siobhain m cullen
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About
Hi all, I love Literature,particularly Nature Poetry,Prose and Shakespeare and look forward to sharing my passion for English with you. I enjoy too many to mention here, but special mention must be given to Seamus Heaney, Gerard Manley Hopkins,D H Lawrence, Shakespeare,John McGahern, Emily Bronte and Ted Hughes.
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Recent Activity
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Answered a Question in Macbeth
One of the first conventions to break down in the society represented in the playMacbeth by William Shakespeare, is that of social etiquette and aristocratic courtesy. In Shakespeare's time and... -
Answered a Question in Othello
Othello's reference to "goats and monkeys" in Shakespeare's play is a sign that his mind is beginning to break down - he is treating his own wife, a girl that he has no reason to think is not... -
Answered a Question in Othello
"I am not what I am" is a quotation from Iago in Act 1 Scene 1 of the play Othello by William Shakespeare, and shows us right from the very start that we should not trust him, or anything he says... -
Answered a Question in Of Mice and Men
The friendship that George and Lennie have in the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is a relationship of inter-dependence. Each has qualities that the other one needs, and each has frailties... -
Answered a Question in The Gift of the Magi
Another theme in the short story "Gift of the Magi" is that of secrecy, particularly in giving. Part of Jim and Della's reasoning in keeping the gifts secret is of course the element of surprise.... -
Answered a Question in Araby
In the short story "Araby" from the collection "Dubliners" by James Joyce, it is also important to consider how the political atmosphere of the time pervades the Dublin city setting. Ireland at... -
Answered a Question in Macbeth
In discussing the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare in terms of characters and deeds it is difficult to separate the two. Psychologically and spiritually it is a bit of a Chicken Or Egg scenario.... -
Answered a Question in Poetry
The poet William Wordsworth is a good choice for English assignments and essays on traditional English poetry because this poet displays all the characteristics of the genre of English Romantic... -
Answered a Question in I'm Nobody! Who Are You?
In the poem "I am nobody, who are you?" Emily Dickinson takes a tongue-in-cheek look at the idea of collective voice versus minority voice. Her tone is cheeky and confident in the sense that she is... -
Answered a Question in Romeo and Juliet
In the play "Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, the author explores young love through the theme of Fate - and how they are both it's mercy and the mercy of those who are supposed to be... -
Answered a Question in Essays
Perhaps you could choose something very topical for your thesis to tie American Literature in with events today. I am thinking of the global credit crunh, the recession, umemployment and health... -
Answered a Question in The Cask of Amontillado
An unfortuante person who has suffered injustice or cruel treatment in childhood can sometimes grow up to inflict pain on others, but this can only ever explain their evil actions, not justify or... -
Answered a Question in Romeo and Juliet
In the play "Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, the author is preparing the Elizabethan audience for the gruesome events later on in the action. The beauty, warmth and softness of the... -
Answered a Question in The Necklace
In the short story "The Necklace" by Guy De Maupassant, the author also begins with a dilemma. This dilemma is whether Mathilde Loisel should go to the Ball or not. Clearly she hovers and... -
Answered a Question in The Necklace
In the short story "The Necklace" by Guy De Maupassant , the author sets out the way in which there is a total sea-change in the mindset of the young couple who lose the 'diamond' necklace before... -
Answered a Question in Othello
In the play "Othello" by William Shakespeare, the author gets the audience attention right away with a commotion in the streets. We can imagine the dark ancient moonless street, most windows... -
Answered a Question in Literary Criticism
It would be challenging to try to teach English Literature without some knowledge of Literary Criticism. Although it is perfectly possible for any literate person to enjoy a classic short story for... -
Answered a Question in The Necklace
In the short story "The Necklace" by Guy De Maupassant, the authors sketches for us the development of a dynamic character in Mathilde Loisel. When we first heasr about her, there is nothing much... -
Answered a Question in Sonnet 18
The danger of introductions for many students, is that they start out well and fluently, with great intentions and having read all the background research - and end up by writing the whole essay!... -
Answered a Question in The Rocking-Horse Winner
Another significant turning point in the short story "The Rocking Horse Winner" by D.H. Lawrence is later on, when the boy starts to behave in an out-of-control sort of way. Even though this... -
Answered a Question in The Catcher in the Rye
I think the word "phoney" pretty much sums up what Holden Caulfield thinks about most everyone he meets in the novel "Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger - both in school and out of it (Allie,... -
Answered a Question in Because I could not stop for Death—
I have a third interpretation of the poem from where I stand. To me, the poem "Because I Could Not Stop For Death" by Emily Dickinson is a lot about control issues. By all accounts, the poet... -
Answered a Question in The Solitary Reaper
A strong theme in the poem "The Solitary Reaper" by William Wordsworth is that of regret. Although neither we, nor the poet, can understand the poignant words the solitary woman is singing, her... -
Answered a Question in Sonnet 18
In Shakespeare's time there was not really such a season as spring as we know it now, so summer was joyfully celebrated much earlier - in March!, probably in the time we now know as spring. So to... -
Answered a Question in Poetry
The purpose of imagery in poetry is to help get the poet's message across in language that is strong, vivid and very visual. The poet will use words to create images in our heads that help us to... -
Answered a Question in A Rose for Emily
In the short story "A Rose For Emily" by William Faulkner, the author shows us how Miss Emily's relatives were sent for. However, it is important to note that it is the women of the town who send... -
Answered a Question in Ode to a Nightingale
In the poem "Ode to a Nightingale" by John Keats, the poet expresses a Romantic nostalgia for the past and alludes to it several times. He ties this in with ideas of beauty, joy, calm and pastoral... -
Answered a Question in The Catcher in the Rye
One piece of personal property that Holden Caulfield seems to be attached to in the novel "Catcher in the Rye" is his hat, so it can be seen as a symbol as it is so closely identified with him and... -
Answered a Question in Lord of the Flies
In the novel "Lord of the Flies" the author,William Golding, seems to pick a stereotypical image of an unpopular boy for us to observe with particular detail. He has all the usual attributes of the... -
Answered a Question in Literary Terms
When thinking of personification ideas for writing about tennis, it helps to use all five senses, and perhaps to concentrate on the main props of the game, such as the raquet, the ball, the net... -
Answered a Question in Geoffrey Chaucer
In the "Canterbury Tales" Geoffrey Chaucer describes an age that was much different to our own modern one in terms of social practices, customs and beliefs - and his depiction of them makes very... -
Answered a Question in Lord of the Flies
If I was one of the boys on the island who were Jack's supporters, then I would probably represent one of those who celebrate "the darkness of men's hearts" that Jack and his cronies celebrate,... -
Answered a Question in Macbeth
In the play "Macbeth" by William Shakespeare, the author shows us a man whose actions go out of control - towards the end of the play it is difficult to see how much of this is Fate or destiny and... -
Answered a Question in Macbeth
In the play "Macbeth" by William Shakespeare, Lady Macbeth reacts with surprise when Macbeth lets her down by his disinhibition at the banquet - the author shows how as the Act and Macbeth's... -
Answered a Question in My Heart Leaps Up When I Behold
From ny point of view (as poetry is so subjective) the line in the poem "My Heart Leaps Up" by William Wordsworth is the line "The Child is Father of the Man." The poet is saying that childhood is... -
Answered a Question in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
In the novel The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark, the author sketches an accurate picture of a woman, a teacher, who is both arrogant and egotistical - and this seems to have an unethical... -
Answered a Question in Romeo and Juliet
There are many allusions to light and dark in the play "Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare. This idea is an important theme in the play, and also takes in sun and shadow, night and dark, day... -
Answered a Question in The Catcher in the Rye
Both your question, and the anti-school atmosphere in the novel Catcher in the Rye by the recently deceased J.D. Salinger remind me of the depressing lyrics of a song by Bob Geldof's original Irish... -
Answered a Question in The Necklace
The beginning of the short story "The Necklace" written by Guy de Maupassant is interesting because it sets us up for our opinion of Mme Loisel later. We are deliberately told of her lower middle... -
Answered a Question in I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud
I think the answer to this question lies in the first line, and more specifically in the language so carefully chosen. In the Daffodils poem by William Wordsworth, the poet uses the word "lonely."... -
Answered a Question in Lord of the Flies
In the novel "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding, the author shows us a group of marooned boys who have just left an ordered world governed by rules and regulations. On the tropical island there... -
Answered a Question in Romeo and Juliet
In the play "Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, the author uses the nurse in many different ways. One of her useful functions is to give us access to Juliet's innermost secret feelings -... -
Answered a Question in Robert Frost
In the poem " After Apple Picking" by Robert Frost, the author gives great prominence to the ladder he uses to reach the apples that are growing on the very top of the apple trees in his orchard.... -
Answered a Question in James Stephens
In the poem "The Wind" by James Stephens, the author draws our attention to the destructive qualities of wind. He shows how wind can seem to act in mischievous ways, disturbing law and order and... -
Answered a Question in Romeo and Juliet
In the play "Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, the author describes a son who is perplexing to his father as he is, as youngsters today might say, acting like an emo! So instead of enjoying... -
Answered a Question in The Road Not Taken
In the poem "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost, I believe the sigh refers not to the fact that the two raods were more or less the same, but to the fact that he chose the one less travelled by.... -
Answered a Question in Araby
In the short story "Araby" by James Joyce, the author depicts a boy on the verge of starting to become a man, still with a child's simplified view on life yet working his way forward to viewing... -
Answered a Question in Macbeth
In addition to exposition, populist draw and atmospheric setting, one reason for starting the play "Macbeth" by William Shakespeare with the witches is the possibility that the author was trying to... -
Answered a Question in Macbeth
None of us is a free agent in this world in terms of what we are born with in terms of genes, personality traits,physical attributes and intelligence/emotional capability and heredity is extremely... -
Answered a Question in Poetry
In the poem "Anthem for Doomed Youth" by Wilfred Owen, the poet asks "what passing bells for these that die as cattle" will ring, but more particularly, will ring in churches. All the way through...
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