Articles Index
Proof-Reading
George L. Milller writes about proof-reading...
'To the Lighthouse' Questions for Study and Discussion
To The Lighthouse is one of the most well-known works by Virginia Woolf. Here are a few questions for study and discussion.
'The Waves' Questions for Study and Discussion
The Waves is one of the most experimental works by Virginia Woolf. Here are a few questions for study and discussion.
'To the Lighthouse' Quotes
To the Lighthouse is one of the most well-known works by Virginia Woolf. Here are a few quotes.
'A Room of One's Own' Quotes
A Room of One's Own is one of Virginia Woolf's most famous works. Some of her most well-known sayings and phrases come from this short work. Here are a few quotes from Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own.
Famous First Lines of Novels
The first lines of novels are often memorable. Just reading the words can be enough to set the tone for the rest of the book. Which of the famous lines in literature is your favorite?
Benjamin Franklin Biography
D.H. Lawrence writes about Benjamin Franklin in Studies in Classic American Literature.
'Moll Flanders' Review
As Duchan Caudill writes, "Defoe presents 'Moll Flanders' in the guise of an autobiography, written by a woman of advanced years. Defoe was adroit at creating a narrative, relaying the details of this life from a woman's point of view."
Edgar Allan Poe: A Philosophy of Death
There was a man behind "The Cask of Amontillado," "The Fall of the House of Usher," "The Black Cat," and poems like "Annabel Lee" and "The Raven." That man, Edgar Allan Poe, was talented, but he was also eccentric and prone to alcoholism--having experienced more than his share of tragedies. But, what stands out even more prominently than the tragedy of Edgar Allan Poe's life is his philosophy of death. Read on.
'Brave New World' Review
In a futuristic society based on pleasure without moral repercussions, Aldous Huxley places a few oddball characters to stir up the plot. With eugenics at its core, this novel harkens back to Shakespeare's "The Tempest," where Miranda says, "O brave new world, that hath such people in it."
'Martin Chuzzlewit' Quotes
Martin Chuzzlewit (or The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit) is a novel by Charles Dickens. The book was serialized between 1843 and 1844. Here are a few quotes from the novel that Dickens believed to be his best work.
The Pioneers
Bliss Perry writes about the pioneers in The American Spirit in Literature.
Charles Dickens Biography
Charles Dickens is one of the most famous writers in English literature. Here's a biography.
The Knickerbocker Group
Bliss Perry writes about the Knickerbocker Group.
Sir Walter Scott
Walter Scott is recognized as one of the greatest Scottish writers in literary history. You may be familiar with parts of his illustrious background. Here's a bit more...
'Mansfield Park': Jane Austen's Most Controversial Novel
from Laurie Viera Rigler. Discuss Mansfield Park in your book club, and your friends, like most readers, will tend to differ over a variety of points.
'I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings' Quotes
I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings is a famous book by Maya Angelou. This work is told from a first-person perspective, and it is the first in a series of her autobiographical books. The book has been popular since it was first published in 1969. Here are a few quotes from I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings.
Maya Angelou Biography
Of the twentieth-century American lives that have been transformed into books via the art of the memoir (and that have been transformed via the act of writing of the memoir itself), perhaps none reflects us as a nation as well and as variously as that lived by Maya Angelou.
The Revolution
The American Revolution is fertile backdrop for American writers. It's all about the American spirit...
A Ball? I Long for a Ball!
Have you ever imagined dressing up in period costume and dancing the night away? Read more about a Jane Austen Evening, from Laurie Viera Rigler, author of Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict.
'Sense and Sensibility' Review
Sense and Sensibility is the first work by Jane Austen. It's not the work for which she is usually most well known, but it demonstrates many of the literary features for which Jane Austen would become so well known. She initially published the novel anonymously, under the byline of "A Lady."
Born of Books
How does encouraging reading affect the development of a young girl? Here's an essay from Katharine Swan.
Teaching Macbeth
How do you teach Macbeth? Take a look a this article, by Steven Pascal-Joiner.
'A Hunger Artist' Short Story - Franz Kafka
In one sense, A Hunger Artist, by Franz Kafka explores our fascination for the bizarre, even grotesque. Crowds are drawn to the spectacles at freak shows or circuses. But, there's a reality associated with this story as well. As human beings, we see people hungry, but do nothing. There's also the biographical connection--Kafka may have actually starved to death at the very end of his life (with complications from the tuberculosis that ravaged his body). Here's the story.
'The Minister's Black Veil' - Short Story
Nathaniel Hawthorne is a famous American writer, known for works like The Scarlet Letter, and this short story: The Minister's Black Veil, which was published in 1836.