Thomas Hobbes' Answer to Davenant's Preface to Gondibert In his "Answer to Davenant's Preface to Gondibert," Thomas Hobbes takes a stab at literary theory. He is prompted to write the reply because Davenant mentions Hobbes in the preface to the epic poem, Gondibert. Hobbes notes up front that he is hindered in two ways because he is 1) incompetent in poetry and 2) flattered by the praise Davenant has lauded him. These hindrances don't prevent Hobbes from detailing a general theory of poetry
own work, established (consciously or unconsciously) the fundamental guidelines and ground rules for the interpretive controversies that have followed. By creating a dynamic tension between his theoretical, essentially pragmatic intentions in his "Preface to Miss Julie" and his creative achievements in " Miss Julie" itself, Strindberg's e... ... middle of paper ... ...wledge our inquiry provides centers around the critical orientation of each voice sounded in the debate. Works Cited Henderson
of Victorian proprieties, but it is this very defiance with which has been responsible for the revival in the interest of the novel today. This factor is borne out by Chopin's own words throughout her Preface -- where she indicates that women were not recipients of equal treatment. (Chopin, Preface ) Edna takes her own life at the book's end, not because of remorse over having committed adultery but because she can no longer struggle against the social conventions which deny her fulfillment as a
known at the academic level, at the same time with the publication of two collective works. These works are: "Romanian Forerunners of Cybernetics", published in 1979 and "Odobleja between Ampere and Wiener", published in 1981. The former work has a Preface also translated into English that is signed by Mihai Draganescu and the latter being entirely printed in English. The Romanian also known on an international plane has dedicated themselves, with a great consideration and competence, the work of this
witness daily in our own country? I argue, yes. When one thinks of America, the thoughts tend to centralize around, "The American Dream". The truth is, the American dream is no longer an ideal that all strive to obtain. Instead the title is now a preface to a long novel of "dog eat dog". America is full of competition to reach the ideal of stability, family life, and security. It seems that the way many Americans attempt to gratify their dreams is to lie, cheat, scheme, and that is just the beginning
Picture of Dorian Gray was a remarkably well-written book due to the reaction of its themes by society. In the preface of the novel, Wilde introduces the opinion that "...there is no moral or immoral book. Books are well written or badly written. That is all." Numerous views can be taken upon this fastidious comment. Many would agree that Wilde is justifiably correct because the preface was written with the intention that his readers understand the deeper meaning of the themes than worrying about
Use of the Epigraph in George Eliot's Middlemarch The epigraph is an unusual, though not uncommon, form of citation. It is a part of the text yet distinct from it. White space and specialized formatting, such as italics, separate the epigraph from the main text, thereby challenging the reader to determine the relationship between the two. Unlike a typical quotation, which dwells in the midst of the text, illuminating one point in the argument, the epigraph's unique positioning prior to the body
exactly what fiction is and what it should try to accomplish (notes on literary-aesthetic theory). This point is emphasized in the preface of the book, in which Gardner explains, "Understanding very clearly what fiction 'goes for,' how it works as a mode of thought, in short what the art of fiction is, is the first step towards writing well" (x). From this point in the preface, Gardner goes on to state in the first chapter of the book that there are no set rules or laws that one has to follow when writing
sister through her difficulties. Once this book was published in 1961, it was an instant hit and made its way to the best-seller list. Over the years there were many critical essays written discussing Salinger’s intended purpose for this novel. In A Preface for “Franny and Zooey” John P. McIntyre explores whether Salinger’s main purpose focusing on religion was due to the fact that he wanted to prove that religion should be more spiritual rather then dealt with in society. After reading this essay, I
normal man. "Man is something that shall be overcome" is a phrase that occurs throughout Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra, a work which (it seems to me) most completely developed the idea of the overman of all of Nietzsche's books. (Zarathustra, I, Preface, 3) For Nietzsche, the vast majority of people have no value. This is repeated by Walter Kaufmann several times throughout his Nietzsche. At one point, Kaufmann, explaining Nietzsche, states that man's inherent value is "zero," and states that
are characters desperately trying to do what they think is right but failing miserably. The entire town is moving in slow motion toward their own individual explosions. The novel itself meanders along, like the Knox River. Russo says in the Preface, "What water wanted to do was flow downhill by the straightest possible route. Meandering was what happened when a river’s best intentions were somehow thwarted." This is what the population of Empire Fall’s has been doing for twenty years meandering
Women's Marital Rights in Thomas Hardy's The Woodlanders Thomas Hardy's novels focus on the difficulties of relationships between men and women, especially married men and women. In his preface to The Woodlanders, Hardy poses the question of "given the man and woman, how to find a basis for their sexual relation" (Hardy 39). With this in mind, the reader meets Grace Melbury, a young woman of marrying age, who is betrothed by circumstances beyond her control, to a man named Giles Winterbourne
something that was his only and he was that it was something that allowed him to live life with confidence in himself. Only when he was denied that way of life was he able to accept his fate of death. Robert Bolt comments on this on page 13 of the preface. “…who nevertheless found something in himself without which life was valueless and when that was denied him, he was able to grasp his death.” This shows that Thomas knew that he had a sense of identity that no one else and he knew how important it
Definition Essay – The Limitless Possibilities of Art Before attempting to define art in even the most abstract of terms, I must preface with an apologia, for any definition of art dooms itself to failure as long as it attempts to categorize together objects or actions which belong to no unified category. Where does one set boundaries to determine the limits of the category ‘art’? Mine will serve only to elaborate my own personal opinions as there exists no objective method of evaluation for
The Picture of Dorian Gray and the Seduction of the Reader "To reveal art and conceal the artist is art's aim," writes Oscar Wilde in the famous preface of his classic novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. One might find it a bit ironic the fact that posterity always has looked upon this book as being more or less an autobiography. Wilde was surrounded by scandals until his death, stirring the strict, Victorian society he lived in with his homosexual bent and libertine views on life. The Picture
matter: the words are at first imposing, but then revealing as their serious tone complements the complexity of the text. The pages are studded with footnotes, filling out this work with evidence of Brown’s exhaustive research. There is a three-page preface before the work, and, after the work, a seventeen-page bibliography, and ten-page index. Brown’s book is organized, like any scholarly biography, chronologically according to Augustine’s life. It is separated into five parts, each corresponding
behave. The tension is shown easily. "Before bedtime, I was in Jem's room trying to borrow a book, when Atticus knocked and entered. He sat on the side of the bed, looked at us soberly, then he grinned. `Er-h'rm,' he said. He was beginning to preface some things he said with a throaty noise, and I thought he must at last be getting old, but he looked the same. ` I don't exactly know how to say this,' he began. `Well just say it,' said Jem. `Have we done something?' Our father was actually fidgeting
of his environment, but his ability to overcome these seemingly indomitable obstacles has earned recognition from numerous classical writers and poets, including Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. “One of the real American Poets of yesterday” (Montiero, Preface), Longfellow elaborates on man’s perpetual struggle with life and nature in his poetry. In “A Psalm of Life,” “The Village Blacksmith,” and “The Rainy Day,” Longfellow explores many facets of man’s unyielding will. Born into a prominent family on
romanticism in the preface to The House of Seven Gables. According to Hawthorne, the writer of a romance may "claim a certain latitude" and may "deepen and enrich the shadows of the picture," as long as he does not "swerve aside from the truth of the human heart." The writer of a romance "will be wise...to mingle the Marvelous" as long as he does it to a "slight," however if he "disregards this caution," he will not be committing "a literary crime" (Hawthorne, House of Seven Gables, preface). Nathaniel
How Productions from 1720 to 1929 Close Shakespeare's Open Silences in Measure for Measure Prologue: Playtext. Performance. and Open Silences In the Preface to his edition of Shakespeare's plays, and even as he vigorously defended the playwright against attacks by other neo-classical critics, Samuel Johnson nonetheless also offered his own survey of Shakespeare's weaknesses. Among the more well-known and provocative remarks is his assessment of the endings of the plays: It may be observed