The fact that Waiting for Godot is classified as an absurdism play already tells us that nothing is truly straightforward in it. It is in the very nature of the play to make us, as the audience, begin questioning things and create our own opinions and interpretations. It is believed that the intention of this…
Tobias Wolff’s “The Rich Brother” and The Barracks Thief each present childish, flawed men pursuing independent paths to escape their crippling family life. The main characters’ relentless rivalries, and family transgressions have provoked them to underestimate their need for others. “The Rich Brothers’” Pete and Donald are complete opposites in every aspect of their lives;…
The civil uprisings and scientific progress of the 1960s ignited a transformation of the role of women in society. During the infancy of the birth control pill, a woman’s body came under her jurisdiction, a leap away from chance and a partner’s cooperation in the form of a condom. Womankind made another leap forward in…
In The Lord of the Flies, the boys trapped on the island descend from decency to savagery. These stages of falling into savagery are similar to the works of John Locke and Thomas Hobbes. The two stages are Locke, who believes that men are by nature free and equal against claims that God had made…
The narrator talks about her lover and how much she thinks of him. She’s worried her thoughts will obscure the reality of what he’s actually like. However, she reassures her thoughts do not compare to the reality of him. She wants him to have a strong presence and be with her. Ideas and Themes: Fulfillment…
The speaker reflects back to a particular moment in their life when they realized that the love had died between them and the person they were in a relationship with. They consider what this moment has meant to them since. Ideas and Themes: Death Memory/ Nature Structure: The first 3 stanzas are a specific memory,…
The narrator’s mother comes to his house to help him with measurements holding the tape while he walks away shows him moving away from her while she still holds on. The narrator is looking forward to being independent but is also slightly scared if he’ll succeed without his mom but there are hints she’ll always…
A man sits alone in a cold cottage on a stormy night. Porphyria, his lover arrives. He ignores her flirting because he’s angry with her. He decides she loves him and hence she belongs to him. He wants to preserve the moment so he strangles her with her own hair. He spends the rest of…
The narrator is addressing a woman who he’s trying to persuade in order to start a relationship. He gives examples to show everything in nature is connected to a partner. He believes it is God’s law and it should be obeyed. He asks the woman why she is rejecting God’s law by refusing to love…
A man is working in a garden when he writes a letter to his wife. The wife reflects on their different lifestyles. She wonders whether life is more fulfilling because he’s closer to nature. They feel a world apart but write letters to each other to feel connected Ideas and Themes: Nature Longing Distance Structure:…
The poem tells the story of a farmer who marries a maid and refers to their early experience of marriage. She appears to be badly affected by the experience of marriage and becomes withdrawn and uncommunicative. She attempts to run away and is found. The husband longs for her only for her to reject him. Ideas and Themes:…
The narrator imagines his parents as young and preparing a picnic in an idyllic scene. The narrator is on the opposite bank to his parents who encourage him to join them. This could be based on a real memory, a fantasy, or the narrator on the brink of death. Ideas and Themes: Family relationships Memory…
The narrator imagines climbing his grandfather using the extended metaphor of his grandfather as a mountain and himself as a climber. The narrator may have imagined this or recounted this, picking out details from observing his grandfather. Ideas and Themes: Family relationships Getting older Structure: Poem highlights the child’s progress from bottom of mountain to…
The narrator imagines her mother’s life before she was born. The speaker says the mother was her happiest in the 10 years before she was born. She remembers glimpses of her childhood. She realizes her mother was deprived of her happiness and glamour after she was born. Ideas and Themes: Family relationships Memory Structure: Begins…
The father recounts watching his son play football for the first time and feels worried about his son as he watches him walk away from him. 18 Years later he still feels upset but realizes that it’s part of nature and he must accept it. Ideas and Themes: Family relationships Getting older Memory Structure: The…
The poet recalls the day he parted with his lover. She never had any affection for him. He believes the sadness he felt then foreshadowed the sadness he feels now. A lot of time passed but even the sound of her name hurts the narrator. He hears about her other affairs and feels hurt. Even…
A couple goes for a walk in the park after days of bad weather. They walk separately as their relationship is troubled. They stop at the sight of swans who mirror their relationship and walk away hand in hand suggesting they have reconciled. Ideas and Themes: Distance Fulfillment Nature Structure: They are both separated for…
In the Renaissance era, people looked to religious leaders for advice on their lives. Some religious advisers think they are qualified to give advice to the youth, but they may not be as qualified as they seem. In William Shakespeare’s tragedy, “The Most Excellent and Lamentable Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet”, Friar Lawrence is a…
Charles Dicken’s ‘Oliver Twist’ shows how an individual’s opportunities in life can be both restricted and improved through their interactions to a large extent by showing us the different types of people that you could come across in Victorian London. The plot is about an orphan who sets out into London looking for a way…
“We know what we are, but we know not what we may be.” -William Shakespeare. In the poem of Romeo and Juliet written by William Shakespeare, the main characters, Romeo and Juliet, described as “star-crossed lovers”, die tragically. In the plot, the Capulet and Montague families have had an ancient grudge against each other which…