Comparing Literary Works Essays

  • Comparing The Cask of Amontillado and The Interlopers

    619 Words  | 2 Pages

    Comparing The Cask of Amontillado and The Interlopers Literary devices are tools used by the author to help the reader understand a given literary work. Writers use different literary devices depending on their style and what they wish their reader to get out of their work. One important literary device that is essential for a successful literary work is theme. Theme is the general insight into life that the author shares with the reader. There are a number of different methods from which

  • The Fall of the House of Usher

    641 Words  | 2 Pages

    characteristics of the decaying house of Usher as a device for giving the house a supernatural atmosphere. This not only makes the story act upon the reader in a grabbing way, but it also creates an impression of fear, mystery and horror, typical for Poe’s literary works. For example, from the very beginning of the story, the reader can tell that there is something unusual and bizarre about the old house. As the narrator approaches the home of his long-time friend, Roderick Usher, he refers to the house as the

  • Comparing Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night and After a Time

    838 Words  | 2 Pages

    Comparing Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night and After a Time Dylan Thomas' "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" and Catherine Davis' "After a Time" demand comparison: Davis' poem was written in deliberate response to Thomas'. Davis assumes the reader's familiarity with "Do Not Go Gentle," which she uses to articulate her contrasting ideas. "After a Time," although it is a literary work in its own right, might even be thought of as serious parody--perhaps the greatest compliment one writer

  • Tracing Changes in Pythagoras' Speech in Ovid's Metamorphoses

    1389 Words  | 3 Pages

    myths, Ovid is not writing a religious manuscript.  Rather, the product is a work of literature.  Ovid is conscious that he is writing literature, not religion, and implied in his intention to tell "of bodies changed" is also to demonstrate how skillful he can retell these stories.  Ovid could have dealt with the metamorphoses theme in a philosophical manner, but philosophy seems out of place in this rich literary work.  For this reason, the speech of Pythagoras in book fifteen seems to be an odd

  • Signification Through Structural Irony in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales

    2175 Words  | 5 Pages

    a multitude of ways. Because of this structure of separate tales, the reader must regard as extremely significant when tales structurally overlap, for while the reader may find it difficult to render an accurate interpretation through one tale, comparing tales enables him to lessen the ambiguity of Chaucer’s meaning. The Clerk’s Tale and The Merchant’s Tale both take on the institution of marriage, but comment on it in entirely different manner, but both contain an indictment of patriarchal narcissism

  • Frederick Douglas

    5504 Words  | 12 Pages

    of these works does not remain as important as the quality of the works themselves. Frederick Douglass’ writing deserves recognition in the canon of great American authors, because his work meets the chosen criteria for inclusion in a collection of important literature. Douglass influenced many famous abolitionists with his literary works, and this impact, coupled with his desire to write an expose about oppression in America, makes him a winning candidate. Although his published works, mostly autobiographies

  • The Importance Of The Human Genome Project

    2751 Words  | 6 Pages

    grand hopes were born primarily of imagination. But when all the celebratory confetti had cleared, there stood defiantly amidst all the hoopla voices of reason. Molecular anthropologist Jonathan Marks voice was one of these. In an excerpt from his literary work What It Means to be 98% Chimpanzee: Apes, People, and Their Genes, Marks undermines the importance of the Human Genome Project and our genes, advocating instead a more rational and moderate view of them. By exposing three of the Project s flaws

  • The Darkness in Heart of Darkness

    2644 Words  | 6 Pages

      It is ultimately through self-knowledge that we gain the power to defeat our inner darkness, and all of its elements.  Just as everyone has the potential for evil within themselves, we too have the potential for true goodness.  In many literary works the author attempts to exemplify the evil which lies within by showing many characters which have been, or are being overcome by their inner darkness.  In the novel Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad we see how Marlow's journey into his

  • Technology is having an impact in the way we publish products

    3500 Words  | 7 Pages

    2     Overview of electronic publishing The term "electronic publishing" covers a multitude of things, which are in fact different in certain significant ways. Electronic publishing is the creation, publication and updating of literary work on an electronic medium. These works can include many types and formats such as novels, journals, magazines, encyclopedias, letter’s etc. The electronic medium that they are created, transmitted and stored on can be on magnetic media disks (standard 3.5-inch disk

  • Lord Of The Flies - Symbolism

    546 Words  | 2 Pages

    with a symbolic meaning or by expressing the invisible or intangible by means of visible or sensuous representations. In other words, discussing or explaining a broader, more general topic by linking it symbolically with a specific event in a literary work. The superb use of symbolism in the book is one of the contributing factors to the profoundness of Lord of the Flies. This book is peppered with examples of symbolism, but the ones that stand out the most are: The breaking of Piggy’s spectacles

  • Ezra Pound

    1354 Words  | 3 Pages

    wants a literature that resembles itself, fast paced and shallow. Society want literature that is direct and straightforward simply because people find it too "time consuming" to think for themselves. They would rather resort to the "work" already being done for them. Instead of experiencing the true beauty of literature and the arts, they would rather use "Cliffs’ Notes ("the classics in paraphrase")." As a result of various "time savers," the people

  • Blood Imagery in Macbeth

    1920 Words  | 4 Pages

    an imaginative tale of good and evil. Shakespeare brought about this transformation by relying upon “imaginative verbal vigor” that imbeds itself in the brilliantly concentrated phrases of this literary work. Critics have dubbed it his darkest work, along with King Lear. In his critique of Shakespeare’s works and plays, Charles Haines describes Macbeth as “one of Shakespeare’s shortest plays, containing just 2,108 lines.” He further states that it is a vigorous, headlong drama, a relentless spectacle

  • God and Man in Homer’s Iliad, Virgil’s Aeneid, and Dante’s Inferno

    1232 Words  | 3 Pages

    homage to his creator. Three of the classic literary artistic works of mankind, Homer’s Iliad, Virgil’s Aeneid, and Dante’s Inferno, feature—if not focus—on the deity or deities of the respective authors and their relation to the characters of the story in the interaction between the two and the worship practices of the characters. Although religion in general can and does serve simply as background material in a work, in most if not all literary works the inclusion of a divine being as a character

  • The Foils in Shakespeare's Hamlet

    699 Words  | 2 Pages

    Foils in Hamlet A foil is a minor charater in a literary work that compliments the main character through similarities and differences in personality and plot. Among all the foils in Shakespear[e]'s "Hamlet," [Titles] Laertes has the biggest impact on Hamlet's character. While Hamlet maintained his status as prince, it was Laertes that represented the well bred son of the royal family and the traditional revenge hero. [The thesis does not cover the essay.] Some similarities in Laertes and Hamlet

  • Free Hamlet Essays: Foils of Hamlet

    674 Words  | 2 Pages

    Foils of Hamlet In the classic play Hamlet by William Shakespeare is a work that has and will test time. [SS - 1] In this piece of work there are many characters that contribute as foils. A foil is a minor character in a literary work who by the similarities and differences in what the character does (compared to a more important character) or by simple [sic] being there for another character to talk to which helps the audience understand a more important character. [SS - 1] There are many foils

  • The Transformation of Gilgamesh in the Epic of Gilgamesh

    1766 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Transformation of Gilgamesh in the Epic of Gilgamesh In many literary works we see significant transitions in the hero's character as the story is developed. This is also true in the Epic of Gilgamesh with its hero, Gilgamesh. In this narrative poem, we get glimpses of who Gilgamesh is and what his purposes and goals are. We see Gilgamesh act in many different ways -- as an overbearing ruler resented by his people, a courageous and strong fighter, a deflated, depressed man, and finally as

  • Free Yellow Wallpaper Essays: Oppression of Women

    1089 Words  | 3 Pages

    Women in The Yellow Wallpaper The Yellow Wallpaper is a story, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Although the work is short, it is one of the most interesting works in existence. Gilman uses literary techniques very well. The symbolism of The Yellow Wallpaper, can be seen and employed after some thought and make sense immediately. The views and ideals of society are often found in literary works. Whether the author is trying to show the ills of society of merely telling a story, culture is woven onto

  • Doppel Daenger and Female Gothic in The Black Cat

    1696 Words  | 4 Pages

    time author, Edgar Allan Poe's literary works. By the same token, the category of the Gothic genre called female Gothic entails both female authorship and emphasis on psychological depth. Thus, Poe takes the two literary devices and in attempt of fusing them together for the purposes of creating a more complex plot, the author delves in the issue of the contribution and purpose of double characters to the Gothic plot. As Poe uses double characters as a literary device, interwoven with the use

  • An Analysis of the Characters of The Canterbury Tales

    2545 Words  | 6 Pages

    An Analysis of the Characters of The Canterbury Tales An interesting aspect of the famous literary work, "The Canterbury Tales," is the contrast of realistic and exaggerated qualities that Chaucer entitles to each of his characters. When viewed more closely, one can determine whether each of the characters is convincing or questionable based on their personalities. This essay will analyze the characteristics and personalities of the Knight, Squire, Monk, Plowman, Miller, and Parson of Chaucer's

  • A New Historical Reading of Billy Budd

    826 Words  | 2 Pages

    Historicism is heavily indebted to deconstruction. One of the most brilliant readings of Billy Budd along these lines is Brook Thomas's reading in Cross Examination of Law and Literature. As its name implies, New Historicism combines an analysis of literary works with whatever historical backdrop is deemed relevant or important to our understanding. The "new" in this historicism has to do, among other things, with the recognition that history (or reality) is itself a kind of construct (or fiction, if you