Literature Group at eNotes

Poetry is 'memorable speech' said W. H. Auden. The handing down to...

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 22:06:57 PST

Poetry is 'memorable speech' said W. H. Auden. The handing down to posterity has always been considered as a high-art criterion. From Matthew Arnold's classification of Literature of Knowledge and Literature of Power and even before, universality is held up as the hallmark of great literature, great poetry included. The truths presented to by a great poem are always of a general and timeless nature, even if it is a context-bound and specific...

With such people as Atticus Finch and Miss Maudie Atkinson and...

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 21:36:15 PST

With such people as Atticus Finch and Miss Maudie Atkinson and Calpurinia as models of tolerance and courage, it would seem that a responsible person would have respect for property and for others as well as him/herself. The first chapter of "To Kill a Mockingbird" exemplifies in the microcosm of the school, the types of characters who are responsible and who are not. Worst among these is Burris Ewell who comes to school filthy. In...

I have read "Great Expectations" countless times and thoroughly enjoyed...

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 20:58:14 PST

I have read "Great Expectations" countless times and thoroughly enjoyed the book. The reason Charles Dickens titled it so was because Pip had had a hard life in so short a lifetime, and when he supposedly came into good fortune, he had high hopes of a better life--an education, a good home, plenty to eat, nice clothes to wear. But the greatest hope of all was the love of Estella, who spurned him constantly. It was always his greatest...

Explain what a person needs to do in order to "act responsibly" in the...

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 20:45:36 PST

Explain what a person needs to do in order to "act responsibly" in the 1930's in Maycomb, Alabama.

What significance does the novel's title 'Great Expectations' have for...

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 20:15:28 PST

What significance does the novel's title 'Great Expectations' have for the story?

In the short story "Composition: Double Exposure" by Silver Donald...

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 18:50:02 PST

In the short story "Composition: Double Exposure" by Silver Donald Cameron, what is the speaker's voice?

Even though this is very broad in nature, I think there is much here to...

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 16:26:47 PST

Even though this is very broad in nature, I think there is much here to analyze in a free and open manner. You might also find many responses to it. Some of them might be divergent from "traditional answers." This would be where mine resides. I think one of the most interesting aspects of poetry which can be passed down is the use of imagery in poems to illuminate different valences of experience. The idea of truth being a "mobile...

What of poetry is generally passed down from generation to generation?

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 16:13:13 PST

What of poetry is generally passed down from generation to generation?

what is the irony in the story "Wine in the Desert" by Max Brand?

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 13:29:29 PST

what is the irony in the story "Wine in the Desert" by Max Brand?

Who is the narrator Lizabeth of Marigolds speaking to when she writes...

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 07:40:23 PST

Who is the narrator Lizabeth of Marigolds speaking to when she writes "...as I desperately pass away the time waiting for you, who will not come."?

That's a very interesting question. Literature, from where I'm...

Sun, 8 Nov 2009 18:13:47 PST

That's a very interesting question. Literature, from where I'm standing, has two purposes: to entertain and enlighten. The two can sometimes be found together but are often found in separate pieces. To expound on that a bit, think about the novel rack down at the 7-Eleven. These books, by and large, were not written to blow your mind with philosophical insights. This books were meant to be a good read on the bus, or an entertaining way...

How about, "You already know what is on this CD." ;)

Sun, 8 Nov 2009 17:53:51 PST

How about, "You already know what is on this CD." ;)

it depends, no matter u called it is function or is socializing, in my...

Sun, 8 Nov 2009 17:40:15 PST

it depends, no matter u called it is function or is socializing, in my view, the main purpose is about communication. communicate w/human soul.............

What is the function of literature, and is it a socializing or...

Sun, 8 Nov 2009 17:34:02 PST

What is the function of literature, and is it a socializing or individuating force?

The word 'imagery' is not just a plural form of the word 'image'....

Sun, 8 Nov 2009 11:32:44 PST

The word 'imagery' is not just a plural form of the word 'image'. Generally the word 'imagery' is used to signify not only multiplicity but also order and design. It refers to an organized and deliberate use of images in a text by the author of the text whereby his or her purpose lies in communicating something on the whole. That is to say, the concerned set of images would have a lot in common in terms of content, structure, idea and mood. It...

African English Literature is literature of and about Africa written in...

Sat, 7 Nov 2009 23:29:23 PST

African English Literature is literature of and about Africa written in English. There has been much debate since 1963 whether literature written in English constituted African literature. In 1963, in Uganda, many critics and famous African writers gathered to clarify what is African English Literature. What instigated the gathering was an essay by Obi Wali entitled, "The Dead End of African Literature" (1963), where he stated that African...

what are the basic characteristics of african english literature

Sat, 7 Nov 2009 22:34:21 PST

what are the basic characteristics of african english literature

Two Indian sisters start at an anglo-indian day school where the...

Sat, 7 Nov 2009 21:51:54 PST

Two Indian sisters start at an anglo-indian day school where the headmistress gives them anglo names,Pamela and Cynthia. The little girl doesn't mind because she is only five and completley disassociates between her real "Indian" self and the Cynthia, "anglo-named" self. The school mostly consists of anglo children. The anglo children want nothing to do with the Indian children. The few Indian children in their class sit in the back of the...

please summary the story 'by any other name 'by santha rama rau.

Sat, 7 Nov 2009 21:22:18 PST

please summary the story 'by any other name 'by santha rama rau.

Vowel is a single sound of a particular type - it is an open sound which...

Sat, 7 Nov 2009 18:31:50 PST

Vowel is a single sound of a particular type - it is an open sound which is made with free passage of breath. For example the sound of "ah...' a doctor asks you to make when examining your throat. Articulation of a vowel is not accompanied by any closure or narrowing in the speech tract which would prevent the escape of the air stream through the mouth. In English language sounds of vowels are represented by the letters a, e, i, o, u, and...