The passage discusses the origins and evolution of love from the 12th century onward. It argues that the concept of romantic love was invented by troubadour poets in Provence and spread through literature over centuries. Love was initially an experience of aristocrats but gradually spread to other social classes through theater, novels, and other popularized forms of media like film. While women gained more opportunities as lovers through this evolution of love, society remained male-oriented, and true equality between men and women is a relatively new development of the 20th century.
Andromache is Hector's wife in Greek mythology who is a prominent figure representing the tragic fate of losing family. Throughout literature and art, Andromache is depicted as a passionate wife and mother who is desperate after Hector's death, becoming a symbol of the woman separated from her loved ones. She maintains her dignity and strength of character despite becoming a slave after Troy falls. Andromache represents an early step toward a more modern female figure as she is also involved in defending Troy rather than confined to domestic duties alone.
Habitability and Specters in the House of Language: Approaching (post)moderni...Margarita García Candeira
The document discusses the relationship between ghosts, reason and rationality. It argues that ghosts came to represent unreason with the rise of the Enlightenment, as empiricists sought to prove ghosts were illusions. It also discusses the link between poetry, desire and the poetic sign in Western culture. Finally, it examines the presence of nothingness in poetic language and how literature serves to continually name this void.
This document discusses situating Oscar Wilde's play Salome and Joris-Karl Huysmans' novel Against Nature (A Rebours) within the tradition of satire. It argues that both works contain satirical elements that were missed by initial critical receptions. Regarding A Rebours, the protagonist Jean Des Esseintes is analyzed as a target of ridicule, fitting the criteria of Menippean satire which focuses on mental attitudes. While Salome does not fit neatly into a single satirical mode, it contains humor through absurdity and non-sequitur dialogue meant for entertainment rather than didactic purposes. The document examines how both works may have been misunderstood due to wholly literal readings
This document provides a summary of several articles from a publication called Books Quarterly. It discusses novels by authors such as David Mitchell, Orhan Pamuk, and Graham Robb. Specifically, it summarizes interviews with these authors about their latest works, including Mitchell's historical novel set in Japan, Pamuk's novel exploring Istanbul in the 1970s-80s, and Robb's "adventure history" of Paris told through short stories. It also previews novels by several new British authors and provides an overview of the enduring appeal of detective fiction and some of its most prominent authors.
Aime Cesaire was a poet, author and politician from Martinique who was one of the founders of the negritude movement in Francophone literature. He was educated in France but returned to Martinique in 1939 where he taught and co-founded a literary review. In his work Discourse on Colonialism, Cesaire argues that European civilization is incapable of solving the problems of colonialism and the proletariat. He asserts that Europe lacks moral and spiritual justification for its colonial actions and the immense loss of life caused by colonization in Africa and elsewhere. Cesaire advocates for creating a new post-colonial society that incorporates modern productivity with the fraternity of pre-colonial societies.
Visualizing the Unspeakable Illustrating the HolocaustMadilyn Pflueger
The document discusses how graphic novels portray the Holocaust through rhetorical and visual devices like omission and contrast. It provides examples of how graphic novels omit details and identities to convey indescribable trauma respectfully. They obscure scenes of violence and erase faces to avoid reducing real atrocities to cartoons. Blank spaces and pages also suggest erasure and hopelessness. Through these omissions, graphic novels engage with the genre of Holocaust literature in depicting rupture and fragmentation of memory where language fails.
This document provides background information on Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, the author of Don Quixote. Some key details include:
- Cervantes was likely born in 1547 in Spain and worked as a soldier, tax collector, and writer throughout his life.
- His most famous work, Don Quixote, published in 1605 and 1615, is considered one of the greatest novels ever written and had a major influence on modern literature.
- Cervantes spent time as a captive in Algiers after being captured at sea by Barbary pirates, and drew on these experiences in his writing.
- In addition to Don Quixote, Cervantes published several
This document summarizes Peter Robinson's second Bateman Lecture given on March 30, 2016 at the University of Saskatchewan. The summary includes:
1) Robinson discussed Geoffrey Chaucer and his work from 1395.
2) He referenced a quote from Miguel de Cervantes' Don Quixote about history being "the mother of truth."
3) Robinson examined Max Harris' initial impressions of the poems of Ern Malley, who Harris believed to be a remarkable poetic figure, though the poems were later revealed to be a hoax.
Andromache is Hector's wife in Greek mythology who is a prominent figure representing the tragic fate of losing family. Throughout literature and art, Andromache is depicted as a passionate wife and mother who is desperate after Hector's death, becoming a symbol of the woman separated from her loved ones. She maintains her dignity and strength of character despite becoming a slave after Troy falls. Andromache represents an early step toward a more modern female figure as she is also involved in defending Troy rather than confined to domestic duties alone.
Habitability and Specters in the House of Language: Approaching (post)moderni...Margarita García Candeira
The document discusses the relationship between ghosts, reason and rationality. It argues that ghosts came to represent unreason with the rise of the Enlightenment, as empiricists sought to prove ghosts were illusions. It also discusses the link between poetry, desire and the poetic sign in Western culture. Finally, it examines the presence of nothingness in poetic language and how literature serves to continually name this void.
This document discusses situating Oscar Wilde's play Salome and Joris-Karl Huysmans' novel Against Nature (A Rebours) within the tradition of satire. It argues that both works contain satirical elements that were missed by initial critical receptions. Regarding A Rebours, the protagonist Jean Des Esseintes is analyzed as a target of ridicule, fitting the criteria of Menippean satire which focuses on mental attitudes. While Salome does not fit neatly into a single satirical mode, it contains humor through absurdity and non-sequitur dialogue meant for entertainment rather than didactic purposes. The document examines how both works may have been misunderstood due to wholly literal readings
This document provides a summary of several articles from a publication called Books Quarterly. It discusses novels by authors such as David Mitchell, Orhan Pamuk, and Graham Robb. Specifically, it summarizes interviews with these authors about their latest works, including Mitchell's historical novel set in Japan, Pamuk's novel exploring Istanbul in the 1970s-80s, and Robb's "adventure history" of Paris told through short stories. It also previews novels by several new British authors and provides an overview of the enduring appeal of detective fiction and some of its most prominent authors.
Aime Cesaire was a poet, author and politician from Martinique who was one of the founders of the negritude movement in Francophone literature. He was educated in France but returned to Martinique in 1939 where he taught and co-founded a literary review. In his work Discourse on Colonialism, Cesaire argues that European civilization is incapable of solving the problems of colonialism and the proletariat. He asserts that Europe lacks moral and spiritual justification for its colonial actions and the immense loss of life caused by colonization in Africa and elsewhere. Cesaire advocates for creating a new post-colonial society that incorporates modern productivity with the fraternity of pre-colonial societies.
Visualizing the Unspeakable Illustrating the HolocaustMadilyn Pflueger
The document discusses how graphic novels portray the Holocaust through rhetorical and visual devices like omission and contrast. It provides examples of how graphic novels omit details and identities to convey indescribable trauma respectfully. They obscure scenes of violence and erase faces to avoid reducing real atrocities to cartoons. Blank spaces and pages also suggest erasure and hopelessness. Through these omissions, graphic novels engage with the genre of Holocaust literature in depicting rupture and fragmentation of memory where language fails.
This document provides background information on Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, the author of Don Quixote. Some key details include:
- Cervantes was likely born in 1547 in Spain and worked as a soldier, tax collector, and writer throughout his life.
- His most famous work, Don Quixote, published in 1605 and 1615, is considered one of the greatest novels ever written and had a major influence on modern literature.
- Cervantes spent time as a captive in Algiers after being captured at sea by Barbary pirates, and drew on these experiences in his writing.
- In addition to Don Quixote, Cervantes published several
This document summarizes Peter Robinson's second Bateman Lecture given on March 30, 2016 at the University of Saskatchewan. The summary includes:
1) Robinson discussed Geoffrey Chaucer and his work from 1395.
2) He referenced a quote from Miguel de Cervantes' Don Quixote about history being "the mother of truth."
3) Robinson examined Max Harris' initial impressions of the poems of Ern Malley, who Harris believed to be a remarkable poetic figure, though the poems were later revealed to be a hoax.
This document discusses the difficulty in defining Victorian realism. It notes that while realism seems easy to grasp as depicting realistic or lifelike subjects, scholars have offered many definitions and realist novels often mixed realist and non-realist elements. The document examines explanations for the rise of realism, including responding to historical changes in the 19th century and exploring questions about how reality and truth can be known. However, it concludes that realism defies a single fixed definition and is best understood as a "syndrome" or collection of overlapping features.
Destrution of realism in GSV, by Allan EnglekirkMariane Farias
This document provides a review and analysis of João Guimaraes Rosa's short fiction in his later works Primeiras Estorias and Tutameia. It argues that while these works are set in familiar regional settings and feature typical characters, they depart from traditional realism through their transformations of characterization, plot, language, and narrative technique. Specifically, some stories question the nature of truth and reality and dissolve the boundaries between fantasy and realism, focusing more on abstract ideas than concrete depictions of life. The review examines how Guimaraes Rosa's works progressed away from mimetic realism toward more imaginative interpretations of reality.
Dickens' novel A Tale of Two Cities uses the historical backdrop of the French Revolution to explore themes of sacrifice, redemption, and the human capacity for change. The story follows characters in both Paris and London, particularly Sydney Carton and Charles Darnay, who are physically similar but lead very different lives. Through Carton's ultimate sacrifice by taking Darnay's place at the guillotine, Dickens suggests that meaningful change requires sacrifice and that all human lives are deeply interconnected. The novel also examines the dangers of social stratification and the cycle of violence it breeds through characters like the vengeful Madame Defarge. While celebrating the human spirit's ability to overcome oppression, Dickens condemns both the
Charles Dickens' 1859 novel A Tale of Two Cities is set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. It follows the stories of several protagonists, including Charles Darnay and Sydney Carton, as the revolution's violence grips France. Carton sacrifices himself to save Darnay from the guillotine, in a dramatic conclusion that highlights the novel's themes of justice, sacrifice, and the contrasting cultures of Britain and revolutionary France.
The document provides background information on William Shakespeare's play Macbeth. It discusses that the play was written between 1603-1606 and examines themes of evil and the possibilities of evil through the characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. It also summarizes that the play uses symbolism to represent good versus evil and order versus disorder. Shakespeare crafted Macbeth's character to be fully aware of the horror of his deeds as he is tempted by witches and his desire for power over Scotland.
The document is a collection of poems and passages about androgyny and narcissism. It explores themes of self-love, dual sexuality, and the blurring of gender identities. Some key points:
- The opening introduces the concepts of the hermaphrodite (having both sexes) and narcissus (self-love).
- Later passages discuss famous artists and their exploration of sexuality and gender, such as Michelangelo, Walt Whitman, and David Bowie.
- The work celebrates androgyny and the ability to love oneself through both sexes.
- Recurring themes include Spain, poetry, freedom and ambiguity.
The document discusses several themes from A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, including:
1) Resurrection is a major theme, shown through the rediscovery of Dr. Manette after 18 years of imprisonment, and the "resurrection" of Charles Darnay through Sydney Carton taking his place.
2) The French Revolution is depicted through its uncontrolled force, aristocratic mistreatment of peasants, and how it turned society upside down.
3) The novel also focuses on themes of duality, the preservation of family groups, class struggle and social injustice, and the interaction of love and hatred.
Charles Dickens was born in 1812 in Portsmouth, England to a lower-middle class family. His father's financial troubles led to imprisonment and Dickens working in a factory at age 12. He later became a reporter and began publishing stories anonymously. His first novel, The Pickwick Papers, was very popular and launched his career as a famous novelist. Some of his most famous works include Oliver Twist, A Tale of Two Cities, and A Christmas Carol. Dickens used his writing to bring attention to social issues like poverty, child labor, and prison reform. He died in 1870 as one of the most popular writers in England.
This document discusses how J. Sheridan Le Fanu and Bram Stoker establish suspense in their Gothic novels Carmilla and Dracula. It explains that they create psychological attachments to characters and imply the stories are factual accounts. Both authors note at the start of their novels that the events are true. Le Fanu presents Carmilla through a narrator who passed the story to a doctor. Stoker presents Dracula through multiple first-person accounts. Using relatable characters helps readers feel fear and suspense. Carmilla focuses on Laura, while Dracula focuses on sympathetic English characters facing the inhuman Count Dracula. Both novels feature the "other" invading familiar settings, heightening suspense.
The Last 100 Days by Patrick McGuinness depicts the final months of Nicolae Ceausescu's regime in Romania in 1989 through the eyes of a young British expat. While some critics argue the plot lacks plausibility, the novel uses its fictional narrative set within real historical events to illuminate the surreal and oppressive atmosphere of life under Romanian communism. McGuinness' prose conveys the isolation, decay, and paranoia of Bucharest during this time period through atmospheric details. The city itself emerges as one of the most compelling characters in the book. Overall, the novel offers a glimpse into the "deep darknesses of humans" through its portrayal of ordinary people navigating brutality and corruption.
The document provides an overview of the characters, plot, themes, and lessons from Miguel de Cervantes' novel Don Quixote. It lists the main characters including Don Quixote, Sancho Panza, Rocinante, and Dulcinea. It describes the plot which follows Don Quixote and Sancho Panza's adventures as Don Quixote tries to live as a knight errant in a world that no longer values chivalry. The themes discussed are perspective and narration as well as incompatible systems of morality. The lessons highlighted are to not be afraid to be different, have strong values, retain innocence, rediscover literature, and to not let failure discourage one.
Honoré de Balzac was a 19th century French novelist and playwright known for his masterwork The Human Comedy, a sequence of novels and short stories depicting French life after Napoleon's fall. Through keen observation and unfiltered representations of society, Balzac helped found literary realism by creating multifaceted, morally complex characters. His writing influenced many later authors and philosophers with its realistic portrayal of everyday life and characters' struggles against human nature and society.
A Tale of Two Cities is a novel that works on several levels. Most study it as social commentary about the French Revolution, but even those not interested in history will find it a book of interest, because it is quite possibly the most romantic love story ever told’.
This document provides background information on Charles Dickens and his novel A Tale of Two Cities. It summarizes that Dickens wrote the novel in 1859 based on the French Revolution between 1789-1799. The novel follows the story of Lucie Manette and her father Dr. Manette as they get caught up in the revolution while living in London and Paris. It also describes some of the major characters, themes, and symbols in the novel including the inequality between social classes, sacrificial love, and imprisonment.
This document provides a summary of the plot and characters of Charles Dickens' novel "A Tale of Two Cities". The novel is set against the backdrop of the French Revolution and follows the story of Charles Darnay and his love for Lucie Manette. Other major characters include Lucie's father Dr. Manette, who was imprisoned for 18 years, and Sydney Carton, a lawyer who redeems himself by sacrificing his life to save Darnay. The document outlines some of the major themes in the novel like violence during revolution and the possibility of resurrection or renewal.
Miguel de Cervantes was a Spanish novelist born near Madrid in 1547. He fought in the Battle of Lepanto where he was badly wounded, and was later captured by Barbary pirates and held as a slave for five years. After his release, de Cervantes struggled financially and held various jobs while beginning his writing career. He published Don Quixote in 1605, which became the first modern novel and worldwide bestseller, though it did not enrich him during his lifetime. De Cervantes died in 1616, leaving a legacy as one of the most important authors in modern literature.
This document contains an agenda for an English literature class that includes the following:
1. A countdown and discussion of upcoming assignments including recitations, exams, and a final paper.
2. An analysis of Michel de Montaigne's essay "Of Cannibals" which questions Eurocentric views of other cultures.
3. A discussion of how Gonzalo's speech in The Tempest echoes themes from "Of Cannibals" about an ideal society.
4. An overview of Shakespeare's sonnets including their composition, conventions like rhyme scheme and structure, and examples of analyzing sonnets.
Charles Dickens published A Tale of Two Cities in weekly installments from 1859 to 1859. The novel is set against the backdrop of the French Revolution and focuses on the themes of love and sacrifice. Some of the main characters include Charles Darnay, a French once aristocrat who renounces his family name; Lucie Manette, Doctor Manette's daughter; and Sydney Carton, a lawyer who sacrifices himself to save Darnay. Dickens drew inspiration from historical events but also used the novel to explore political and social issues.
Erotic literature has existed in various forms throughout human history. In ancient Egypt, treatises explored sex and positions. Ancient Greece had abundant erotic works due to lack of censorship, such as Aristophanes' comedy "Lysistrata." The Kama Sutra, written in the 4th century, provides guidance on relationships, citizenship, and decorating one's home in addition to sexuality. In the Middle Ages, works like Boccaccio's "The Decameron" and Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales" included tales of love. The 19th century saw increased censorship, but the 20th century struggled between censorship and social openness, seen in works by D.H. Lawrence,
Cervantes lived an adventurous life that included serving in the military, being captured by pirates, and attempting to gain favor at the Spanish court despite not being of noble birth. He found his greatest success with his novel Don Quixote, which is considered one of the most influential books ever published and has sold over 500 million copies. Don Quixote explores the decline of chivalry in 16th century Spain through the story of the title character, who tilts at windmills believing them to be enemies. The novel uses humor and satire to comment on various social and political issues of Cervantes' time, including the rise and fall of Spanish power, and can be interpreted as having both superficial and
This document summarizes Honoré de Balzac's connection to Ukraine in the 19th century. It discusses how Balzac dreamed of moving east and eventually spent almost two years on an estate near Kiev. He struggled with debt throughout his life. He received an anonymous letter from Ukraine praising his work, beginning a correspondence. The letter writer signed as "L'Étrangère," and they advised communicating through placing notes in a French newspaper allowed in Russia.
The dramatic monologue became a popular poetic form in the Victorian period, especially through the works of Robert Browning. It features a single speaker addressing another person or people, revealing their character through what they say. Modernist poets like T.S. Eliot further developed the form in poems like "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" where the speaker's identity is ambiguous. Contemporary poets, including many women, have also used the dramatic monologue to give voice to mythical or historical figures' perspectives.
This document discusses the difficulty in defining Victorian realism. It notes that while realism seems easy to grasp as depicting realistic or lifelike subjects, scholars have offered many definitions and realist novels often mixed realist and non-realist elements. The document examines explanations for the rise of realism, including responding to historical changes in the 19th century and exploring questions about how reality and truth can be known. However, it concludes that realism defies a single fixed definition and is best understood as a "syndrome" or collection of overlapping features.
Destrution of realism in GSV, by Allan EnglekirkMariane Farias
This document provides a review and analysis of João Guimaraes Rosa's short fiction in his later works Primeiras Estorias and Tutameia. It argues that while these works are set in familiar regional settings and feature typical characters, they depart from traditional realism through their transformations of characterization, plot, language, and narrative technique. Specifically, some stories question the nature of truth and reality and dissolve the boundaries between fantasy and realism, focusing more on abstract ideas than concrete depictions of life. The review examines how Guimaraes Rosa's works progressed away from mimetic realism toward more imaginative interpretations of reality.
Dickens' novel A Tale of Two Cities uses the historical backdrop of the French Revolution to explore themes of sacrifice, redemption, and the human capacity for change. The story follows characters in both Paris and London, particularly Sydney Carton and Charles Darnay, who are physically similar but lead very different lives. Through Carton's ultimate sacrifice by taking Darnay's place at the guillotine, Dickens suggests that meaningful change requires sacrifice and that all human lives are deeply interconnected. The novel also examines the dangers of social stratification and the cycle of violence it breeds through characters like the vengeful Madame Defarge. While celebrating the human spirit's ability to overcome oppression, Dickens condemns both the
Charles Dickens' 1859 novel A Tale of Two Cities is set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. It follows the stories of several protagonists, including Charles Darnay and Sydney Carton, as the revolution's violence grips France. Carton sacrifices himself to save Darnay from the guillotine, in a dramatic conclusion that highlights the novel's themes of justice, sacrifice, and the contrasting cultures of Britain and revolutionary France.
The document provides background information on William Shakespeare's play Macbeth. It discusses that the play was written between 1603-1606 and examines themes of evil and the possibilities of evil through the characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. It also summarizes that the play uses symbolism to represent good versus evil and order versus disorder. Shakespeare crafted Macbeth's character to be fully aware of the horror of his deeds as he is tempted by witches and his desire for power over Scotland.
The document is a collection of poems and passages about androgyny and narcissism. It explores themes of self-love, dual sexuality, and the blurring of gender identities. Some key points:
- The opening introduces the concepts of the hermaphrodite (having both sexes) and narcissus (self-love).
- Later passages discuss famous artists and their exploration of sexuality and gender, such as Michelangelo, Walt Whitman, and David Bowie.
- The work celebrates androgyny and the ability to love oneself through both sexes.
- Recurring themes include Spain, poetry, freedom and ambiguity.
The document discusses several themes from A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, including:
1) Resurrection is a major theme, shown through the rediscovery of Dr. Manette after 18 years of imprisonment, and the "resurrection" of Charles Darnay through Sydney Carton taking his place.
2) The French Revolution is depicted through its uncontrolled force, aristocratic mistreatment of peasants, and how it turned society upside down.
3) The novel also focuses on themes of duality, the preservation of family groups, class struggle and social injustice, and the interaction of love and hatred.
Charles Dickens was born in 1812 in Portsmouth, England to a lower-middle class family. His father's financial troubles led to imprisonment and Dickens working in a factory at age 12. He later became a reporter and began publishing stories anonymously. His first novel, The Pickwick Papers, was very popular and launched his career as a famous novelist. Some of his most famous works include Oliver Twist, A Tale of Two Cities, and A Christmas Carol. Dickens used his writing to bring attention to social issues like poverty, child labor, and prison reform. He died in 1870 as one of the most popular writers in England.
This document discusses how J. Sheridan Le Fanu and Bram Stoker establish suspense in their Gothic novels Carmilla and Dracula. It explains that they create psychological attachments to characters and imply the stories are factual accounts. Both authors note at the start of their novels that the events are true. Le Fanu presents Carmilla through a narrator who passed the story to a doctor. Stoker presents Dracula through multiple first-person accounts. Using relatable characters helps readers feel fear and suspense. Carmilla focuses on Laura, while Dracula focuses on sympathetic English characters facing the inhuman Count Dracula. Both novels feature the "other" invading familiar settings, heightening suspense.
The Last 100 Days by Patrick McGuinness depicts the final months of Nicolae Ceausescu's regime in Romania in 1989 through the eyes of a young British expat. While some critics argue the plot lacks plausibility, the novel uses its fictional narrative set within real historical events to illuminate the surreal and oppressive atmosphere of life under Romanian communism. McGuinness' prose conveys the isolation, decay, and paranoia of Bucharest during this time period through atmospheric details. The city itself emerges as one of the most compelling characters in the book. Overall, the novel offers a glimpse into the "deep darknesses of humans" through its portrayal of ordinary people navigating brutality and corruption.
The document provides an overview of the characters, plot, themes, and lessons from Miguel de Cervantes' novel Don Quixote. It lists the main characters including Don Quixote, Sancho Panza, Rocinante, and Dulcinea. It describes the plot which follows Don Quixote and Sancho Panza's adventures as Don Quixote tries to live as a knight errant in a world that no longer values chivalry. The themes discussed are perspective and narration as well as incompatible systems of morality. The lessons highlighted are to not be afraid to be different, have strong values, retain innocence, rediscover literature, and to not let failure discourage one.
Honoré de Balzac was a 19th century French novelist and playwright known for his masterwork The Human Comedy, a sequence of novels and short stories depicting French life after Napoleon's fall. Through keen observation and unfiltered representations of society, Balzac helped found literary realism by creating multifaceted, morally complex characters. His writing influenced many later authors and philosophers with its realistic portrayal of everyday life and characters' struggles against human nature and society.
A Tale of Two Cities is a novel that works on several levels. Most study it as social commentary about the French Revolution, but even those not interested in history will find it a book of interest, because it is quite possibly the most romantic love story ever told’.
This document provides background information on Charles Dickens and his novel A Tale of Two Cities. It summarizes that Dickens wrote the novel in 1859 based on the French Revolution between 1789-1799. The novel follows the story of Lucie Manette and her father Dr. Manette as they get caught up in the revolution while living in London and Paris. It also describes some of the major characters, themes, and symbols in the novel including the inequality between social classes, sacrificial love, and imprisonment.
This document provides a summary of the plot and characters of Charles Dickens' novel "A Tale of Two Cities". The novel is set against the backdrop of the French Revolution and follows the story of Charles Darnay and his love for Lucie Manette. Other major characters include Lucie's father Dr. Manette, who was imprisoned for 18 years, and Sydney Carton, a lawyer who redeems himself by sacrificing his life to save Darnay. The document outlines some of the major themes in the novel like violence during revolution and the possibility of resurrection or renewal.
Miguel de Cervantes was a Spanish novelist born near Madrid in 1547. He fought in the Battle of Lepanto where he was badly wounded, and was later captured by Barbary pirates and held as a slave for five years. After his release, de Cervantes struggled financially and held various jobs while beginning his writing career. He published Don Quixote in 1605, which became the first modern novel and worldwide bestseller, though it did not enrich him during his lifetime. De Cervantes died in 1616, leaving a legacy as one of the most important authors in modern literature.
This document contains an agenda for an English literature class that includes the following:
1. A countdown and discussion of upcoming assignments including recitations, exams, and a final paper.
2. An analysis of Michel de Montaigne's essay "Of Cannibals" which questions Eurocentric views of other cultures.
3. A discussion of how Gonzalo's speech in The Tempest echoes themes from "Of Cannibals" about an ideal society.
4. An overview of Shakespeare's sonnets including their composition, conventions like rhyme scheme and structure, and examples of analyzing sonnets.
Charles Dickens published A Tale of Two Cities in weekly installments from 1859 to 1859. The novel is set against the backdrop of the French Revolution and focuses on the themes of love and sacrifice. Some of the main characters include Charles Darnay, a French once aristocrat who renounces his family name; Lucie Manette, Doctor Manette's daughter; and Sydney Carton, a lawyer who sacrifices himself to save Darnay. Dickens drew inspiration from historical events but also used the novel to explore political and social issues.
Erotic literature has existed in various forms throughout human history. In ancient Egypt, treatises explored sex and positions. Ancient Greece had abundant erotic works due to lack of censorship, such as Aristophanes' comedy "Lysistrata." The Kama Sutra, written in the 4th century, provides guidance on relationships, citizenship, and decorating one's home in addition to sexuality. In the Middle Ages, works like Boccaccio's "The Decameron" and Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales" included tales of love. The 19th century saw increased censorship, but the 20th century struggled between censorship and social openness, seen in works by D.H. Lawrence,
Cervantes lived an adventurous life that included serving in the military, being captured by pirates, and attempting to gain favor at the Spanish court despite not being of noble birth. He found his greatest success with his novel Don Quixote, which is considered one of the most influential books ever published and has sold over 500 million copies. Don Quixote explores the decline of chivalry in 16th century Spain through the story of the title character, who tilts at windmills believing them to be enemies. The novel uses humor and satire to comment on various social and political issues of Cervantes' time, including the rise and fall of Spanish power, and can be interpreted as having both superficial and
This document summarizes Honoré de Balzac's connection to Ukraine in the 19th century. It discusses how Balzac dreamed of moving east and eventually spent almost two years on an estate near Kiev. He struggled with debt throughout his life. He received an anonymous letter from Ukraine praising his work, beginning a correspondence. The letter writer signed as "L'Étrangère," and they advised communicating through placing notes in a French newspaper allowed in Russia.
The dramatic monologue became a popular poetic form in the Victorian period, especially through the works of Robert Browning. It features a single speaker addressing another person or people, revealing their character through what they say. Modernist poets like T.S. Eliot further developed the form in poems like "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" where the speaker's identity is ambiguous. Contemporary poets, including many women, have also used the dramatic monologue to give voice to mythical or historical figures' perspectives.
William Shakespeare is considered one of the most influential writers of all time. His works such as Romeo and Juliet, Venus and Adonis, and The Rape of Lucrece explored themes of love, tragedy, and death. Romeo and Juliet tells the story of two young lovers from feuding families who fall in love and ultimately die to be together. Venus and Adonis depicts the love and seduction between Venus and the young Adonis, who is killed while hunting. The Rape of Lucrece focuses on the rape and suicide of Lucretia, which led to the downfall of the royal family. Shakespeare used these works to profoundly examine the human condition through profound poetry and literature.
Modern poetry emerged between 1900-1930 as a rebellious movement that allowed new concepts and writing forms. Modernism arose from transformations in Western society like modern industrialization and World War 1. It rejected religious and Enlightenment thinking. Modern poetry uses techniques like foregrounding to emphasize certain ideas or themes. It explores themes like the decline of tradition, poets as social outcasts, pessimism, and reduced interest in nature compared to earlier eras.
William Shakespeare was one of the most influential writers of the 16th century. His works such as Romeo and Juliet, Venus and Adonis, and The Rape of Lucrece explored themes of love, tragedy, and death. Romeo and Juliet tells the story of two young lovers from feuding families whose love ends in tragedy. Venus and Adonis depicts the goddess Venus pursuing the unwilling Adonis, who dies while hunting. The Rape of Lucrece focuses on the rape of a woman which leads to her suicide and political change. Shakespeare's exploration of these dark themes through poetry and plays demonstrated his profound creative genius.
PUN OF USING THE WORD ARDEN AS A-DEN OF SHAKESPEARE'S DRAMA AS YOU LIKE IT--Rituparna Ray Chaudhuri
http://youtu.be/ZWMb_rmZKsM ..PUN OF USING THE WORD ARDEN AS A-DEN OF SHAKESPEARE'S DRAMA AS YOU LIKE IT--Thanks in making the writing as a legendary-document.
Romantics stressed the individual creativity and the freedom to innovate. Romanticism focussed on the use of creative imagination and the importance of myth and symbolism
Based on the context provided, the goblins seem to represent temptation and sin. Their fruits are lushly described but consuming them has negative consequences, suggesting they symbolize forbidden or corrupting pleasures. Laura is punished for giving in to temptation and consuming the fruit, rather than resisting it as Lizzie did. While eating the fruit brought her pleasure initially, it ultimately made her sick. The poem suggests renouncing sensual temptation, as Lizzie does, is the virtuous path.
William shakespeare's the forest of arden cannot be merely a golden worldRituparna-Shehanaz
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Chapter wise All Notes of First year Basic Civil Engineering
Syllabus
Chapter-1
Introduction to objective, scope and outcome the subject
Chapter 2
Introduction: Scope and Specialization of Civil Engineering, Role of civil Engineer in Society, Impact of infrastructural development on economy of country.
Chapter 3
Surveying: Object Principles & Types of Surveying; Site Plans, Plans & Maps; Scales & Unit of different Measurements.
Linear Measurements: Instruments used. Linear Measurement by Tape, Ranging out Survey Lines and overcoming Obstructions; Measurements on sloping ground; Tape corrections, conventional symbols. Angular Measurements: Instruments used; Introduction to Compass Surveying, Bearings and Longitude & Latitude of a Line, Introduction to total station.
Levelling: Instrument used Object of levelling, Methods of levelling in brief, and Contour maps.
Chapter 4
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Chapter 5
Transportation: Introduction to Transportation Engineering; Traffic and Road Safety: Types and Characteristics of Various Modes of Transportation; Various Road Traffic Signs, Causes of Accidents and Road Safety Measures.
Chapter 6
Environmental Engineering: Environmental Pollution, Environmental Acts and Regulations, Functional Concepts of Ecology, Basics of Species, Biodiversity, Ecosystem, Hydrological Cycle; Chemical Cycles: Carbon, Nitrogen & Phosphorus; Energy Flow in Ecosystems.
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Text Books:
1. Palancharmy, Basic Civil Engineering, McGraw Hill publishers.
2. Satheesh Gopi, Basic Civil Engineering, Pearson Publishers.
3. Ketki Rangwala Dalal, Essentials of Civil Engineering, Charotar Publishing House.
4. BCP, Surveying volume 1
Chapter wise All Notes of First year Basic Civil Engineering.pptx
El amor en el siglo II por Joan Fuster
1. L'Amor - Joan Fuster. in English y Castellano
19 de abril de 2009 a la(s) 4:30
-¿El amor? Una invención del siglo XII- La frase, promulgada por un erudito respetable,
si no me equivoco, podrá parecer un despropósito. No lo es. Habría que admitirla en su
precisión más taxativa, la que nos sitúa delante del fenómeno social y cultural de la
poesía de los trovadores. Está claro que siempre ha habido amor, de una forma u otra,
atando las palabras humanas: siempre o casi siempre (desde que el hombre merece el
nombre de hombre). Sin salirnos de la tradición occidental, el Symposium de Platón y el
Ars amandi de Ovidio no dan fe con una espesa magnificencia literaria. Pero no todos
los amores son idénticos, Y habríamos de diferenciar escrupulosamente entre las
diversas especies o cualidades de amor que los hombres han vivido a lo largo de la
historia. No hay duda, al menos, que aquello que nosotros denominamos amor (eso que
inspiró a Beatrice y Laura, a Julieta y Desdémona) fue desconocido por la antigüedad
pagana. Como fue desconocido también, por la bárbara alta edad mediana. Este amor es
una creación de los trovadores provenzales, completada y pulida por los poetas italianos
del “dolce stil nuovo”.
Desde entonces hasta hoy, además, el amor se ha extendido y enraizado también gracias
a la literatura. No recuerdo ahora quién (un francés, seguro) afirmaba que mucha gente
no se enamoraría si no hubiese oído hablar de amor. Así se realiza, de hecho, una
medida mayor de lo que suponemos. El hombre y la mujer europeos, durante siglos, han
estado haciendo el amor, al dictado de los poetas, sin darse cuenta, naturalmente, y sin
haberlos leído. Que conste que no exagero movido por tomar partido por la literatura.
Hablamos de amor y no de la simple fornicación, ni del matrimonio institucionalizado,
ni tan solo de los nexos afectuosos que estas relaciones pueden producir y normalmente
producen. Los vínculos sexuales, la convivencia familiar, el afecto mutuo, no son el
amor. El amor, en tanto que sentimiento específico, como lo vemos en la “vita nuova” o
en “la dama aux Camélias”, como lo experimentan los protagonistas de las novelas rosa
o de las películas acarameladas, como se expresa en Petrarca y se dramatiza en
Shakespeare, es otra cosa. En realidad, el amor no se da sino rara vez en una dimensión
absoluta: los grandes enamorados son excepcionales. Casi podríamos afirmar que los
grandes enamorados sólo han existido en el mundo de la ficción literaria: los Werther,
los Romeo, las Karenina, las Manon, son seres de papel. Y cuando encontramos alguno
de carne y hueso, da la impresión de ser una víctima del virus literario. Pero si los
grandes enamorados no abundan, hay que reconocer que el enamorado (hombre y mujer
que practican moderadamente el amor) es un tipo habitual, aunque no lo fuera hace cien
años, y aún menos doscientos. El amor se ha propagado desde unas clases sociales a
otras, en una transfusión lenta y gradual. No hay que olvidar que el amor, en sus
orígenes, era amor cortés: cosa de aristócratas y parásitos de aristócratas. La poesía
provenzal, y el concepto de amor que elaboraba, fue, en un principio, patrimonio de
damas y caballeros y los poetas que tenía a sueldo. Después, el amor salta esta primera
2. barrera clasista, pero continúa ligado a minorías cultas, escritores y lectores, que, por
mucho tiempo aún, se reclutan entre los sectores acomodados. De todo eso,
evidentemente, llegan refracciones al pueblo. Pero la multitud descalificada no está a la
altura de esas delicias (ni de aquellos tormentos) sentimentales, fornica o se casa, y en
paz. “Ans he seguit delits comuns del poble”, escribía Ausiàs March, para manifestar
que se alejaba de la práctica de el amor selecto y refinado. El pueblo vejeta en unos
“delits comuns”, o se ajusta a la vulgaridad conyugal, regida por los intereses o por la
necesidad. Los grandes enamorados, los enamorados, se criaban en otras esferas de la
sociedad. Poco a poco, el teatro primero, y la generalización de la lectura más tarde,
enseñarán el amor a las masas. Los espectadores de Shakespeare podía aprender a amar
con el ejemplo de Romeo y Julieta, con Otelo y Desdémona. Los lectores de novelas,
cada vez más numerosos a partir del siglo XVIII, tendrán más oportunidades. El
Romanticismo fue la época en la que el amor consigue una fabulosa promoción
colectiva, por eso no es casualidad que hoy al amor se le llame “amor romántico”, en el
vocabulario de las personas ingenuas. El adjetivo está doblemente justificado, por un
lado porque los escritores románticos se especializaron en el tema amoroso y lo trataron
hasta trivializarlo en fórmulas estereotipadas; por otro lado, porque, en el siglo XIX, el
libro penetra en capas sociales antes impermeables a la lectura, y los panfletos efusivos
contra la burguesía y una apreciable lámina del proletariado. El cine, la prensa “du
coeur”, los reportajes de “romance”, los seriales radiofónicos, las publicaciones baratas,
acabarán de completar el proceso en nuestros días. En la actualidad, hasta los
prometidos más rupestres, cuando hacen su oficio, lo hacen a imitación de las dulces
escenas absorbidas en la pantalla del cine…”
By
http://carlampio.blogspot.com/2009/01/el-amor-por-joan-fuster.html
_________________________
O
_____________________
LOVE
“Love? A twelfth-century invention.” The phrase —pronounced, if I am not mistaken,
by a respectable scholar— might seem like a piece of nonsense, but not at all. Indeed it
must be allowed in all its rigorous precision, which brings us face to face with the social
and cultural phenomenon of troubador poetry. Clearly, there has always been love,
some form or other of love; binding human couples together, ever since, or almost ever
since, humanity has warranted such a name. Without moving outside the western
tradition, Plato’s Symposium and Ovid’s Ars amandi more than bear witness to this in
all their literary magnificence.
But not allloves have been identical, and we should distinguish scrupulously between
the different kinds and qualities of love which have been experienced by people
throughout history. There is no doubt, at least, that whatever it is that we still call love
today — that which was inspired by Beatrice and Laura, Juliet and Desdemona,
3. Margarida Gautier and Mimi — was unknown to pagan antiquity as it was also
unknown to the barbarous High Middle Ages and the inscrutable East. This love is a
creation of the Troubadors of Provence, rounded off and polished up by the Italian poets
of the dolce stil nuovo.
Moreover, love spread and took root thanks to literature. I can’t remember who it was
that said — though you can bet it was a Frenchman — that a lot of people would not
have fallen in love if they hadn’t heard about it earlier. This is quite often the case, in
fact, much more often than we think. The man and woman of the West, the Europeans,
have been making love for centuries, and have fallen in love according to the dictates of
poets without realising it (and never having read them of course). This is no
exaggeration inspired by a vested interest in literature. We are speaking of love, not of
pure and simple fornication, or the institution of marriage, or even the nexus of affection
that these relationships can, and normally do, produce. Sexual bonds, family life, mutual
affection, are not love. Love, as far as specific feeling is concerned, as we see it in the
Vita Nuova or La Dame aux Camélias, as it is experienced nowadays by the
protagonists of romantic fiction and films, as it was expressed by Petrarch and
dramatised by Shakespeare, is a completely different thing. In effect, love is only rarely
given an absolute dimension; great lovers are the exception. It could almost be said that
great lovers have only existed in the world of literature: Werthers, Romeos, Kareninas,
Manons are all beings of paper. And when we find one of flesh and blood, they give the
impression of being victims of a literary virus.
But, if great lovers are few and far between, we must recognise that the lover — the
man and woman who participate moderately in love — is a common type. A common
type today, though certainly not 100 years ago, and even less 200 years ago. Love has
spread from a few social classes to the others, in a slow and gradual transfusion. Let’s
not forget that love, in its original state, was courtly love: a thing of aristocrats and their
parasites. Provençal poetry and the concept — and feeling — of love it elaborates were,
in principle, the patrimony of ladies, knights and the poets in their employ. Later, love
was to straddle this first class boundary but remained a vassal of the cultured minorities:
writers and readers who, for many years to come, were recruited from the ranks of the
well-off. Obviously, reverberations from this were felt by the people. But the
disqualified masses were not up to such sentimental delights — or torments. They
fornicated or married and that was that. “Rather have I followed common folk’s
delight,” wrote Ausiàs March in the fifteenth century to demonstrate his move away
from the practice of select or refined love. People vegetated in common delight, or
conformed to conjugal vulgarity, ruled by self-interest or necessity. Great lovers and
lovers were nurtured in the higher social spheres. Slowly but surely, first in the theatre
and then in the generalisation of literature, love was taught to the masses. Shakespeare’s
audience could learn to love from the example of Romeo and Juliet, or Othello and
Desdemona. Readers of novels, more and more numerous from the eighteenth century
onwards, would have still more opportunity.
4. It was in the age of Romanticism that love achieved its fabulous collective promotion. It
is no coincidence that today, in the words of the ingenuous, love is called romantic love.
The adjective is doubly justified. On the one hand because romantic writers specialised
in the theme of love to the extent of trivialising it in stereotyped formulae; on the other,
because in the nineteenth century books penetrated social groups which had been
previously impermeable to reading and broadsheets and effusive versesinfected the
bourgeoisie and an appreciable part of the proleteriat. Films, gossip columns, soap
operas and cheap publications finished off the job in our own era. Today, even the most
unrefined couple imitate, in their courtship, those sweet scenes absorbed from the
cinema screen. They kiss, spoon and pet, following the canons laid down by the movies.
Films and love stories make up the sentimental education of the majority of the youth of
today, and all this has its roots in the twelfth century, in the intricate, conceptual poetry
of the troubadors.
The erotic innovation of the troubadors has, more than anything, caused a readjustment
of the place of woman in society. Up until then, a woman’s social condition was
characterised by the most definite marginalisation. The ancient world, the East, the High
Middle Ages, were exclusively male-orientated civilisations. In them, woman was
mother or whore, servant or vestal, wife or nun, object to be coveted or scorned, vessel
of iniquity or delight of men. Whatever the case, she was outside the frame in which
man — the male — placed himself. It was around the twelfth century that a new
possibility first appeared for women. It would take too long to give profound details of
the causes of the new situation. The fact is that it happened and its literary correlative is
the poetry of the troubadors.
Engels saw this most clearly. Courtly love has a distinctive profile, unprecedented in the
history of the relationship between men and women. On the one hand, it is a reciprocal
love, which means that man needs the participation of woman who, as a consequence,
will enter into the erotic world on almost an equal plane to man. Moreover, this feeling
ought to be so intense and lasting that both lovers — the woman, therefore, as well —
consider separation or non-possession as a tragedy or perhaps the greatest of all
tragedies. Clearly, this love was, perforce, a threat to the institution of marriage, a
conventional institution subject — especially in the ruling classes — to the
requirements of a most apparent family economic strategy. Every marriage was an
arranged marriage, and this tendency passed on from feudal society to bourgeois
society; and for this reason courtly love and romantic love always came up against
social obstacles. The importance of adultery in European literature, and in life itself, has
this as its cause from that time on. Love, authentic love, is put to the test in the
challenge to convention and vested interests: it either overcomes them or fails tragically
in the attempt.
Be that as it may, woman had doubtlessly gained, for good or ill, the new possibility we
alluded to: the chance to be a lover, to play an active role — whether fortunate or not is
another question — in her relations with man. Literature — a fairly reliable barometer
of society — provides us with some significant examples. Literary heroines of antiquity
are not heroines through any sense of love: Phaedra, Antigone and Medea are figures
who achieve greatness through some or other moral energy, and not for any sentimental
5. decision. On the other hand, Laura and Beatrice, Desdemona and Juliet, Mimi and la
Gautier, Emma Bovary, Anna Karenina and countless others are heroines through love.
The man-antagonist has, in both spheres, a symmetrical development: Oedipus, Ulysses,
Orestes have nothing to do with love, whereas Des Grieux, Werther, Tenorio, Sorel,
Adolf, Paul, Othello, Romeo et al., are basically men in love. This is true right up to the
twentieth century. In spite of everything, society — western society — has continued to
be a male-orientated society. The feudal lady in the first instance, the bourgeois wife
later, and eventually any woman, acquired the right to love against hell and high water.
Nonetheless, women in a male-orientated society, are never anything more than secondclass citizens. Man as lover needs them as lovers; only in the context of this necessity
are they equal to men. In the rest of her activities, woman remains relegated to her
centuries-old subjugation. Woman’s condition in law, as much as the pragmatic
evaluation of her, is one of submission. Man has always ruled — in love as in
everything — despite appearances.
The twentieth century heralded female emancipation. Emancipation is the word usually
used in this context: it’s not completely certain, however, whether it is the correct term.
Simone de Beauvoir denounced the confusion surrounding the female problem even in
the present day and does not accept that emancipation has truly been an emancipation.
Militant feminism, since the time of Miss Pankhurst, has advanced a great deal and the
incorporation of women on to the shop-floor has gone a long way to eradicate the old
male prejudices. Nonetheless, the pressure on women in today’s world far exceeds what
Emily Pankhurst and her followers could have envisaged sixty years ago. What is
important is not that women have the vote — which was, for suffragettes, the social
plenitude of their sex — the important thing is that now women have got rid of many
subjecting pressures, legal or otherwise, and have come face to face with man in a
position of real equality. Equality between men and women is these days relatively
tangible and, at this point, love begins to become impossible because courtly or
romantic love presupposed the marginalisation of woman. The inamorata may or may
not love. Her love, her amatory decision, is decisive; but it is only and always in the
context that it is sought by the love of a man. The male lover adores and reveres
woman. In love a woman as an idol — adored, revered — is no longer a woman. She is
not even a woman, but a mystification of woman. This is the cause of the crisis. We can
see it in the free and unencumbered behaviour of a sector of urban youth, which eludes
the intoxicating influence of the cinema and sentimentalist sub-literature. It is also to be
seen in literature.
Literature once again becomes our illustrative reference. Writers, particularly the most
wide ranging, are generally very sensitive to social variations of even the most tenuous
kind. In the literary output of the twentieth century thus far we can back up those
judgments. We observe, for example, a slight unwillingness on the part of poets as far
as the theme of love is concerned, which contrasts with their deliberate preferencefor
metaphysical or socially committed themes. You only have to read Valéry, Rilke, Eliot,
Claudel or Prévert, Aragon, Nicolás Guillén, Brecht and so many others, to realise this
is true. And when love appears in the writing of poets — Eluard, occasionally in Neruda
— it is the subspecies of mere sensuous exaltation. The same thing applies to the novel.
6. If the novelist can be bothered about love — for example, Proust, Joyce, Lawrence,
Miller — it is in order to reduce it definitively to the opaque mechanism of the flesh.
Symptomatic of this is the small space that sentimental tales — in the most noble and
accredited sense of the word — about man and woman retain in the books of Malraux,
Hemingway, Camus and Silone. When considered carefully, love has no more defence
than those instruments of mass culture we have previously pointed out: romantic novels,
films, soap operas. This combines with the chansonniers, French or otherwise, Jacques
Brel or Domenico Modugno, Paul Anka or Nat King Cole, Aznavour or Josep
Guardiola, who fill the airwaves with lingering small-change residue of romantic love
poetry. Novels, films, soap operas, singers...but they have their audience, and a large
one at that. Nevertheless, the end is nigh. Well they all know it; the maximum diffusion
of an idea or fashion coincides with the moment of its extinction. Love is in such a
state: the last and lowest stage. Our age is putting love out to grass. The time has come
to invent some other love: tomorrow’s love, which will probably not tolerate Don Juan
or Juliet, Bovary or Othello, Werther or Beatrice.