...English Study Guide E period Beowulf * The Wrath of Grendel Grendel, a murderous, powerful monster lurks outside Hrothgar’s a Danish King’s, extravagant party. God drove out the demons, but they split into many forms of evil spirits, fiends, goblins, monsters, and giants. Grendel is a demonic monster. At night, when the party ended, Grendel ate 30 guests and left blood everywhere. In the morning, the people of Herot and Hrothgar mourned the deaths of Grendel’s victims. However, Grendel came again and ate all of Hrothgar’s soldiers, leaving Herot bare. Hrothgar was incredibly saddened by this. However, God protected him and no help came from the pagan sacrifices. The only protection came from God. * The Coming of Beowulf In the land of the Geats, ruled by Higlac, Beowulf was the greatest and strongest of all the men. He decided to go to see Hrothgar, because he has heard of the horrors Grendel brought. The Geats egged on his adventure, so Beowulf took a crew of the mightiest men he could find and set forth on his journey. They arrived at the Danish shore and were questioned by the guard, who thought they might be raiders or pirates. Beowulf explained they were Geats; his father was Edgetho, a famous soldier and explained why they were there. The guard lets them pass. They enter Herot and are called to see the King. Beowulf is greeted by Hrothgar and explains why he is there. He says he will fight and kill Grendel without fear, and if he looses to...
Words: 3978 - Pages: 16
...The Romantics: Romantic poets view of nature range from spiritual to love. In many poems the description of God is expressed through animals that, such as the lamb, which would represent man as His flock. In some cases the role of nature is a meaningful way to express the human condition. It was also a way to relay a belief or express their thoughts, to carry them to the reader. Nature can be used to express all things to all men. William Blake used the lamb as well as the Tyger to express his views of God, good and evil. He also used it as a way to show his displeasure of the things that were happening in his time. “Little Lamb I’ll tell thee! He is called by thy name, For he calls himself a Lamb; He is meek & he is mild; He became a little child; I a child & thou a lamb, we are called by his name.” (Greenblatt, S., 2012, page 120). This expressed that Jesus was the lamb and that we are also so in his name. He was also expressing the treatment of children during this time. He was using nature as symbols and to show that we are all lambs of God and should be treated well. Wordsworth also spoke of nature he as well as Blake used images and patterns to express their emotions, imagination, and identity. In Lines Written in Early Spring, he speaks of the beauty yet still feels saddened and melancholy. He uses the beauty to express his sadness and the dark thoughts of what is happening in the world. This provides an amazing contrast. “The budding twigs spread out their fan, To catch...
Words: 927 - Pages: 4
...Tractor Poem Analysis The poem “Tractor” is written by Ted Hughes is literally about a tractor. The season is winter and the man is trying to start the tractor but is unable to do so because of the weather. Eventually, the man is able to start the tractor. However, while reading it further, this poem seems to be telling us that with determination, man can overcome many problems no matter how tough the problem is, using nature as a form of trouble to humans. Moreover, it also tells us that the journey to solving the problem is difficult. This poem is in nine stanzas, where the first four stanzas describe the process of starting up the tractor while the last five stanzas, describe how the tractor finally starts up and rejoices. The poet personifies the tractor and uses contrast to bring about its theme in the poem. Firstly, the narrative point of view poet uses a first person narrative viewpoint, which creates an impression of irritation and anger that the poet has towards the tractor. This helps us to understand the emotions of the persona towards the tractor. Firstly, he uses “I stare at it in hatred”. The emotion ‘hatred’ is a passionate feeling of anger, and the ‘stare’ tells us that it is extremely irritated by the reluctance of the tractor start as it ‘defied’ the narrator. This phrase tells us that the persona is facing a lot of difficulty, causing him to feel hatred towards the tractor. Additionally, the poet uses “I squirt commercial sure-fire down the black throat”....
Words: 775 - Pages: 4
...ASSIGNMENT MODERNIST SHORT STORY Submitted By: Steffy Johnson 11/PELA/026 INTRODUCTION Modernist literature is the literary expression of the tendencies of Modernism, especially High modernism. Modernistic art and literature normally revolved around the idea of individualism, mistrust of institutions mainly government and religion, and the disbelief of any absolute truths. Modernism as a literary movement reached its height in Europe between 1900 and the middle 1920s. Modernist literature addressed to aesthetic problems and can be viewed largely in terms of its formal, stylistic and semantic movement away from Romanticism, examining subject matter that is traditionally mundane. It often features a marked pessimism, a clear rejection of the optimism apparent in Victorian literature. It attempted to move from the bonds of Realist literature and to introduce concepts such as disjointed timelines. Modernism as a literary movement is seen, in large part, as a reaction to the emergence of city life as a central force in society. Furthermore, an early attention to the object as freestanding became in later Modernism a preoccupation with form. Modernist writers were more acutely conscious of the objectivity of their surroundings. The most prominent modernist authors are: T. S. Eliot, W. B. Yeats, Virginia Woolf, James Joyce, D. H. Lawrence, E. M. Forster, Ernest Hemingway, Joseph Conrad, Franz Kafka, Knut Hamsun, Gertrude Stein, Mikhail Bulgakov, MarcelProust, John Steinbeck...
Words: 2124 - Pages: 9
...MODERN BRITISH LITERATURE (c. 1900 to 1950) READING LIST Please note that there are two lists below. The first is the full list with the core readings in bold; the second is the core list separated out. You are responsible for all core readings and may incorporate readings from the full list into your tailored list. Unless otherwise noted, selections separated by commas indicate all works students should know. A. FICTION Beckett, Samuel. One of the following: Murphy, Watt, Molloy Bennett, Arnold. Clayhanger Bowen, Elizabeth. The Heat of the Day Butler, Samuel. The Way of All Flesh Chesterton, G.K. The Man Who Was Thursday Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness AND one of: Lord Jim, The Secret Agent, Nostromo, Under Western Eyes Ford, Ford Madox. The Good Soldier Forster, E. M. Howards End, A Passage to India (plus the essays “What I Believe” and “The Challenge of Our Times” in Two Cheers for Democracy) Galsworthy, John. The Man of Property Greene, Graham. One of: Brighton Rock, The Power and the Glory, The Heart of the Matter Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World Joyce, James. Dubliners, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Ulysses Kipling, Rudyard. Kim Lawrence, D. H. Two of: Sons and Lovers, Women in Love, The Rainbow, The Plumed Serpent Lewis, Wyndham. Tarr, manifestos in BLAST 1 Mansfield, Katherine. “Prelude,” “At the Bay,” “The Garden Party,” “The Daughters of the Late Colonel” (in Collected Stories) Orwell, George. 1984 (or Aldous Huxley, Brave New World) Wells, H. G. One of the...
Words: 2557 - Pages: 11
...6/9/13 10 - A History of English Literature Classic Literature Read about A History of English Literature. More E-texts A History of English Literature 1918 by Robert Huntington Fletcher Education Share Preface | How to Study | Tabular View | Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Assignments Chapter X. Period VIII. The Romantic Triumph, 1798 To About 1830 The Great Writers of 1798-1830 | Samuel Taylor Coleridge | William Wordsworth | Robert Southey | Walter Scott | Last Group of Romantic Poets | Percy Bysshe Shelley | John Keats | Summary | Lesser Writers | THE GREAT WRITERS OF 1798-1830. THE CRITICAL REVIEWS. As we look back to-day over the literature of the last three quarters of the eighteenth century, here just surveyed, the progress of the Romantic Movement seems the most conspicuous general fact which it presents. But at the, death of Cowper in 1800 the movement still remained tentative and incomplete, and it was to arrive at full maturity only in the work of the great writers of the following quarter century, who were to create the finest body of literature which England had produced since the Elizabethan period. All the greatest of these writers were poets, wholly or in part, and they fall roughly into two groups: first, William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Robert Southey, and Walter Scott; and second, about twenty years younger, Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and John Keats. This period of Romantic Triumph, or of the...
Words: 13303 - Pages: 54
...Child labour in British Literature Child labour is very popular topic and motif in British Literature. Many famous authors base their novels on this term. Industrialisation led to a dramatic increase in child labour. Children were working in factories and mines what was very exhausted and dangerous. Child labour was not an invention of the Industrial Revolution. Poor children have always started work as soon as their parents could find employment for them. But in much of pre-industrial Britain, there simply was not very much work available for children. This changed with industrialisation. The new factories and mines were hungry for workers and required the execution of simple tasks that could easily be performed by children. The result was a surge in child labour – presenting a new kind of problem that Victorian society had to tackle. Research has shown that the average age at which children started work in early 19th- century Britain was 10 years old, but that this varied widely between regions. In industrial areas, children started work on average at eight and a half years old. Most of these young workers entered the factories as piecers, standing at the spinning machines repairing breaks in the thread. A few started as scavengers, crawling beneath the machinery to clear it of dirt, dust or anything else that might disturb the mechanism. In the mines, children usually started by minding the trap doors, picking out coals at the pit mouth, or by...
Words: 1334 - Pages: 6
...The Decline and Fall of Literature November 4, 1999 ANDREW DELBANCO E-mail Print [pic]Share [pic] [pic]In Plato’s Cave[pic] by Alvin Kernan A couple of years ago, in an article explaining how funds for faculty positions are allocated in American universities, the provost of the University of California at Berkeley offered some frank advice to department chairs, whose job partly consists of lobbying for a share of the budget. “On every campus,” she wrote, “there is one department whose name need only be mentioned to make people laugh; you don’t want that department to be yours.”1 The provost, Carol Christ (who retains her faculty position as a literature professor), does not name the offender—but everyone knows that if you want to locate the laughingstock on your local campus these days, your best bet is to stop by the English department. The laughter, moreover, is not confined to campuses. It has become a holiday ritual for The New York Times to run a derisory article in deadpan Times style about the annual convention of the Modern Language Association, where thousands of English professors assemble just before the new year. Lately it has become impossible to say with confidence whether such topics as “Eat Me; Captain Cook and the Ingestion of the Other” or “The Semiotics of Sinatra” are parodies of what goes on there or serious presentations by credentialed scholars.2 At one recent English lecture, the speaker discussed a pornographic “performance artist”...
Words: 9854 - Pages: 40
...11 The Interwar Years 13 British Postwar Literature 19 Conclusion 27 References 29 Introduction The 20th century seems to be the most dramatic and unique: it witnessed two world wars and great social, economic and political changes. All this events could not but find their reflection in the arts in general and in the literature in particular. The urgency of the work is determined by the complexity of the period considered and variety of forms and trends which appeared during the century. The object of the project is British literature. The aim of the project is to consider the peculiarities and distinct features of the British literature of the 20th century. In order to gain the project’s aim, during its implementation the following practical issues were studied: - the most distinguished writers of the period; - their contribution to development of the British literature; - key topics. The project’s aim and issues considered predetermined the choice of methods of research. During the project’s implementation the following methods were used: critical survey of the sources on the issue considered, as well as comparison and analysis. Theoretical value of the project is constituted by the analysis of the peculiarities and distinct features of the British literature of the 20th century. Practical value of the project is predetermined by the possibility to use it in practice in courses of world and British history and literature. The project’s aim and issues...
Words: 9384 - Pages: 38
...Institution Instructor Course Date British Literature Shakespeare’s king Lear King Lear, by William Shakespeare is a tragedy. The title depicts a character, who descents into madness mainly after he disposes of his important estate between his two daughters, but neglects one of his three daughters. His choice if purely caused by the flattery of two of his three daughters between whom he disposes of his estate. His decision ultimately becomes tragic consequences, which affects his entire family (Sparknotes.com). King Lear is a play, which talks of the legend of Britain Leir. The Leir of Britain was a pre-Roman Celtic king who was mythological. With respect to this book, Shakespeare seems to write primarily to bring readers to philosophy. He seems to give them a chance to participate in the play as if they are involved. His plays seem to reveal that fundamental human questions are entrenched within ordinary human experiences. In the case of King Lear, Shakespeare brings family squabbles, turmoil, madness, and other unethical behaviors that contribute to family breakage and conflicts in the society. In the play, King Lear is elderly and wishes to retire from his power. He thus wants to divide his estate among all his three daughters. His way of dividing the realm is done on conditions such as whoever loves him the most gets the largest share. This promise becomes the main source of the problem since two of his daughters structure some cunning mechanisms to win the kings promise...
Words: 1020 - Pages: 5
...English literature From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Selected English-language writers: Geoffrey Chaucer, William Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Mark Twain, Virginia Woolf, T. S. Eliot, Vladimir Nabokov, Toni Morrison, Salman Rushdie. The focus of this article is on literature in the English language from anywhere, not just the literature of England, so that it includes writers from Scotland, the whole of Ireland, Wales, as well as literature in English from former British colonies, including the US. However, up until the early 19th century, it deals with the literature written in English of Britain and Ireland. English literature is generally seen as beginning with the epic poem Beowulf, that dates from between the 8th to the 11th centuries, the most famous work in Old English, which has achieved national epic status in England, despite being set in Scandinavia. The next important landmark is the works of the poet Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1343–1400), especially The Canterbury Tales. Then during The Renaissance, especially the late 16th and early 17th centuries, major drama and poetry was written by William Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, John Donne and many others. Another great poet, from later in the 17th century, was John Milton (1608–74) author of the epic poem Paradise Lost (1667). The late 17th and the early 18th century are particularly associated with satire, especially in the poetry of John Dryden and Alexander Pope, and the prose works of Jonathan Swift. The 18th century...
Words: 563 - Pages: 3
...English literature From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia This article is focused on English-language literature rather than the literature of England, so that it includes writers from Scotland, Wales, and the whole of Ireland, as well as literature in English from former British colonies, including the US. However, until the early 19th century, it only deals with the literature of the United Kingdom and Ireland. It does not include literature written in any other language than English. There is some discussion of literature in languages other than English from the United Kingdom in British literature. English literature is generally seen as beginning with the epic poem Beowulf, the most famous work in Old English, which was written in England some time between the 8th and the early 11th century.[1] Despite being set in Scandinavia, Beowulf has become a national epic of England. The next landmark was the work of the poet Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1343–1400), especially The Canterbury Tales. During the Renaissance, especially the late 16th and early 17th centuries, major drama and poetry was written by Edmund Spenser, William Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, John Donne and others. Another great poet, from later in the 17th century, was John Milton (1608–74), author of the epic poem Paradise Lost (1667). The late 17th and the early 18th centuries are particularly associated with satire, especially in the poetry of John Dryden and Alexander Pope, and the prose works of Jonathan Swift. The...
Words: 286 - Pages: 2
...Yogendran Professor Frank Runcie Postcolonial Literature: Africa 09 March 2015 In Chinua Achebe’s Death Men’s Path, the main focus was to share a narrative, which emphasize the conflict between world-views and value systems. This story is about Michael Obi, a modern and ambitious young man who is appointed headmaster of the un-progressive Ndume Central School. Obi hopes to clean up the educational mission field and speed up its Christianizing mission. Chinua Achebe’s The Education of a British-Protected Child and Colonialist Criticism leads the readers to thoroughly understand Dead Men's Path. In Colonist Criticism, the author criticizes the enduring colonialism in the criticism of African literature by non-Africans. The writer states, "If the text is judged from European perspective a text doesn't get right evaluation and the essence of the text is killed" which shows Achebe’s disagreement on the European colonial injustice, a habit of ruling and discriminating other and comparing African people their literature, art and culture. He argues that African literature should not be judged with the official literature since it has its own particularity. The mask of European civilization does not know the history of African people. So Achebe's claim is that colonized people should write their own history disregarding what has been already universalized. According to Achebe, there are two problems with Universalism; first every literature must speak of their own place and culture....
Words: 571 - Pages: 3
...wants to change in the society. Also what types of change does his literature attempt to bring about? * Discuss the mental, emotional, and or psychological effects these values have on the characters’ lives. * Discuss how British took advantage of feudal customs and values in order to maintain social control of the society. * Discuss the cost and consequences of these values for individuals and for India’s society as a whole. * CRITCAL THINKING!!! * Bengal Renaissance Values (Introduce what B.R.V. means for the reader.) * Identify at least three characters that reflect Bengal Renaissance Values. * Explain how the concept of Swaraj relates to Bengal Renaissance values. * Discuss how at least two of Tagore’s characters reflect the values of swaraj and Bengal Renaissance values. * Discuss the ways in which Tagore wants these characters to serve as models in Indian society. * Explain the benefits and consequences of these values for India’s society in the light of the British Empire and dominance in India. * How does BRV reflect the essay “East and West? * CRITCAL THINKING!!! * Tagore’s Contributions to India’s Society * Explain the types of social responsibility Tagore hopes to instill through his literature in the educated class in his society. * Discuss the contributions Tagore’s literature makes to India’s society. * How did Tagore’s literature strengthen the...
Words: 313 - Pages: 2
...Changing Literature Influences of Canada Throughout history Canadian culture has been influenced by other nations. Students in Ontario often study writers of non-Canadian descent, but they should only be familiar with the work of fellow Canadians. Society as a whole will benefit from this because the youth will learn the importance of focusing on Canadian culture despite other influences, introducing the modern multicultural flair of Canada’s population and the need to promote and establish upcoming authors. Being influenced by other Nations has been a downfall for new Canadian literature. This has been prominent in Canadian society as we have always been a “branch plant” of other countries, beginning with England in the 1600’s. Our own culture has never had the ability to develop to its fullest potential. For years, a student in Ontario would study British writers, such as Shakespeare, and currently students may also study American authors such as Fitzgerald. However, many schools limit a student’s exposure to the Canadian novels on ISP reading lists. Canada is an attic in which we have stored American and British literature without considering our own1. As Robertson Davies has said “no wonder a Canadian student has problems appreciating their culture.” Canadian society today includes people of many different races and ethnicities; however their addition to literature is not recognized. By choosing to become familiar with authors from different backgrounds the large population...
Words: 614 - Pages: 3
