đź“ś Introduction The Rape of the Lock (first published in 1712, revised in 1714) is a mock-epic poem by Alexander Pope, written in heroic couplets. It satirizes a real-life incident in which a young nobleman, Lord Petre, cut a lock of hair from the head of a young woman, ArabellaContinue Reading
Alexander Pope (1688–1744) stands as one of the most important and influential English poets of the 18th century. Best known for his satirical verse and mastery of the heroic couplet, Pope played a central role in shaping the Augustan age of English literature—a period that prized order, wit, and reason.Continue Reading
Joseph Addison (1672–1719) was an influential English essayist, poet, playwright, and politician best known for his contributions to The Spectator, a daily publication he co-founded with his friend Richard Steele. Addison played a key role in shaping early 18th-century English prose and journalism. His writing style was elegant, clear, andContinue Reading
Anand Neelakantan is an Indian author known for his retellings of mythological and historical stories. Born in Thripunithura, Kerala, Neelakantan has carved a niche for himself by offering fresh perspectives on well-known tales, challenging established narratives and questioning the traditional portrayal of characters. Neelakantan’s literary journey began with his debutContinue Reading
Featured Image: Vikramjit Kakati, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Arundhati Roy is an Indian author, activist, and essayist who gained international fame with her debut novel, The God of Small Things, which won the Booker Prize for Fiction in 1997 and became the best-selling book by a non-expatriate Indian author. She has been aContinue Reading
Featured Image Attribution: Clinton Library, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Poems “Still I Rise”Continue Reading
“Still I Rise” is the title poem in Maya Angelou’s third collection of poetry, And Still I Rise (1978). One of Angelou’s most acclaimed works, the poem can be broadly regarded as an exemplary assertion of the dignity and resilience of marginalized people in the face of oppression, more specifically, a critique of anti-blackContinue Reading
Primarily, there are two women characters introduced in the General Prologue of Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales: the Prioress and the Wife of Bath. Critics have often categorized both of them as “misfits” – women unfit for the role they represent. This is obvious, considering the fact that the GeneralContinue Reading
Although the genre of the Canterbury Tales as a whole is a “frame narrative,” the General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales is an example of “Estates Satire,” a genre which satirizes the abuses that occur within the three traditional Estates into which medieval feudal society was traditionally divided. Referring to the hierarchal structure of the medieval society, theContinue Reading
