Alfred A. Knopf Essays

Literary Analysis of The Swimmer Thesis: Cheever uses symbolism, imagery, and tone to convey the theme of narcissism and suburban emptiness during the 1960’s. Symbolism Pools Storms Seasons End of youth Decline Imagery Setting Characters Tone Conclusion: Cheever’s use of literary devices drives the plot of the delusion of suburban emptiness. Literary Analysis of The Swimmer The Swimmer by John Cheever was published in 1964. The short story show the reader the emptiness many experienced

Gertrude’s Speech on Ophelia’s Death Analysis This passage is from Act 4, scene 7, lines 163-183 of Hamlet. Laertes, hearing of his father’s death, storms the palace seeking revenge. Claudius, in an effort to calm Laertes’ rage, conspires with him on how to effectively kill Hamlet shortly before Gertrude interrupts with the news of poor Ophelia’s death. Laertes, heartbroken after hearing that his sister has died, seeks to mourn in peace, but Claudius insists that he and Gertrude follow him so that

A Comparative Study Of “A Mystery Of Heroism” and “War is Kind” “A Mystery Of Heroism” and “War is Kind” are texts written by Stephen Crane about the American Civil War showing the pointlessness and losses that occurred during that time period. Although both texts have similar ideals, they also differ substantially when it comes to making certain points. These texts are a prime example of realism, which is one of Crane’s most popular literary theories used. “A Mystery Of Heroism” is a short story

“The Possibility of Evil” and “The Truman Show” both explore how humane morals are easily traded for conniving manipulation until it backfires. In “The Possibility of Evil” the protagonist Ms.Strangeworth has absolutely no problem causing problems in other people’s lives when she sends them letters revealing secrets that are being hidden from them. This control she felt was easily done without regret until she got caught and someone attacked one of her prized possessions. In “The Truman Show” Christof

There are two poems that are being described: “Dulce et Decorum Est” and “Who’s for the Game?”. Both poems both focus on war ,but “Dulce et Decorum Est” is more focused on the harsh and depressing parts of the war. The poem “Who’s for the Game” is more focused on the more friendly recruiting parts of the war. The poems have noticeable similarities and differences through the poems. The poem “Dulce et Decorum Est” mainly describes the war as harsh, depressing, and fierce. This poem expresses suffering

Explore the ways in which war is represented in Shakespeare’s Henry V and a selection of World War One Poetry. In 1599, William Shakespeare wrote a play called “Henry V”. Within this play, there are two famous speeches that I would be exploring. This is “once more unto the breach” and “st Crispins day”. Furthermore, I would be exploring a varieties of world war one poems to compare how war is presented in different viewpoints. In Henry V Shakespeare ‘once more unto the breach’ speech, shows war

The Fish, by Elizabeth Bishop is a free verse structured poem that navigates readers through the writer’s vivid perception of a fish that she has just caught. The fish depicted in this writing was allegorical to one’s survival of life’s tumultuous nature that can leave one scarred and battered with harshfully visible remnants. The writer skillfully employs literary devices that create an overwhelming image in the reader’s mind of the true meaning behind the appearance of the fish. Bishop expresses

The poem of my selection is entitled War Is Kind, written by Stephen Crane. The title itself sounds ironic and full of mockery and I have decided to pick this poem for the analysis. I came across this very poem from a website, PoemHunter.Com which holds a significant amount of poems collection from famous and amateur poets as well as individuals all around the world. Amongst all the available poem, “War is kind” really intrigued myself. This poem consists of 5 stanzas. Stanzas 1 and 3 are five lines

The Vacuum is a poem about the emptiness of an old man after her wife died. Nemerov started by presenting the environment in which the old man lived in. He also pointed out that the vacuum cleaner was in a corner, seemingly “grinning” (4) at him. He then stated that after his old wife has passed away, she seemed to be inside the vacuum cleaner (8, 9), cleaning up the house whenever the old man used it. The poet further expressed his feeling of loneness by recalling his days with his wife, where she

In “the Raven,” by Edgar Allan Poe, he perpetuates a sense of gothicism throughout the poem by using literary elements along with structure in both his stanzas and setting. In the poem, the narrator is grieving over the death of his beloved, Lenore; as a result, produces a sense of melancholy carried across the poem. As the poem develops, it is suggested that he has little desire to mend his sorrow and would rather consume himself in melancholy. Poe carries out the gothicism throughout the poem by

We can quite clearly trace the poet’s emotional journey throughout his poetic works. One of the most obvious themes in his poetry is a longing for what has been lost; friends, innocence, life. His tone is often reminiscent and wistful, yet there is a constant underlying sadness that cannot be ignored. Though it is through these war poems that Ungaretti found his voice as a poet, it comes with a heavy burden. The journey begins with ‘Veglia’. The atmosphere of the poem is dark and intimate as they

There’s Always a Chance Seamus Heaney created his poetry from finding inspiration of the things he experienced throughout his life, one of his many quotes that I personally favor is, “If you have the words, there’s always a chance that you’ll find the way.” Heaney’s utilizes aspects of his life, through his ancestors, violence of his homeland, and Ireland experience to shape his poetry. In Seamus’ Nobel Prize Speech he states, “I credit poetry for making this space-walk possible. I credit it immediately

Explore how the poets present the theme of isolation in Funeral Blues and Mid-Term Break. Isolation is the state of being in a place or situation that is separate from others. The theme of isolation, escapism, disconnection and connotation of death are extensively explored in the poem Mid-Term Break by Seamus Heaney and Funeral Blues by WH Auden. Mid-Term Break is written in a narrative style as Heaney writes about the death of his younger brother and captures the emotions of the event including

Humility, Modesty, and Helplessness in the 17th Century The main central ideas in Tartuffe, by Moliere and The Rape of the Lock, by Alexander Pope is the role women play in the 17th century. women are the embodiment of humility, modesty, and helplessness. Physical and social beauty was very important in the 17th century. A woman had no say in anything. The two characters that represent humility, modesty, and helplessness are Mariane from Tartuffe and Belinda from The Rape of the Lock. During the

“Charge of the Light Brigade” by Alfred Lord Tennyson allows readers to engage in the poet’s choice of abstract language. While reading this poem, readers are obliged to find the real meaning of the poem by revealing the literary techniques used in the poem. Tennyson’s poem “Charge of the Light Brigade” demonstrates that we have to honour the soldiers who gave up their lives fighting in the Light Brigade. This was communicated through the poet’s use of tone,imagery and allusion.The poem contradicts

Before World War I, all of Europe in 1914, was tense and like a bomb or a fire was waiting to erupt. Europe had not seen a major war in years, but due to Militarism, Imperialism, Alliances, and Nationalism tensions grew high. Each country was competing to be the best by gaining more territory and growing in their military size and successful economies. World War 1 was waiting to happen and the assassination of the Archduke was the spark that lit Europe up. In All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich

The objective of this essay is to examine the female character Nancy Astley in the Television Series ‘Tipping the Velvet’ in relation to theories of modernity, feminism and the expanding city. Originally a book by Sarah Waters and then adapted into a television series for the BBC Tipping the Velvet is set in Victorian England during the 1890s. Nancy Astley is a young girl from Whitstable who works in the family oyster parlour. During an attendance at the local variety show, Nancy falls in love with

Nothing But Death Analysis Nothing But Death, The poem from Pablo Neruda translated into English and edited by Robert Bly. The poem presented about how the death looks like and about how the death appears around the human. There are seven stanzas in this poem and the techniques that appeared in the poem are Imagery, Simile, Metaphor, and Alliteration. The imagery is the techniques used all over the seven stanzas in this poem to describe the image of the dead with the materials the movement, and

The Importance of Being Earnest written by Oscar Wilde is an excellent play which has many underlying themes and suggestions especially with regards to the Victorian era, during which this was written. Many themes within the play are reflective of Wilde and his life, including his secrecy and supposed “double life,” his interest in aestheticism, his life pertaining the mannerisms and social etiquette during his lifetime. Today, Oscar Wilde is often remembered in part due to his well known homosexuality

adults and children, as well as the ways fairy tales can support children come to terms with their position in the social authority of their lives. Bettelheim, Bruno. "The Uses of Enchantment. The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales. New York (Knopf) 1976." (1976). This book explores how fairy tales have affected the way children develop by analyzing some of the well-known fairy tales to find how the uses of magic have shaped on people, especially children, think and understand the world. Bettelheim