
Lisa Metcalf
eNotes Educator
Achievements
15
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2034
Answers Posted
192
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About
I have taught high school English for almost 25 years and can't imagine doing anything else!
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Recent Activity
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Answered a Question in Philosophy
I would be interested in meeting Descartes. He says "I think, therefore I am," but I am always wondering why I think something. I am curious what he would have to say about the power of individual... -
Answered a Question in US History (General)
I agree with above posts in regard to the Cotton Gin/Civil War point and the industrial revolution, and I would add our defining win of WWII which cemented our place as a the most powerful nation... -
Answered a Question in Literature
Another important meal in a literary context is any of the Feasting scenes in The Lord of the Flies. Providing meat and food for the tribes in a powerful means of control for Jack over the... -
Answered a Question in The Scarlet Letter
Foster mean that all literature is set in a particular time and place and that time and place have a "political" and/or social setting as well as a geographical setting. In the case of The... -
Answered a Question in Literary Criticism
In The Awakening by Kate Chopin, the main character, Edna Pontieller, learns how to swim. The scene where she realizes that she has the power to enter the water and swim could be... -
Answered a Question in Romeo and Juliet
Another theme is the over-whelming nature of new love. Romeo and Juliet are swept off their respective feet by love at first sight and this emotional impact affects all of their choices and actions... -
Answered a Question in Hamlet
This quote is one of the most important in the play because it is such a departure from the Hamlet who was thinking that he could have "control" over everyone or everything. He realizes that there... -
Answered a Question in Literature
I agree with others that every person gets to decide what they personally like, but to me, good literature presents me with an experience that surprises me and makes me think about myself or my... -
Answered a Question in Essays
Two common sentence errors are comma splices and run on sentences. In both cases, the writer is using no punctuation or not proper punctuation to join 2 independent... -
Answered a Question in A Rose for Emily
Miss Emily's house was representive of the Old Victorian style of the late 1870's with its fancy details and show of wealth, and that matches the status of her father and her in her... -
Answered a Question in Modernism
Most Modern fiction leaves the ultimate meaning of the work more open to the reader's interpretation rather than ending with what I would call a perfect package with a perfect "bow-tied" ending.... -
Answered a Question in Literature
If you are asking for discussion of a specific play you should post that title in your request. I certainly have my favorites -- a couple from each genre, but I think the overall appreciation of... -
Answered a Question in Hamlet
I think you have to be careful with the assertions you make in your post above. First of all I would argue that Hamlet isn't truly mad/crazy like Ophelia is. He plainly states at the end of Act 1... -
Answered a Question in Oedipus Rex
Another related theme is blindness, both metaphorical and eventually literal. Oedipus is blind to the reality of his actions, namely that he killed his father and married his mother, and his drive... -
Answered a Question in The Awakening
Another example of the the clothing in from early in the novel when Adele and Edna are walking on the beach. Adele is wearing pure white clothing which suggests her pure attitude about Creole... -
Answered a Question in Dulce et Decorum Est
The "story" of each stanza is also something to notice. The poem starts with a stanza about war-weary soldiers and it is sad enough to read, but the second stanza brings the true problem of the war... -
Answered a Question in Hamlet
Hamlet is out of the country at school in Wittenberg, Germany. Claudius could makea good case for election on the basis of his having been closely tied to the day-to-day goings on at court and his... -
Answered a Question in European History
The rise of nationalism in both France and England is very notable. Because this war went on for so many years, multiple generations of people grew up with and lived through it and its effects on... -
Answered a Question in Hamlet
At the time the play was written, Denmark had an elected monarchy. This meant that the king would be elected by the inner circle of noblemen and/or people of the royal court -- a noble inner... -
Answered a Question in Communications
Our most important rule is to not interrupt one another. It seems like an easy thing, but my young kids get so excited about whatever it is they want to share that they don't wait for the other one... -
Answered a Question in Literature
When I teach this to my students I usually reference singer Sarah Mclachlan's public service announcement in support of abused animals. The commercial is dripping in pathos as pictures of sad... -
Answered a Question in Education
Everything you do in your life is filtered through your subjectivity, but as mentioned above, that can be a good thing. What is most important here is that you recognize the issue in the first... -
Answered a Question in Ezra Pound
The second stanza really gets to all the parts of the egg and then makes the ultimate point of the poem. The yolk is the "life" of the egg, it's most essential part so he says it is the... -
Answered a Question in History
The United States has its very foundation in democracy, and while there will always be contention between the two or more political parties, the country certainly wasn't in a fragile enough state... -
Answered a Question in Pride and Prejudice
While I would agree that seeing the beauty of the estate certainly gave her something to think about in terms of his wealth, it is more about what she learns about Darcy's character as she talks to... -
Answered a Question in Antigone
The plot of the play focuses on one subject only: Creon's command not to not bury Polyneices, and Antigone's defiance of that command because he is her brother and the gods demand burial of the... -
Answered a Question in The Tell-Tale Heart
There is also the power of the man's imagination (driven by his guilt) that he thinks he is actually hearing the dead man's heart beating and then pounding under the floor boards of his house.... -
Answered a Question in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
The novel's inciting actions is finding the mysterious key and deciding to search for the lock in goes with. That becomes the driving force of the rest of the plot. It is through this that Oskar... -
Answered a Question in Hamlet
The answer to this question will depend a little bit upon how you define meta-theatrical. Usually meta-theatricality is when the drama comments on itself or on drama or acting in general.... -
Answered a Question in Jane Eyre
The novel, like many novels of this time period, conveys the dire straights that women would be in if they were unable to marry and be supported by a man of means. Jane has to make the best of her... -
Answered a Question in Hamlet
This quote comes within the another scene in which we see Hamlet putting his "antic disposition on." Hamlet has revealed his plan to act crazy as a way to throw off the people at court and discover... -
Answered a Question in Mahatma Gandhi
When you are serving others you learn about yourself in the process. Think about some of the service activities you may be involved in. What qualities does it take to be a part of that activity? If... -
Answered a Question in Young Goodman Brown
Faith and Young Goodman Brown are the key characters in the story, as it is the story of Brown's travels into the woods one night on a mysterious "mission" that changes, forever, his understanding... -
Answered a Question in Essays
You can choose any of the pillars to be your focus, but you need to brainstorm first and then write an essay about how the other three pillars play a part in the primary one. For example, if you... -
Answered a Question in Ethan Frome
Chapter Five of this short novel is the pivotal chapter in which Mattie and Ethan share their solitary dinner together and seem to pretend what life would be like if the two of them were the... -
Answered a Question in Pride and Prejudice
I don't know that he really changes! I think it is more that he reveals himself for who he is really is, not the aloof man he appears to be due to the social circumstances of the beginning of the... -
Answered a Question in Modernism
Many modernist writers were in WWI or saw first-hand the effects of that devastating war on the people involved. One notable example is Earnest Hemingway. He and others became disillusioned about... -
Answered a Question in Oedipus Rex
To the Greeks, the greatest moral blindness would have to be Oedipus's hubris in his thinking that he would outwit the Oracle and defy his fate as decreed by that Oracle. His is the most supreme... -
Answered a Question in Fiction
I don't think there is one finite answer and actually think you could argue that reading fiction can be a multifaceted and interdependent process. Some literature is entertaining because it is... -
Answered a Question in Literature
I prefer the rich history that British Literature provides, and I especially appreciate the oldest works in English such as Beowulf or Sir Gawain, but for American students, I think that American... -
Answered a Question in Abraham Lincoln
I sometimes think we can't know the quality of the leadership until the accomplishments are viewed in hindsight, and I think most presidents fall into this circumstance. We have great regard to... -
Answered a Question in History
Printing and the ability to share texts with a wide audience affects us in the same way it affected people hundreds of years ago. As the world grows more and more literate, printing allows ideas to... -
Answered a Question in Literature
A narrative poem is just a story -- don't let the poem aspect of the assignment intimidate you! It doesn't have to be personal at all! Do you have a favorite childhood story or a favorite movie?... -
Answered a Question in Beowulf
I would agree that the Christian influences in the poem suggest an afterlife, but there isn't much direct comment on the quality of the afterlife. There are no characters who say that they will... -
Answered a Question in Beowulf
Another argument in Beowulf is the role of Wryd or fate in a man's life. There are many things that man can control, but he can't control his fate; all he can do is be ready to fight the good fight... -
Answered a Question in Hamlet
There are places in the play where he shows extreme melancholy over all of the troubles of his life, but I would argue that he is not actually mad. The most obvious place to start with this... -
Answered a Question in John Donne
The answer to this question could all depend on which of his many poems you wanted to believe reveal his attitude. He is well known for his love poems, and in those he is very much in praise of... -
Answered a Question in Caleb's Crossing
Here are a couple of other important characters: Makepeace Mayfield is Bethia's brother. When it is time to go away to school, Bethia must go as well, but she must serve as an indentured servant... -
Answered a Question in Hamlet
This is an interesting scene because it shows that Ophelia's madness has its origin in her recent experiences at Elsinore. Before she hands out the flowers, she is singing songs to herself. This... -
Answered a Question in Romanticism
Many Romantic poets sought solace and peace in nature, and they also recognized the power of nature and the natural world on man. This is especially seen in the poetry of Samuel Coleridge and...
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