Reviews

Literary theory and criticism have developed over the course of more than 3000 years, starting with Aristotle and even Plato and Socrates, and it took many forms based on the time period or conditions within which the theory arose. Literary theory is basically seeking an answer to why we read and produce literature and what makes a work of literature good while literary criticism is the appliance of the theory in practice to evaluate or understand a work of literature. There have been many ways to read a text throughout the history but as for Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman”, I will use certain methods to do a close reading into the selected 20 lines from the text. These are Platonian reading, Aristotelian reading, Horacian reading, Russian Formalism, and lastly Psychoanalytic or Freudian reading. ...

Arthur Miller is one of the greatest playwrights of the 20th century who was born in 1915 and was awarded a Pulitzer Price. His legacy will without doubt live forever defying aging and time because they deal with the social realities and the nature of people that all of humanity possessed here and there. His inclination to communism rendered him as a critic of the capitalism that climbed towards its peak in the 20th century, and he wittingly criticized capitalism and the inner nature of people with successful allegories. ...

There are many candidates for the first English novel starting from Le Morte d’Arthur from 15th century to Gulliver’s Travels from the 18th century, however, Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe is widely accepted as the first English novel and thusly, in- 18th century occurred the rise of the novel in English. Among these candidates appears a common theme of travel and this theme has been kept using for a long while later than the first novels. Actually, travel accounts and writings were already common in other genres so it is not a surprise that it was applied to this newly emerging genre. ...

The 18th century of Britain had suffered from various issues. Most of these issues were results of the growth in population. The wealth wasn’t divided equally either, leading society to be divided into classes, which would be a fundamental issue for the next centuries.One of the most important issues of the period was crime, which took a highlighted role in the newly growing literature form: novel. The Industrial Revolution changed the life of each single person forever. While some have lost their jobs to their rivals, machines, some grow richer thanks to the same machines. Now some works could be done much faster and professionally. The Industrial Revolution would also create a mass production culture and eventually lead to consumerism in the upcoming centuries. ...

The juxtaposition of Mexico and United States in the painting fascinated me at first glance for its representative quality. I loved the painting because of the little details such as the roots of the vegetation and the label of Ford. In general, the painting can be divided vertically, Kahlo herself representing the dividend. On the left side, the sun and moon are in the firmament in their clouds, whose interaction causes a lightning and also the left side features a ruined temple below which are some flowers, all representing Mexico. As for the right side, there is a cloud coming from a factory of Ford, along with some mechanical devices painted below. The cloud contains the flag of the United States with its stars against the moon and the sun on the left side. All of those represent the industrialization of the United States, which is presented as a negative feature. ...

The reference excerpt is at the bottom of the page. Close Reading allows for a deeper understanding and a deeper pleasure when reading a work of literature. It is generally related to critical media literacy in terms of their pursue for the real meaning that lies behind the apparent lines. In Critical Media Literacy, one should compare multiple sources to validate the reliability of a news along with other techniques. Similarly, in order to do a successful close reading, one should be able to compare the lines and read between the lines, considering the text as a whole and dissecting it. In this way, the hidden messages can be unearthed. The internal logic in a text must be fulfilled to satisfy the reader experience. Therefore, I will be dissecting and analyzing a small section -20 lines- of the play but it will account for the text as a whole. Also, I chose the opening part of the play as it is suggestive enough of what to expect from the play in later parts. ...

The Epic of Gilgamesh Through a Comparative Perspective I have chosen Gilgamesh as my Eastern Hero as it fascinates me in the way it is the oldest epic of humanity, allowing me to have a glance of the culture and thought of people who lived thousands of years ago. We have the story thanks to the surviving tablets of the text in fragments;however, we unfortunately have some missing fragments of the story. According to the story, the glorious Gilgamesh is the king of a walled city called Uruk. He is a godlike figure and a glorious, handsome, wise warrior. ...

Sinuous strings Present, aureate gets it, When those agleam rays humbly hit. A curve, be it an arch, Laid for sure, Under a fertile field, without exposure To what comes under. Vision-lover, THE gleam magnet, Itself a treasure, to a thoft, pregnant. Wheat field, burst into sight, sole border. Greeting the holy cliff, which is under. Oh, those caves, that fresh airflow! Land where, lubricate wine, Land where, macarize mine. ...

The Cask of Amontillado, written by Edgar Ellan Poe was first published in 1846 in a women’s magazine called “Godey’s Lady’s Book. The author, both a writer and a literary critic and theoretician is considered to be the master, and sometimes father of horror. He is also known to be the father of the short story genre and he published an article in the same year as this short story, which is called The Philosophy of Composition that glorifies the Short Story genre. (Sova,45) ...