How do you do literary analysis? You might begin by treating it as a conversation between you, the reader, and the writer’s words. After all, the story wants to be heard. Let’s start with The Yellow-Wallpaper.
Poetry as a Way of Ordering Experience: “The Music of Time” by John Burnside
Poetry can be a way to bring meaning and order to one’s life, writes John Burnside in “The Music of Time: Poetry in the Twentieth Century.”
It Was a Marvelous Year: “The Making of Poetry” by Adam Nicholson
In “The Making of Poetry,” Adam Nicolson tells the story of William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1797-98, when they created some of the greatest poetry written in the English language.
“The House of Seven Gables” by Nathaniel Hawthorne – Still a Fascinating Story
“The House of Seven Gables” by Nathaniel Hawthorne is more Gothic romance than ghost tale; whatever the genre, it remains a fascinating story.
Literary Analysis: The Yellow Wall-Paper Affects Us All
The Yellow Wall-Paper may seem like a simple story on the surface, but it’s actually quite complex. This analysis of the classic 1892 story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman probes that complexity in fascinating ways.
W.H. Auden’s “September 1, 1939″ – The Biography of a Poem by Ian Sansom
“September 1, 1939” is one of Auden’s most famous poems. But British writer Ian Sansom sees the flaws. His biography of the poem and the poet is marvelous.
Rediscovering “Great Expectations” by Charles Dickens
“Great Expectations” by Charles Dickens is one of his best and most beloved novels, one he initially described as “fine, new, and grotesque.”
What Made 1922 a Literary Watershed Year?
In 1922, everything changed in literature, as James Joyce’s “Ulysses” and T.S. Eliot’s “The Waste Land” brought modernism to fiction and poetry.
The Strangeness of “A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens
“A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens, one of the most quoted works of English literature, continues to speak to the human condition.
“Housman Country: Into the Heart of England”
Peter Parker, in “Housman Country: Into the Heart of England,” explains why “A Shropshire Lad” became one of the most popular poetry books of the 20th century.
Poetic Asides: Norman Nicholson and Frank Stanford
Reading poetry can lead to the discovery of other poets and their poetry, such as what happened when other poets led to Norman Nicholson and Frank Stanford.
Emily Dickinson and The Sea: A Poem of Transcendence
Is Emily Dickinson’s ‘I Started Early – Took My Dog’ really just about the sea? Or is it something more? This poem analysis argues for transcendence.
The Windhover, by Hopkins: Sound, Image, Meaning
What does The Windhover, by Gerard Manley Hopkins, mean? Closer to myth than allegory, the possibilities are layered.
Why Does Hamlet Wait to Kill the King?
Did William Shakespeare make a bad plot choice in Hamlet? Why does Hamlet wait to kill the king? To answer the question, one must understand the play’s nature.
Order and Disorder in Macbeth
In this classic Shakespeare play, if no one knew what the Macbeths had done, all they need do is look to the air, the earth, animals, sleep, and dreams. Check out this intriguing analysis of order and disorder in Macbeth.
Was Hamlet Sane or Insane?
Figuring sanity or insanity isn’t simple from the outside. Was Hamlet insane? That depends on your definition of insanity and the importance of love ties.
Tragedy and Comedy: Why We Love Them, What’s the Point
Why read tragedy or comedy—or bother to write either one? Psychology and neurology suggest they can change our lives, make us more empathetic, and help us cope.