Literature

Madame d'Aulnoy was one of the pioneers of fairy tales as a literary genre. She actually coined the term "fairy tales"—stories with fairies. Although highly amusing and imaginative, her works are almost forgotten today. Let's learn a word or two about her and the development of fairy tales.

In this article, I discuss some of the ideas that stood out to me most in Audre Lorde's "Sister Outsider."

D. H. Lawrence's "Afternoon in School: The Last Lesson" features a teacher, who dramatizes the uninspired performance of his lackluster students. The teacher has become weary from vain attempts to instruct them as they refuse to learn.

Published during the 200th anniversary of Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein”, Kiersten White takes an already beloved classic and reimagines it with more femininity and body parts than ever before.

This illustrated novel has topped both the adult and children’s bestseller lists. Folksy yet deep, I can understand why this unusual book is an international favorite.

The Dirge by Christina Rossetti is an intensely personal poem about grief and regret following the death of someone who has led a life too short. It compares the human life cycle with the cycle of the seasons.

This is my honest, spoiler-free book review of "The Ballad of Black Tom" by Victor LaValle.

Emily Dickinson's keen intellect serves her well as she allows her speaker to demonstrate a profound truth that is still today widely and tragically misconstrued.

In "I measure every Grief I meet," the speaker examines the nature of human suffering. The poem is long by Dickinson standards, filling out a whopping ten quatrains.

A line-by-line analysis of the elements used by Robert Frost within his poem "After Apple Picking" that give it depth and meaning.

The summer season often brings to the fore adult nostalgia. As James Whitcomb Riley’s speaker thinks back to a favorite childhood pastime in "The Old Swimmin’-Hole," he reveals that nostalgia and summer have become entwined in his soul.

Here is a (spoiler-free) review of a beautifully written coming-of-age story, mixed with Greek mythology, romance, and action. "The Song of Achilles" is perfect for anyone looking for a quick, easy, and engaging novel.

Recent events have had many of us wondering about plagues, conspiracies, and apocalypse. On a deeper level, though, we are really just seeking to awaken our life's purpose. But how do we do that? What is our purpose? Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth" explores these ideas.

Emily Dickinson's poem, "The Brain - is wider than the Sky," compares and contrasts the human brain with the sky, the sea, and God.

The speaker in Hayden's "Monet's Waterlilies" finds solace while viewing the artistry of the French Impressionist, Claude Monet.

An in-depth analysis of William Shakespeare's King Lear that scrutinizes how Shakespeare used what we know to be as a fool to show wisdom and how even kings can be quite foolish.