Anton Chekhov: An Author Profile
Chekhov is celebrated for his eponymous gun, but his writing is more like a knife, sharpened to razor-like simplicity.
nineteenth century literature
Von Goethe: The Father of Romanticism
Von Goethe: The Father of Romanticism By Gabriel Blanchard Goethe inaugurated a fundamental change in the passions that inspire literature in general. Romanticism is an idea we tend …
Thoreau: Defiance, Loneliness, and Beauty
Thoreau: Defiance, Loneliness, and Beauty By Travis Copeland Few authors are less timely than Thoreau, and it is in this that he is most edifying to us. Henry …
The Brothers Grimm: Of Facts and Faërie
The Brothers Grimm: Of Facts and Faërie By Gabriel Blanchard From Poe to the Inklings to Disney, nearly all modern fiction with even a hint of magic in …
Nietzsche: Death of Deity
Nietzsche: Death of Deity By Gabriel Blanchard Only a few authors can claim to have foreseen (or foreshadowed) the chaos of the twentieth century, but the shadow of …
Melville: The Smile of the Sea
Melville: The Smile of the Sea By Sebastian Garren Few novels are as esteemed, as widely taught, or as misunderstood as Moby-Dick. Moby-Dick is one of the most …
Wilde: The Importance of Being Flippant
Wilde: The Importance of Being Flippant By Gabriel Blanchard A tagline at the head of an essay is like saying “Thank you” for an unwanted gift: idiotic, and …
Andersen: The Life-Changing Magic of Actual Magic
Andersen: The Life-Changing Magic of Actual Magic By Gabriel Blanchard Innocence, kindness, whimsy, and humor are more useful than we often think in grappling with a world full …
Andersen: The Life-Changing Magic of Actual Magic Read More »
Student Essay: Families and Fates
Student Essay: Families and Fates By Anna Overbeek Under the form of gothic melodrama, Dickens paints a sobering portrait of the immense influence our families have upon our …
America’s Bard
America’s BardThe Writings of Walt Whitman By Travis Copeland No poet incarnates the American spirit more completely than Whitman. Walt Whitman was the people’s poet of the nineteenth …