English literature

England’s greatest playwright and poet has influenced the modern world in more than just one aspect. The true impact of these works is immeasurable as they have inspired authors, plays and, most importantly, the development of the English language. He coined many phrases and over 1,904 words commonly used today. He had an extremely vast literary vocabulary consisting of 20,000 words; two to three times that of the higher educated men of the time. These pieces include an extensive knowledge of…

From the centre of modernity, dismayed by the world wars, with a sense of dislocation, and in a search for tradition, T.S Elliot, has remained a crucial figure in Literature and criticism. This essay aims to explore Elliot’s pursuit for tradition and order in response to the chaos of his society. The critical essay ‘tradition and the individual talent’ will be focalised on, to analyse Elliot’s scrutiny of tradition, and critics will be engaged to receive distinctive facets of the argument.…

Beowulf is an Old English courageous epic lyric. It is not known who composed it, and there is no assertion with respect to when it was composed. Gauges for the date range from AD 608 directly through to AD 1000, and there is no accord.What we do know is that J.R.R Tolkien, with the help of his son, translated Beowulf into a modern English version, which is way easier to understand. In addition to his translation, Tolkien wrote the award-winning novel “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings”.…

terms of literature, particularly fantasy and crime. For me, literature isn’t just escapism but a way of analysing the world around you, looking at what’s happening and questioning the norm. Be that subverting aspects of a genre or satirising all of society, there’s something special about the ways literature, and more recently, film, can analyse a something in such a way to make anyone who views it analyse their world also. The first book I read that showed me how subversive literature could be…

looking for a place to settle down until he finally stopped in London in October 1889 (Cantalupo). Here, Kipling was very unhappy due to his inability to fit in because of his Indian nature and mannerisms (Norton). Literature in London was unimpressive to Kipling compared to the rich literature in India. Therefore, Kipling’s work did not sell well in London. A very good friend of Kipling’s, George Orwell, said, “Few people who have criticized England from the inside had bitterer things to say…

The Flowing Source Literature, like any other field, has famous people whose names or works will never be forgotten. There are writers who are blessed with an inborn writing talent, and these people have a flowing source of imagination that does not dry. These writers can write without a source of inspiration, and they write without knowing writing skills. Also, there are writers whose imagination can help them to write every type of literary work, and there are writers that write for many…

within the country. Although these have not completely stopped, writers have been using all kinds of literature to resolve them one step at a time. For years and years, social inequality has been a rising issue for teens in America, yet the human population still fails to end it. Because everyone needs to bring awareness and realize the problems caused by social inequity, authors use genres of literature as a tool to help them accomplish this. To start off, there is a major problem affecting…

Greek Mythology has had a beneficial effect on today's literature, arts and even society. These myths explain today’s world and how things came to be. They also teach us relevant lessons about life through works such as paintings and poems, that go way beyond the paper and give us a deeper meaning. For instance, the story of Ulysses and the Sirens was a story of these irresistible sea creatures that men could not avoid. The myth showcases temptresses luring men in, and then leading them to…

We are surrounded by literature on a regular basis and it approaches us in many ways and forms. Often literature is presented to us as a series of words that simply fill the pages, words that contain deeper meaning which requires our own interpretations. Plato once though that books were not only “for mindless pleasure but an aid to bringing the soul-circuit, when it had gotten out of tune, into order and harmony with itself.” It is known that the great works of literature have had an…

the overhanging parts until they fitted exactly to his liking (Manguel, 132).” This is a faulty comparison as editing and torturing people have no relation to each other, though some may disagree. Manguel details editors as people who will reduce literature to a set of rules and tinge their opinion with their authority. He questions what they actually do as editors, since they have many functions, and brings into question whether writers are the only author of their work after an editor has gone…