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The romantic tale of ‘Romeo and Juliet’, known universally as one of the greatest love narratives, portrays the amorous bond between two youthful “star-crossed lovers” who belong to quarrelling families. This play, composed over four centuries ago, has endured through time and is expected to persist. The bodies of work by Shakespeare have perpetually aroused […]

From the outset, Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ seems like a simple love story where boy meets girl, they both fall in love and without parental consent live happily ever after (or not in this case). It is not until we explore the different aspects of love and friendship when we realise that the play that […]

Sex is so intertwined in our society that it pervades each facet, including television, books, advertising, and conversation. Movies like The Matrix toss in gratuitous sex because the audience nearly expects it. Thomas Hardy’s The Mayor of Casterbridge, therefore, is exceptional in its lack of sexual situations. The subject of sexual motivation and its inherent […]

It is set in Wessex, a fictional representation of the south western counties of England, such as Dorset, Cornwall and Somerset, as this was where Hardy spent most of his life and to this area he gave the fictional name of ‘Wessex’. Wessex was the general name for which this particular part of England in […]

Although Hardy depicts the bleak existence of women in Victorian society, he also demonstrates a compassionate understanding of their struggles, indicating a yearning for societal reform. Hardy depicts the societal expectation for women in Victorian times to marry. Failure to do so resulted in being deemed inadequate and receiving disregard from both genders. This is […]

In Tess of The D’Urbervilles Hardy uses the theme of power to explore the different relationships within his society especially that of men and women . He illustrates how in a predominantly male dominated society , men hold economic and social power over women in different forms whether consciously or not. Hardy also considers how […]

During the Victorian Era, the mistreatment of women is a common theme in both Thomas Hardy’s novel Tess of the D’Urbervilles and George Bernard Shaw’s play Pygmalion. Despite their differing genres and styles, they both focus on this issue. Tess famously declares “Whip me, crush me” to highlight the injustice towards women. According to Hardy […]

I don’t think that Curley’s wife deserved her fate, because overall she was not a stone hearted person Like any other human being, all she wanted was some tender loving care. Every human being has a good side to them and a bad side Curley’s wife tended to show her bad side more often than […]

Alec and Angel are the principle male characters in Tess Of The D’Urbervillles, who have a direct impact on the destiny and ultimate tragedy of the heroine Tess. Hardy skilfully creates two complex and contrasting characters whose relationships with Tess evolve and mature in distinctive ways. I will analyse how their personality traits and temperaments […]

We first meet Slim on page fifty five, this is where the lines ‘he moved with a majesty only achieved by royalty and master craftsmen’ and ‘the prince of the ranch’ show how highly Slim is regarded by the ranch hands they use words that describe royalty like majesty, master and prince. Slim is not […]

The three stories all have very social, historical and cultural impacts on the women of the time. “The Withered Arm”, is about a woman’s, struggle to cure her withered arm and the jealousy felt by Rhoda who had been used by the farmer in the past and had born his child. Gertrude’s fear of loosing […]

Women’s reputations and their appearances were of paramount importance. A woman’s role during 1840 and after in society was to look very decorative towards men. In the tale “The Withered Arm” there is two main female characters Rhoda Brook and Gertrude Lodge and from the very beginning of this tale these two women are contrasted, […]

Thomas Hardy’s The Mayor of Casterbridge, Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter showcase the concept that an individual’s character molds their destiny. In The Mayor of Casterbridge, Michael Henchard is portrayed as possessing contrasting qualities; he can exhibit intense resolve or complete apathy. The consequences of a character’s actions can lead […]

There is great talk among the Heath folk of Clym Yeobright and how well he has done for himself after moving away to become a diamond merchant’s manager. We see people respect him and even though he has got an education people still admire him. He is seen as a hero figure but has a […]

This short story is based on two love triangles, at the apex of both being Phyllis, a secluded young woman who lives alone with her father, a failed doctor in an isolated farmhouse outside Weymouth. It is described as an “obscure island nook” which encapsulates the fact that there was no fresh work for the […]

The very title of Edward Albee’s ‘Who’s afraid of Virginia Woolf? ‘ has immediate connotations as to the relationship between the two main characters of the play, George and Martha. The well known nursery rhyme in fact goes, ‘Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf? ‘ As we find out in further reading of the […]

Little Father Time has just hanged himself and the other two children. Jude and Sue have just come across this scene of horror. Hardy cuts “upon the floor, on which was written, in the boy’s hand, with the bit.. . ” into short segments with commas giving the narration a breathless effect. It demonstrates Jude […]

‘Then the discontented wanderer is thrown back on himself – if his life is to become bearable, only he can make it so. And, on that spring evening, walking up the long, dark, murmuring street toward the boulevard, Eric was in despair. He knew that he had to make a life, but he did not […]

The narrative techniques that Frazier has used to present the journeys of Inman, Ada and other characters can be seen through flashbacks, premonitions, dreams and the meetings of unexpected people. The key element in this novel is how the two protagonist characters; Inman and Ada, both have their own separate journeys in individual chapters which […]

The extent of agreement with Kate Webb’s evaluation the political foundation of Wise Children by Angela Carter is questioned. The book revolves around the life, family, and communities surrounding Dora Chance. Wise Children involves multiple plotlines, ideas, and themes. Carter employs the conventional five act structure (or in this case, five chapter structure) commonly associated […]

The book “The Real Charlotte” incorporates a vast trove of insights on Irish society at the close of the 1800s. Co-authors Edith Somerville (1858-1949) and Martin Ross (1862-1915) – who used a pen name – were members of the Anglo-Irish Ascendancy aristocracy residing in Ireland during that era. Their comprehension of their own aristocratic class […]

“Impressionism is an emphasis on the process of perception and knowing, through the use of formal, linguistic and representational devices, to present more closely the texture, process or structure of knowing and perceiving. “Mansfield’s short stories, “Prelude”, “At the Bay”, and “The Garden Party” are all vividly Impressionistic. Throughout these stories Mansfield seems to create […]