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06/06/19

Had Keats read any of Homer's works before reading Chapman's translation of them?

In "On First Looking into Chapman's Homer," John Keats writes: > Oft of one wide expanse had I been told <br/> > That deep-browed Homer ruled as his demesne;<br/> > Yet... more

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Literature Literary Device William Shakespeare The Merchant Of Venice

06/05/19

Are there earlier incidences than Merchant of Venice of an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other?

In [act 2, scene 2 of *The Merchant of Venice*](http://shakespeare.mit.edu/merchant/merchant.2.2.html), Launcelot Gobbo is conflicted regarding whether to run from Shylock, or continue working for... more

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Literature Poetry William Blake

06/05/19

What is "the Poetic Genius"?

In ["All Religions are One"](https://www.glyndwr.ac.uk/rdover/blake/allrels1.htm), William Blake develops an argument around a concept called "the Poetic Genius". From the modern, surface meaning... more

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Literature Realism William Shakespeare Measure For Measure

06/05/19

Did Shakespeare's audience believe Measure for Measure to be realistic?

In the play _Measure for Measure_ Vincentio, the Duke of Vienna, leaves his city in the charge of a judge while he goes on a "diplomatic mission". It transpires that he has not, in fact, left the... more

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Literature

06/05/19

In "An Evening Walk" by William Wordsworth, what does the line "The echoes of your rocks my carols wild" mean?

From the poem "An Evening Walk" by William Wordsworth (emphasis added): > FAR from my dearest Friend, 'tis mine to rove Through bare grey dell, high wood, and pastoral cove; Where Derwent... more

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Literature Symbolism Harry Potter J K Rowling

06/05/19

Symbolism of Albus Dumbledore's name in Harry Potter?

What is the symbolism of the name Albus Dumbledore in Harry Potter? - '[Albus](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/albus)' means white - '[Dumbledore](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dumbledore)' is a... more

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Literature Hamlet William Shakespeare

06/05/19

Was the sealed letter ordering Hamlet's death a Biblical reference?

Is the sealed letter that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern carry that orders Hamlet's execution a deliberate reference to the Biblical [King David](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David) having [Uriah... more

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Literature Orthography Meaning In Context

06/05/19

My Swift and my Armour' from Hemingway's "The Snows of Kilimanjaro"?

> 'If you have to go away,' she said, 'is it absolutely necessary to kill off everything you leave behind? I mean do you have to take away everything? Do you have to kill your horse, and your... more

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Literature Poetry William Butler Yeats

06/05/19

How does the golden bough in "Sailing to Byzantium" relate to the story in the Aeneid, if at all?

According to [Wikipedia]( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sailing_to_Byzantium) of W.B. Yeats' "Sailing to Byzantium" is > a metaphor for a spiritual journey. Yeats explores his thoughts and... more

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Literature Hamlet Meaning William Shakespeare

06/05/19

The meaning of "The rest is silence" in "Hamlet"?

Hamlet's very last words are > The rest is silence. What do they actually mean? This being Shakespeare, I reckon the significance of these words cannot be only the banal comparison between... more

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Literature Symbolism Nathaniel Hawthorne The Scarlet Letter

06/05/19

What does the physical Scarlet Letter represent?

I love *The Scarlet Letter*, but I surprised to find out that I did not even know what it was supposed to represent. Its significance seemed to change throughout the book. Is there one central... more

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Literature Symbolism Short Stories Spanish Literature

06/05/19

What does the "crimson hexagon" represent in "The Library of Babel"?

In *The Library of Babel* by Jorge Luis Borges, the speaker says, > They were urged on by the delirium of trying to reach the books in the Crimson Hexagon: books whose format is smaller than... more

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Literature Symbolism Comics

06/05/19

Why were these animals used to represent the different countries in Maus?

In Art Spiegelman's *Maus*, he represents different people from different countries as different animals. For instance, he represents the Jews as mice, the Germans as cats, the Polish as pigs, the... more

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Literature Meter Greek Literature

06/04/19

How does anacrusis simulate a ship's pushing back from dock?

>[ [Source :](https://krimalta.wordpress.com/2017/04/20/etymology-anacrusis/) ] Interestingly, **anakrouein** or **anacrusis** is also found in Greek poetry, where the first syllable is not... more

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Literature Vocabulary Reading Writing

05/29/19

How to write a story without losing your way.

I have written over the years maybe 30 different stories. I've finished about 10 shot stories. But the larger stories I try to produce I lose my way and it crumbles. I never know where to go, or... more

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Literature

05/28/19

What does "I've seen your flag on the marble arch?" in Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" mean?

From Leonard Cohen's "Halleluj'ah": > Baby, I've been here before -- > > I know this room, I've walked this floor: > > I used to live alone before I knew you. > > **I've... more

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Literature Terminology Poetry

05/28/19

A figure of speech combining two phrases?

I have read somewhere that it is typical of poems such as Nibelungenlied to use a figure of speech which in fact merges two phrases into one by the mean of a common word. An example could be the... more

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Literature Poetry History Of Literature

05/28/19

Why are haiku usually of 17 syllables?

One of the characteristics of Haiku is that the poems are usually of 17 syllables (5-7-5). Exceptions exist, of course, but 17 is the norm. Why 17? How did the originators of Haiku come to settle... more

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Literature

05/28/19

Why is the robin "sobbing" in Blake's "The Blossom"?

Blake's "The Blossom", part of his *Songs of Innocence* [which you can read online](http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1934/1934-h/1934-h.htm), is a very short poem about a sparrow and a robin. The... more

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