There can be no argument that D. H. Lawrence’s Sons and Lovers is a study of human relationships. Gertrude Morel, because of her turbulent and odd relationship with her husband, ends up developing deep emotional relations with her two eldest sons’. The second eldest in particular, Paul, is the receiver of most of this deep…
When one begins to analyze a military novel it is important to first look at the historical context in which the book was written. On the nights of February 13-14 in 1944 the city of Dresden, Germany was subjected to one of the worst air attacks in the history of man. By the end of…
Snow Falling on Cedars, by David Guterson, is an emotional story in which we see the life of a man who could not move on and a woman that did. The man, Ishmael, is hopelessly in love with the woman, Hatsue. His love for her cannot be dissuaded by anything; not her words, her wishes,…
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a Middle English romance poem written by an anonymous West Midlands poet also credited with a lot of other poems written during that time. The protagonist, Sir Gawain, survives two tests: a challenge, which he alone without the assistance of King Arthur’s knights accepts, to behead the fearsome…
In the book Siddhartha, by Hermann Hesse, the main character Siddhartha had many teachers along his quest for happiness. Throughout his life, he denounced teachers and their teachings. In his last meeting with his lifelong friend, Govinda, he mentions five in which he was indebted: a beautiful courtesan, a rich merchant, a dice player, a…
Shakespeare’s sonnets, as poems, have been obscured by the enormous amount of speculation, much of it unjustified, that has grown up around the problems presented by the dedication. The following sonnet is commonly grouped with 125 others that are believed to have been written to a much admired young man, who was Shakespeare’s junior in…
In his Sonnet 19, Shakespeare presents the timeless theme of Time’s mutability. As the lover apostrophizes Time, one might expect him to address “old Time” as inconstant, for such an epithet implies time’s changeability. But inconstant also suggests capricious, and the lover finds time more grave than whimsical in its alterations. With the epithet “devouring”…
In Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë makes use of atmospheric conditions to emphasize events and highlight the mood of the characters in the story. The Yorkshire moors are known for their harsh beauty and sometimes desolate landscape. This theme of a rough countryside filled with hidden beauties and seasonal storms fits well into the storyline of…
In William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily,” Faulkner’s details about setting and atmosphere give the reader background as to the values and beliefs of the characters, helping the reader to understand the motivations, actions and reactions of Miss Emily and the rest of the town, and changing the mood or tone in the story. The…
The experiences of six people that survived the planets first nuclear explosion are reported to us in Hiroshima by John Hershey. The book begins by describing the situation of the six individuals just before and at the moment of the explosion that changed history. The book first introduces Miss. Sasaki, a tin factory secretary, had…
Rosemary Well’s When No One Was Looking is a suspenseful story of a girl’s ambition, friendship, and love of tennis, that takes her to the top. Although she is not beautiful, rich, or good in school, fourteen year old Kathy Bardy has a natural talent for tennis. One day, Kathy loses a match against Ruth…
Romeo is the type of person who loves everything except his enemies. He shows his love and hate to everyone. Whenever he saw Juliet, he would tell her how much that he loved her. If he saw another Capulet, he would try and start a fight or just leave them. Romeo’s actions reflect many things…
Slash, cling, clank are the sounds that are heard in a sword fight as a man is killed. In the play, Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare the theme of death are portrayed many times by the characters Mercutio, Romeo, and Juliet. The first instance of the theme of death was in act 3 when…
The Capulet family is one of pride and high social standing. It consists of Lord and Lady Capulet, their young daughter Juliet, and their kinsman Tybalt. They have a nurse, as well, who has taken care if Juliet since she was born. They get along quite well, yet, like all families, they have their differences.…
“From forth the fatal loins of these two foes, a pair of star-crossed lovers take their life.” Romeo and Juliet’s death was a result of many misfortunes, but they were mostly victims of the society in which they live, malignant fate, and their own passions. Romeo and Juliet are members of two families that are…
Act III, Scene V of Romeo and Juliet is significant for it is the most pivotal scene of this tragic play. Although prior scenes present extreme circumstances, this scene reveals the results of past activities and begins a series of tragic misunderstandings and fatal reactions. Transformations occurring amongst characters and their relationships with one another…
Romanticism is an artistic and intellectual movement originating in Europe in the late 18th century and is characterized by a heightened interest in nature, emphasis on an individual’s expression of emotion and imagination, a departure from the attitudes and forms of classicism, and rebellion against established social rules and conventions. Romantic writers usually involve one…
In both texts, Beowulf and Grendel, the main purpose of the Queen’s are to serve the courts as “weavers of peace”. In Grendel however, Queen Wealththeow is described in much greater detail and serves a further purpose. The reader gains insight into a part of Grendel that is not present in Beowulf, his desire for…
Henry IV, Part One, has always been one of the most popular of Shakespeare’s plays, maybe because of Falstaff. Much of the early criticism I found concentrated on Falstaff and so will I. This may begin in the eighteenth century with Samuel Johnson. For Johnson, the Prince is a “young man of great abilities and…
On the surface, “Two Tramps in Mud Time” seems to display Robert Frost’s narrow individualism. The poem, upon first reading it, seems incongruent, with some of the stanzas having no apparent connection to the whole poem. The poem as a whole also does not appear to have a single definable theme. At one point, the…