Literary Criticism Essays

With Shakespeare’s 30th sonnet, arguably one of his most famous sonnets, the speaker introduces a theme of discontent with life itself brought on by reflection of sad memories, which contrasts the theme of love present in the sonnets preceding it. This exploration of the new theme only lasts for a short while, as the speaker […]

Sonnets 50 and 51 paired together depict a theme of travel. Specifically, the speakers travels on horseback. These travels cause him great despair because he is leaving behind his beloved young man. Shakespeare begins the poem with “How heavy do I journey on the way”. Heavy is describing the emotional burden he feels as he […]

A Wallflower to a Participant The complexities of growing up can be overwhelming, but one must overcome the realities of the wild and poignant roller coaster of youth in order to live a sensible and productive life. The Perks of Being a Wallflower begins as the protagonist Charlie, starting his first year of high school, deals […]

“Headlights” by Marshall Matters, from his new album released in November titled Carpathians song 130, is a song that shares a common structure with William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 130”. Both authors express undying love for their significant others, regardless of any flaws. In the second verse of “Headlights”, Matters confesses to causing harm with past lyrics […]

By the side of this essays there is sink the growth a potential critical literature, better known as literary criticism led by Haziest and Lamb. The advancement of the literary criticism of that time was found specifically in different magazines and journals. Some of the journals were found to enrich with the writ nags Of […]

Michael Levenson’s Living History in “The Dead” is an astute and effective example of the New Historical method of literary criticism. New Historical arguments should emphasize a broad historical view and seek to identify the text within the context of cultural and political ideals of the time period surrounding the work’s creation. In his analysis […]

Comment that the sonnet 130 of Shakespeare is an unconventional poem. Most of the sonnet sequences in Elizabethan England were modelled after that of Petrarch. Petrarch’s famous sonnet sequence was written as a series of love poems to an idealized and idolized mistress, Laura. In those sonnets Petrarch praises her beauty, her worth, and her […]

Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 30” is a Shakespearean sonnet, composed of three quatrains and a couplet. In the couplet, the writer tends to take a different track compared to the rest of the sonnet. The change in this one is signaled by a single word—“But. ” This sonnet, like most is written in iambic pentameter. The entire […]

William Shakespeare penned down his most touching 29th sonnet, entitled, “When in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes”. This sonnet holds the subject matter of love. More particularly, this poem praises love. In the first quatrain, the author is in a state of melancholy and is treated as an outcast. In the second quatrain, he […]

This extract, written by William Shakespeare was selected from the book entitled Romeo and Juliet. In no more than forty lines, Shakespeare emphasizes the importance of religion in Elizabethan society and develops the themes of love and identity. The extract is part of the fifth scene of act 1 . Throughout this scene, the author […]

All of the above poems are mainly about love. They are about men and women about loving and caring for each other, but this isn’t always the case. Sometimes they don’t always get along well and could lead to break up in relationships. Love is a key aspect in many of people’s lives today in […]

Poetry aims to communicate an idea beyond the limits of language, relying on the poet’s introspection. The verses they create symbolize the state of thought rather than physical actions. The emotional dilemma of Shakespeare in “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?” is demonstrated through his internal conflict between love and lust. This Shakespearean […]

Love has been used as a central theme for many great works of art. From poems, to stories and even the plays of Shakespeare Love has been depicted in many ways and in many styles and moods. Love is usually seen as a brilliant thing but different poets and artists see it in different ways. […]

America. He has a purpose to come to Alaska to spend the rest of his life. It takes about two years for Mishandles to travel to Alaska. This paper alms to find the cause of Christopher Mishandles In abandoning his old life and starting a Journey to Alaska which led him to the end of […]

Analysis of Sonnet 64 When I have seen by Time’s fell hand defac’d The rich proud cost of outworn buried age; When sometime lofty towers I see down raz’d, And brass eternal slave to mortal rage; When I have seen the hungry ocean gain Advantage on the kingdom of the shore, And the firm soil […]

As literary critics, Plato and Aristotle have different opinions on poetry and also it’s social effects. Plato’s Republic is a work which is not directly about literature; but his comments on poetry determine his position to it. He presents us a view of literature in a mainly negative way. Unlike Plato, Aristotle regards poetry as […]

This paper addresses some the most prominent problematics of working with an established literary canon, including the extent to which, when implemented in universities worldwide, it represents the emerging concerns of diverse communities across the world. The main argument extended in this discussion is that, while the western-centred literary canon is being increasingly replaced by […]

“Ozymandias” is a sonnet written by the English poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. In the poem, the author meets a traveler from another country who explains that he once saw a statue of Ramesses the Great (also known as Ozymandias), and on the pedestal, the words “My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my […]

A Horse and Two Goats is a short story written by R. K. Narayan, one of the most prominent Indian authors writing in English in the twentieth century. Taking place in a small village called Kritam, this short story revolves around Muni, an old poor man without education from a low caste in the Indian […]

The First World War provides one of the seminal moments of the twentieth-century in which literate soldiers, plunged into inhuman conditions, reacted to their surroundings in poems. There were a number of famous poets who wrote war poetry, and a number of different reactions to war. Some poets approved of war, or found it honourable, […]

The text here presented is an essay written by William K. Wimsatt, Jr. which was included within his book named The Verbal Icon: Studies in the Meaning of Poetry published in 1954. The author introduces to us the concept of “The intentional fallacy” which describes the error of interpreting a work of art by second-guessing […]

All great stories have thorough reports from several different literary critics, what do they have to say on The Scarlet Letter? The Scarlet Letter in the nineteenth century is comparable to early twentieth century and late twentieth century criticism. Early nineteenth century critics think the story was a tremendous work of art. A “Review of […]