The Scarlet Letter, Chapters XVIII and XXII - Nathaniel Hawthorne (1850) - Detailed commentary plans
Text commentary - 2 pages - Literature
This document provides a very detailed outline of two texts from The Scarlet Letter: -A Flood of Sunshine -The Procession
London - William Blake (1794) - Stance's analysis
Text commentary - 2 pages - Literature
"London" is quite a short poem; it's made up of sixteen lines composed of four stanzas of alternately rhyming short lines. "London" is part of the "Songs of Experience" which is part of William Blake's larger piece, Songs of Innocence and of Experience (1794) and is part of Blake's...
The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? - Edward Albee (2000) - How is the Absurd conveyed in the play, and what is the result, especially for the audience watching the staging of the play?
Text commentary - 9 pages - Literature
As an unmissable American playwright, Edward Albee's play Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1962) has brought him worldwide fame. The reasons for this success can be explained by the fact that, at that time, no American playwright had really brought the "theater of the Absurd" onto the...
The Mark on the Wall - Virginia Woolf (1917) - What is the significance of the "gaze" in this short story?
Text commentary - 3 pages - Literature
"The Mark on the Wall" by Virginia Woolf is a modernist short story that delves into the complex nature of perception and the workings of the human mind. The story is characterized by its stream-of-consciousness narrative, which allows the reader to explore the inner thoughts and reflections of...
Wieland, Chapter 20 - Charles Brockden Brown (1798) - How Clara's grappling with the disclosure of her brother's trial leads her to question rationality and contemplate the existence of supernatural forces? - Introduction, detailed plan and conclusion
Text commentary - 2 pages - Literature
In this passage, Mr. Cambridge tries to rationalize the events by evoking Clara's grandfather's suicide. This discussion triggers Clara's internal debate on whether her brother's criminal act was a result of madness or some other supernatural or even divine force.
Wieland, Chapter XX - Charles Brockden Brown (1798) - How does this chapter mark a decisive turning point in history?
Text commentary - 7 pages - Literature
In Chapter 20 of Wieland, the narrator experiences a profound revelation as they grapple with the shocking truth that Wieland, a man of gentle virtues and the brother, husband and father, is the perpetrator of a mysterious deed. This revelation, shrouded in disbelief, plunges the narrator into an...
El Cuarto de Atrás - Carmen Martín Gaite (1978) - In what ways El Cuarto de Atrás could be thought to open up space for political dialogue? - Detailed Plan
Text commentary - 3 pages - Literature
As part of a course on "The battle of memory in the contemporary Spanish novel", the document comments on the novel El Cuarto de Atrás by Carmen Martin Gaité. The novel El Cuarto de Atrás was written by Carmen Martín Gaite and was published in 1978. The work is a unique combination of literary...
Othello - Shakespeare (1604); Long Day's Journey into Night - Eugene O'Neill (1956) - The use of dramatic techniques
Text commentary - 3 pages - Literature
In order to hold the audience's attention, playwrights often incorporate many dramatic techniques into their plays. For example, in the Shakespearean tragedy "Othello" and the modern Eugene O'Neill play "Long Day's Journey into Night", conflict, symbolism and religious imagery are...
Dune - Frank Herbert (1965) - Studying a Pivotal Scene
Text commentary - 3 pages - Literature
In a pivotal scene in Frank Herbert's novel, Dune, the evolvement of Paul Atreides from a noble man of a desert planet into a prophesied Kwisatz Haderach undergoes a turning point. Transfiguration is approaching its critical point, as Paul, along with his mother, is subjected to a horrible...
Untouchability and Dalit women's oppression-Malik (1999); Domestic violence against Dalit women: A critical review- Vinutha (2014); Social Structure and Inequality of Dalits in Dalit Literature: An Overview-Gopinath (2018)- The Pain of Dalit Women
Text commentary - 2 pages - Literature
The narratives of Dalit women, often relegated to the peripheries of mainstream discourse, encapsulate the intersecting layers of oppression based on caste, class, and gender. Bela Malik's presentation of how the Convention against Untouchability and the Oppression of Dalit Women helps to...
Pizza Bomber: The Untold Story of America's Most Shocking Bank Robbery, Chapters 23-30 - Jerry Clark and Ed Palattella (2017) - Justice, Resilience, and the Complexity of Human Behavior
Text commentary - 3 pages - Literature
The last part of the book additionally marks the resolution phase as the collection of all parts of the rich narrative in the Pizza Bomber case. These last chapters give readers a full general idea of the details and consequences of the case. The following sections, which contain the early...
Village Infernos and Witches' Advocates: Witch-Hunting in Navarre, 1608-1614 - Lu Ann Homza (2022) - A Comprehensive Analysis of Witch Trials in Navarre
Text commentary - 3 pages - Literature
Village Infernos and Witches' Advocates: Witchcraft and Witch-Hunting in Navarre, 1608-1614, by Lu A. Homza, followed protocol diligently and studied the witch trials held in the Kingdom of Navarre during such a difficult era of cultural, social, religious, and political confusion. Through...
First Poem for You - Kim Addonizio (1994) - Complexities and Contradictions in Intimate Relationships
Text commentary - 2 pages - Literature
Kim Addonizio's "First Poem for You" is a captivating exploration of the complexities and contradictions that often arise in the early stages of intimate relationships. Ultimately, using the inventive structure and words, Addonizio successfully conveys the contradictory needs that the...
A Lesson before dying - Ernest J. Gaines (1993) - Reader's response essay
Text commentary - 4 pages - Literature
'A Lesson Before Dying' is a touching novel created by Ernest J. Gaines, a remarkable African-American writer whose works illustrate the lives of the rural Southerners in the era of segregation. This novel is set in a small Louisiana town in the late 1940s where the topics of racism,...
I heard a fly buzz -when I died - Emily Dickinson (1896); Death Be Not Proud - John Donne (1633); Starry Night - Anne Sexton (1962) - Perspectives on Death in Poetry
Text commentary - 2 pages - Literature
Among all the subjects researched, those of human life are always of the most significant interest, and none rivals the topic of death in terms of a captivating and meaningful theme. Through the lens of poetry, this essay delves into the varied perspectives on death as portrayed in three distinct...
The Great Gatsby, Chapter III, Excerpt - Francis Scott Fitzgerald (1925)
Text commentary - 3 pages - Literature
In this excerpt from Francis Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby, the narrator, Nick Carraway, offers a reflective account of his life as a young bond salesman during a summer in New York. After having described the dazzling and opulent parties held at Jay Gatsby's mansion, Nick now...
Walden or Life in the Woods, Excerpt - H. D. Thoreau (1854)
Text commentary - 4 pages - Literature
In the intricate labyrinth of literature that delves into the realm of human interaction with the natural world, few works have as much reverence and significance as Henry David Thoreau's "Walden or Life in the Woods." Written in the serene setting of Walden Pond, where Thoreau spent two...
The Bastard - Erskine Caldwell (1929) - What was the writer's purpose with the expression of violence in this novel?
Text commentary - 2 pages - Literature
'Where there is no human connection (...) there is no compassion. The isolated turn cruel in the forms of domestic and civil violence' here is a brief definition from the writer Susan Vreeland which perfectly matches the title character of Erskine Caldwell's crime novel The Bastard....
The Things They Carried, Ambush - Tim O'Brien (1990) - How does the past affect the present in this essay?
Text commentary - 7 pages - Literature
Perhaps more than any other group in society, veterans have a difficult and painful past. Some remember their combat experiences vividly; Some block them entirely. The Things They Carried, by Tim O'Brien (b. 1946), is a collection of short stories that are interdependent. All of these stories...
Great Expectations, Chapter 41 - Charles Dickens (1861) - Pip's Assessment of a Past Event
Text commentary - 2 pages - Literature
Published in 1861 and written by Charles Dickens, Great Expectations is the perfect illustration of the Victorian period. Through this novel, Dickens portrays different social classes in industrial Britain, and mock the aristocracy. Different styles are blended together (notably gothic and...
The Plough and the Stars - Sean O'Casey (1926) - How does the author show his political commitment?
Text commentary - 3 pages - Literature
As Pagans' character John from Thomas MacDonagh's play quotes 'A man who is a mere author is nothing' in 1915, most of the Irish writers, especially playwriters of the period are not only talented dramatists but also national-convinced activists, politically committed and often...
Runaway, Trespasses, Extract - Alice Munro (2004)
Text commentary - 3 pages - Literature
'Every man must define his identity against his mother. If he does not, he just falls back into her and is swallowed up' wrote the American polemist Camille Paglia. Everything is also a question of identity in Alice Munro's short story collection Runaway, published in 2004. The...
Romeo and Juliet - Shakespeare (1597) ; Snow falling on Cedars - David Guterson (1995) ; Photo by Annie Leibovitz - Forbidden Love
Text commentary - 1 pages - Literature
The topic of forbidden love is approached in each document. The first one is an excerpt from Romeo and Juliet written by the famous Shakespeare, a British poet of the 16th century. Corneille, Racine, Aristotle, and Horace are emblematic figures of this theatrical movement. The second one is a...
The Importance of Being Earnest, Act II - Oscar Wilde (1895)
Text commentary - 3 pages - Literature
'As a man sow, so shall he reap': a biblical saying that Miss Prism, as a good Christian, must have been taught at church. But to feel righteous, it is not enough to utter it as she does when reacting to the tidings of Jack's brother's death, it also takes to apply it personally....
Break It Down, Once A Very Stupid Man - Lydia Davis (1986) - How does the author convey a peculiar writing style and sense to her story?
Text commentary - 1 pages - Literature
As the American writer, Matthew Weiner wrote « Identity is part of drama to me. Who am I? Why am I behaving this way? And am I aware of it? », this quote could genuinely sum up the quintessential quest drawn from Lydia Davis's Break It Down short story, entitled Once A Very Stupid Man and...
The Figure in the Carpet - Henry James (1896) - The meaning of art and literature
Text commentary - 2 pages - Literature
The narrator, a young book reviewer, is asked by Corvik, one of his colleagues, to write a review of a well-known author's (named Vereker) latest book. Having read the review, Vereker seizes the opportunity, when he meets the narrator, to tease him by revealing that he has missed the most...
The Sun Also Rises, Book 3, Chapter 19 - Ernest Hemingway (1926) - How the Nothingness is Conveyed by the Author Throughout the Extract ?
Text commentary - 4 pages - Literature
Focusing on the lost generation, in the aftermath of World War I, The Sun Also Rises is mostly autobiographical. In his very first novel, published in 1926, Hemingway depicts the narrator, Jake Barnes, and his wandering from Paris to Spain. Jake is a journalist in Paris. We are in 1925 and he has...
Arcadia, Act 1, Scenes 3 - Tom Stoppard (1993) - Lord Byron was amusing at breakfast
Text commentary - 3 pages - Literature
In the context of Tom Stoppard's play, "The Rehearsal," the provided excerpt offers an intriguing glimpse into the dialogue between two captivating characters, Thomasina and Septimus. This passage, akin to a literary microcosm, unfolds as a verbal theater where the characters discuss...
The Hate U Give - Angie Thomas (2017) - What historical events and context gave rise to this novel?
Text commentary - 2 pages - Literature
Angie Thomas's novel "The Hate U Give" is not merely a fictional story; it is a profound reflection of historical realities that have shaped contemporary society. The novel, which centres on the life of a young Black girl, Starr Carter, who witnesses the police shooting of her unarmed friend,...
Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen (1813) - Money
Text commentary - 2 pages - Literature
Money, a theme that had been the focus of many novels over the last few centuries. No novelist, however, has mastered to approach it in such a unique manner as Jane Austen. During the Regency period, when wealth and status defined relationships, Jane Austen wrote and published her illustrious...
