literature
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Emily Dickinson is a cornerstone of Western Literature
I intend this short, introductory essay to be a companion to my “Dissecting Dickinson” series in which I analyse (or, as it was, dissect) Dickinson’s poems. Each are linked here: From Blank to Blank —My wheel is in the dark!The Guest is gold and crimson Within Harold Bloom’s The Western Canon there are approximately 800 Continue reading
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From Robert Lowell’s: For Lizzie And Harriet (1973)
If there is a poet with whom I find myself connected to, perhaps more so than any other poet, then it is Robert Lowell. While his Pulitzer winning books of poetry Lord Weary’s Castle (1946) and The Dolphin (1973) are best known among readers (and these are indeed magnificent works) then it is, quite consistently, Continue reading
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Where to start with Henry James
Henry James, of whom I presently, and with possibly the greatest literary joy of my life, have read anything and everything there is to read, is by far, one of the best, most refined, most scandalously clever authors, I have had the pleasure of reading. It is no secret by now, I am well aware, Continue reading
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Reflections on Goethe’s: Faust part 1 and Ibsen’s: Peer Gynt & A Doll’s House
The essays on this blog has, thus far, been singularly analytical in their approach as far as the works dissected, from Shakespeare to Dickinson, from Rabelais to Whitman, from Nabokov to Montaigne. However, as many of these essays takes much time and effort, I have had in mind for some time about posting (in between Continue reading
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Shakespeare’s King Lear, scene 1.1: Full commentary
The Tragedy of King Lear may very well be Shakespeare’s crowning achievement, and possibly the best play written in literary history. Personally, I am divided between King Lear and Hamlet, though in periods Othello and Macbeth will make their appearance, in periods Anthony and Cleopatra or Measure for Measure. Even The Tempest, Twelfth Night or Continue reading
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Defending The Western Canon
It is a tragic realisation that most colleges and universities in the West have gone away from studying, inquiring, and appreciating the importance and stunning beauty of the Western Canon, which, after all, is the backbone of our society — our birth certificate, if you will. Instead the oppression of our most significant authors (see Continue reading
Paradiso 