Articles & Books From Literature

Article / Updated 05-03-2023
Whether or not to enroll in that AP English Literature and Composition class can be a difficult decision. An AP English class can be a lot of work, but it can yield great rewards. Here is some information to help you make that choice.Each AP English teacher has a degree of freedom in designing the course. (Getting English teachers to agree on something is a little harder than herding cats, so this is probably a good idea.
Article / Updated 04-25-2023
Tolkien seems to have regarded the Elves as his favorite creatures of Middle-earth, but most of his readers seem to be hobbit-lovers at heart. They find hobbits to be the most likeable and also to be the most like themselves, despite some obvious differences (for most people) in the height and furry-footedness departments.
Cheat Sheet / Updated 04-12-2023
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of the characters Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John H. Watson, wrote 56 short stories and 4 novels featuring the great private detective and his loyal sidekick. Sherlock Holmes fans and scholars refer to these 60 stories the canon. All of the novels and almost all of the short stories are narrated by Dr.
Cheat Sheet / Updated 04-27-2022
J.R.R. Tolkien made his literary mark on 20th century readers and contemporary audiences with the rich characters, language, geography, and history of his fascinating world of Middle-earth. Explore the author's own origins, check out his list of notable works, and meet a cast of beings that abound in masterful fantasy storytelling.
Cheat Sheet / Updated 03-08-2022
Poetry is the practice of creating works of art through language. The study of poetry should include important works that display a bit of the history and evolution of poetry. Poems are written to be read aloud, so follow the helpful reading guidelines offered in this Cheat Sheet. Then, take a poetry pop quiz to test your knowledge and discover some fun facts.
Cheat Sheet / Updated 02-25-2022
These lists break down William Shakespeare's works by type and provide you a brief summary of each play. Also find terms commonly used in relation to Shakespeare's writing, covering styles of poetry, types of plays, and stage direction.A Shakespeare mini glossaryThese terms help when you’re reading Shakespeare’s works to keep track of different types and parts of plays, the poetry styles Shakespeare often employed, and stage direction.
Article / Updated 10-04-2021
Learn how to write a sonnet in iambic pentameter, just like Shakespeare did. Discover the rhythm and rhyme scheme of the quatrains and couplets that make up a Shakespearean sonnet. © 2008 Jinx! Licensed for use by Creative Commons How to write a sonnet When writing a Shakespearean-style sonnet, there are various rules you need to keep in mind.
Cheat Sheet / Updated 09-01-2021
Jane Austen is the queen and inventor of the Regency romance (courtship literature set in England's Regency period, 1811–1820). Jane Austen's six most famous works (Northanger Abbey, Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, and Persuasion) highlight the strict social etiquette of her day and the legal limitations that women of her social class endured.
Article / Updated 07-17-2017
Literature provides a lens through which readers look at the world. Point of view is the way the author allows you to "see" and "hear" what's going on. Skillful authors can fix their readers' attention on exactly the detail, opinion, or emotion the author wants to emphasize by manipulating the point of view of the story.
Article / Updated 01-23-2017
You may well wonder why it's important at all to locate Middle-earth in J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. Does it really matter whether Middle-earth is a future world in another galaxy or a Europe long gone? Would it really detract from your enjoyment of Bilbo's journey to the Lonely Mountain or Frodo's quest from the Shire to Mount Doom if you found out that Middle-earth were nowhere on this earth?