that which she desired, and her character will be forever tainted in literary history for her actions. But, what did she do? Gustave Flaubert captured her in the pages of his novel, and forever immortalized her there...
Cry the Beloved Country
Alan Paton began writing "Cry the Beloved Country" in a hotel room in Norway while he was undertaking a world-wide survey of correctional facilities. Once he'd started writing in a flood of emotion, it only took him three months to finish the book. The book was met with immediate success, and it has been popular in and out of the classroom ever since.
The Singular Mark Twain
Mark Twain is one of the most popular names in American literature, even as the name was a product of his imagination. With "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," Twain created one of the most controversial works in literary history, which is spiced with humor and resonating with tragedy. Ernest Hemingway once said, "All modern literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called 'Huckleberry Finn.'"
Abelard and Heloise
Abelard and Heloise are one of the most celebrated couples of all time, known for their love affair... and for the tragedy that separated them.
Kate Chopin: In Search of Freedom
As Floramaria Deter writes, "Throughout her life, Kate Chopin... actively searched for female spiritual emancipation, which she found and expressed in her writing. Her poems, short stories, and novels allowed her not only to assert her beliefs for herself, but also to question the ideas of individuality and autonomy during the turn of the century." Read more about Kate Chopin.
The Mother of Oedipus: Destined to Sorrow
Oedipus married his mother and murdered his father, but there are other characters in the tragedy. Jocasta was the mother who lost her son, husbands, and even her life.
Emily's Mother
Emily Dickinson is one of the most mysterious writers in literary history. Although she was a literary genius, only eight of her poems were published in her life, and she lived a secluded existence. But, this quiet life at home can be compared to the isolated life her mother lived.
My Brother's Keeper
Although the intended scope of this memoir was never fully realized, "My Brother's Keeper" offers a unique perspective on James Joyce. For many years, Stanislaus Joyce shared friends, books, misadventures, and a few triumphs. All along, Stanislaus was in his brother's shadow, as James Joyce continued to develop his literary genius.
Kate Chopin: Complete Novels and Stories
In this volume, Library of America publishes the complete works of Chopin in one authoritative volume, including many previously uncollected stories. As the publisher writes: "From ruined Louisiana plantations to bustling, cosmopolitan New Orleans, Kate Chopin wrote with unflinching honesty about propriety and its strictures, the illusions of love and the realities of marriage, and the persistence of a past scarred by slavery and war."
The Measure of Life: Virginia Wolf's Last Year
Herbert Marder conceptualizes the last ten years of Virginia Woolf's life, focusing on her revolutionary works, which she created before committing suicide in 1941. It was the most difficult time in Woolf's life, but Marder explains, "My decision to write this biography grew out of a fascination with the way people change under stress."
St. Patrick of Ireland
In "St. Patrick of Ireland," Philip Freeman sifts through the fragments of myths, legends, and time-worn manuscripts to re-create the story of Patrick. Freeman quickly reads between the lines of Patrick's letters to get at the real drama of his life and works. Along the way, he focuses on the man behind the legend.
How to Read Literature Like a Professor
In his new book, Thomas Foster opens up a new world of literature, drawing from some of the world's greatest classics to explore what literature is, what it means to us, and how we can understand it. It's a fun and entertaining introduction for students and book lovers alike. Foster's light-witty style makes for easy reading. It reminds me of a gathering together of old literature friends, where we discuss books and writing.
I, Roger Williams
It's often easier to write about how much we don't know about the lives of early American writers than to discuss the few fragments of the past that have survived. Roger Williams was an early American writer, but we have very little real detail about his life and works. Embellishing upon those few surviving fragments of biography and literature, Mary Lee Seattle created this remarkably poetic novel.
What Happens in Literature
In "What Happens in Literature," Edward W. Rosenheim offers a brief discussion of the basics of literature, including poems, novels and plays.
Mark Twain: Gilded Age and Other Novels
This "Gilded Age" collection encompasses Mark Twain's literary career, starting with his first novel-length, fictional work, "The Gilded Age," which he co-wrote with Charles Dudley Warner... and carrying us through to his final work, "The Mysterious Stranger," which was left in manuscript format upon his death.
Goblin Market - Christina Rossetti
Christina Rossetti is one of the most famous writers of the Victorian era, but what do we really know about her? Was there some secret that forced such passionate intensity to the surface? Was it a thwarted love affair, or just her very active imagination?
Write a Racket in an Out-of-Kilter World
With the world "out of kilter," is it the responsibility of literary artists to make a "racket" with literature? Certainly, in writing works of protest literature, writers like Harriet Beecher Stowe, Charles Dickens, Henry David Thoreau, and Upton Sinclair brought about real-world changes that lasted far beyond their lives. As William James once wrote, "The great use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it."
Refiguring Huckleberry Finn
In "Refiguring Huckleberry Finn," Carl Wieck tackles Huck's famous story with a passion, saying: "The following pages have furnished me with the princely privilege of skipping along for a space with the sprightly Mark Twain, and I am grateful to him for sharing so much with us all."