Category: English 2: Literature and Composition

Reading Gaol cell

The Ballad of Reading Gaol

The Ballad of Reading Gaol (gaol is the British spelling of jail) narrates the story of an execution that occurred while Oscar Wilde was imprisoned in the late 1890s. It does not attempt to...

Robert Burns Poetry

Robert Burns (1759 – 1796), a Scottish poet and lyricist is not only the best known of the poets who have written in the Scots language, but he has long been considered the national...

Sir Walter Scott Poetry

Sir Walter Scott Poetry

Much of Sir Walter Scott’s poetry reflects the stories and themes of courage, justice, and romance found in his novels. Here are three of his shorter poems, “Lochinvar,” “Breathes There the Man,” and “Old...

Alexandre Dumas biography

Alexandre Dumas biography

Alexandre Dumas, also known as Alexandre Dumas père, was a French author and playwright, best known for his historical adventure fiction. As one of France’s most widely read authors, his works have been translated into dozens...

William Blake's handwritten poem, "A Poison Tree."

A Poison Tree by William Blake

“A Poison Tree,” which explores the dangers of anger and revenge, was first published in Blake’s Songs of Experience in 1794. It has been set to music by Ralph Vaughan Williams in his Ten Blake...

Daniel Defoe,

Daniel Defoe Biography

Learn more about the life, character, and career of the 17th-century British author of Robinson Crusoe and other works in this Daniel Defoe biography.

Joseph Conrad, author of Heart of Darkness.

Joseph Conrad Biography

This Joseph Conrad biography comes from the Yale Modernism Lab, where you’ll find a wealth of resources about modernist writers in the years 1914-1926. You can view their original works and find out how...

T.S. Eliot and Virginia Woolf were friends who influenced each other's works.

T. S. Eliot Biography

This biography of T.S. Eliot comes from the Yale Modernism Lab, where you’ll find a wealth of resources about modernist writers in the years 1914-1926. You can view their original works and find out...

Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American Transcendentalist poet and writer.

Ralph Waldo Emerson Biography

Biography of Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) by Dr. Ann Woodlief Ralph Waldo Emerson is truly the center of the American transcendental movement, setting out most of its ideas and values in a little book, Nature,...

Scholar and writer C.S. Lewis, as photographed by Walter Stoneman in 1955.

C. S. Lewis Biography

British writer and scholar C.S Lewis (1898–1963) is the author of the Chronicles of Narnia, Till We Have Faces, Mere Christianity, and many scholarly works.

Henry David Thoreau Biography

Henry David Thoreau Biography

Henry David Thoreau Biography by Dr. Ann Woodlief Henry David Thoreau was a complex man of many talents who worked hard to shape his craft and his life, seeing little difference between them. Born...

Statue of Julius Caeser in Rome, Italy

Julius Caesar Video Resources

Shakespeare was, of course, a master of the written word. It’s precisely because of this, though, that people forget that much of his work was originally meant to be performed, not merely read. Sometimes...

The Odessa Opera and Ballet Theater

Heart of Darkness Opera

Heart of Darkness Opera Composer Tarik O’Regan has written a chamber opera based on Joseph Conrad’s novella, Heart of Darkness. Here is a video interview in which the composer discusses the process of creating...

Edward Lear Resources

Edward Lear Resources

Edward Lear Resources John Cousin tells us that Edward Lear (1812-1888) was an “artist and miscellaneous author [who was born] in London and settled in Rome as a landscape painter. He was an indefatigable...

Illustration for The Owl and the Pussy-cat, by Edward Lear

The Owl and the Pussy-Cat by Edward Lear

One of the first poems I recite when trying to soothe a fussy infant is “The Owl and the Pussy-Cat,” a poem I memorized through endless readings when I was a child. Its rollicking...

John Dryden Biography

John Dryden Biography

John Dryden Biography Family and education Early adult life Prolific playwright Poet Laureate Poetry and politics Religious matters Reversal of fortunes Life overview Sources     Family and education Poet, dramatist, and satirist John...

Oscar Wilde, as photographed by Elliott & Fry in 1881, from the National Portrait Gallery in London.

Oscar Wilde Resources

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) was an immensely gifted writer who produced a large variety of work ranging from humorous to tragic. He had the capacity to be ridiculous (The Importance of Being Earnest) as well...