Category: Literature 5177

  • “The Female American” a Book by Unca Eliza Winkfield

    Unca Eliza Winkfield wrote The Female American in 1767 as a religious memoir modelled after Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe. Just like Robinson Crusoe, despite being a work of fiction, there is a series of references to factual historical events meant to create an illusion of reality. From a non-critical perspective, a reader might interpret the…

  • Maya Angelou’s “Still I Rise: A Renaissance Anthem”

    The spirit of renaissance stirs through many literary works from the last quarter of the 20th century, rejuvenating African American’s will to defy an oppressive system. One such invigorating creation is Maya Angelou’s Still I Rise. This paper analyses how Angelou’s poem criticizes racism and marginalized conditions that have perpetually robbed African Americans of their…

  • Neoplatonic Love and Eroticism in Mystical Poetry

    Table of Contents Introduction Teresa de Ávila San Juan de la Cruz Fray Luis de León Works Cited Introduction Research that seeks to examine literary sources in-depth to identify hidden meanings, messages, and applied rhetorical tools is part of an effective strategy for the academic study of the literary sciences. A great variety of artistic…

  • The Problem of Power and Powerlessness in “Hard Times” by Charles Dickens

    Table of Contents Introduction Main body Conclusion Works Cited Introduction The problems of public life and power are central in any culture, and their poignancy is expressed throughout the history of literature: literary forms are often seen as a safe place for ideas to dwell. The desire to achieve a lawful legal order and a…

  • Analysis of “Preface to Shakespeare” by Samuel Johnson

    Table of Contents Introduction Analysis Conclusion Work Cited Introduction “Preface to Shakespeare” is one of the classic and universally recognized documents in the field of literary criticism in English society, which came from the pen of Samuel Johnson. This work is a collection of reliable knowledge, assumptions, and ideas of the author about the great…

  • A Common Theme in “A Pair of Tickets” by Amy Tan and “Interpreter of Maladies” by Jhumpa Lahiri

    One of the overarching themes in Amy Tan’s “A Pair of Tickets” and Jhumpa Lahiri’s “Interpreter of Maladies” is the theme of cultural heritage and identity. The main characters in both stories were born and raised in America, and both stories show them traveling to their motherlands: China and India. In “A Pair of Tickets”…

  • Literary Devices in Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare

    William Shakespeare captures the true meaning of love and beauty. Shakespeare has written many great poems in his time. This sonnet is one of the most beautiful verses in the English language. Shakespeare is comparing his adored love to a summer’s day. When one hears about love and beauty in his sonnet, one can feel…

  • “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke

    In “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke, the waltz is used as a metaphor for describing the relationship between a father and his son. The readers are introduced to a visual flashback from the speaker’s childhood as to a night his father came back home intoxicated and proceeded to dance with his son. It is…

  • The Chapter “A Pair of Tickets” by Amy Tan

    “A Pair of Tickets” is the final chapter of Amy Tan’s book The Joy Luck Club in which the author shows readers the importance of self-identification and reunion. This chapter is a reflection of the personal experience of Amy Tan, who, like Jing-Mei Woo, an immigrant girl who traveled to China to find her identity.…

  • “The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man” by James Weldon Johnson

    James Weldon Johnson’s The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man is a fictional autobiography of a man born from a mixed race family trying to find his racial identity but never fully committing to one. At first, he is unaware of his origins and believes that he is a white boy, but after a bullying incident…