Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–1892) was one of the most important and enduring voices in English poetry. As Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1850 until his death, he helped define the spirit of the Victorian age through his deeply reflective, emotionally resonant, and stylistically rich verse. Tennyson’s work combinedContinue Reading
Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s poem Ulysses (published in 1842, though likely written in 1833) is a dramatic monologue that explores the restlessness of the legendary Greek hero Ulysses (Odysseus in Greek), after his return to Ithaca following the Trojan War. The poem reflects deep Victorian concerns with identity, purpose, and theContinue Reading
Aravind Adiga is an accomplished Indian-Australian author best known for his debut novel, The White Tiger, which won the Man Booker Prize for Fiction in 2008. Born on October 23, 1974, in Chennai, India, Adiga’s literary works explore the complexities of contemporary Indian society, addressing issues such as class struggle, corruption,Continue Reading
Chinua Achebe, a Nigerian novelist, poet, and critic, is regarded as a central figure of modern African literature and one of the most important voices in what is now known as postcolonial literature. His first novel and magnum opus, Things Fall Apart, occupies a pivotal place in African literature and remainsContinue Reading
Anna Akhmatova, born Anna Andreyevna Gorenko on June 23, 1889, in Bolshoy Fontan near Odessa, Ukraine, was one of the most prominent and influential Russian poets of the 20th century. Her life and work were marked by profound personal and political turmoil, making her a symbol of resilience and artisticContinue Reading
Of her fifth husband,Jankyn, the Wife of Bath has the most to say. She loved him, even though he treated her horribly and beat her. He was coy and flattering in bed, and always won her back. Women, the Wife says, always desire what is forbidden them, and run awayContinue Reading
The Wife of Bath’s relationship with her first three husbands in her Prologue serves the Wife’s purpose of describing the “wo that is in mariage” because of how badly she mistreats them. It also provides the Wife to air her views on the role and power of women in maritalContinue Reading
Based on the tradition of the medieval genre of allegorical “confession” where a personified vice such as Gluttony or Lust “confesses” his or her sins to the audience in a life story, the character of the Wife of Bath is exactly what the medieval Church saw as a “wicked woman.”Continue Reading
A. 1 “Experience, though noon auctoritee “Experience, though no written authority2 Were in this world, is right ynogh for me Were in this world, is good enough for me3 Continue Reading
In the General Prologue of The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer follows the tradition of medieval estate satire to portray the characters. Following the tradition, Chaucer both relies on and exploits the medieval social and hierarchal stereotypes. In order to achieve the purpose of estates satire, Chaucer offers an ideal example of each estate andContinue Reading
