Syllabic metrical systems have a fixed number of syllables in each line, though there may be a varying number of stresses. They are named, quite simply, according to the number of syllables in each line, using Greek numbers. A line with seven syllables is called heptasyllabic and so on. seven syllables. What is a syllabic […]
Who really wrote the Iliad?
Why is the Iliad unreliable? While some parts of Homer’s Iliad can be corroborated with little archaeological evidence; most parts can not be supported with definite evidence, which leads us to believe that the Iliad may have been highly exaggerated for entertainment purposes, therefore making it an unreliable source. What is Homer’s real name? Homer […]
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13 Min
Who is Haethcyn in Beowulf?
Hæthcyn (Old English: Hæþcyn) is the son of the GeatishGeatishGaut is an early Germanic name, from a Proto-Germanic gautaz, which represents a mythical ancestor or national god in the origin myth of the Geats. Who was King Hrethel Beowulf? Hrethel, the previous king of the Geats, was the father of Hygelac, Herebeald, Haethcyn, and a […]
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14 Min
How do you define American literature?
American literature is literature written or produced in the United States of America and its preceding colonies (for specific discussions of poetry and theater, see Poetry of the United States and Theater in the United States). What does American literature focus on? Style. The common tendency of American literature is to be focused on politics, […]
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11 Min
What is the difference between the speaker’s view of the wall and his neighbor’s view of it?
The speaker views the wall as a way to “mend” the friendship between he and his neighbor, but the neighbor sees it as something that should be used to keep them apart. What is the difference between the speaker’s view of the wall and his neighbor’s view of it in Mending Wall? What do lines […]
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17 Min
What is the message of the poem the listeners?
The theme of the poem is the place of man in a universe which is far greater than he, and which he can neither connect with nor understand. It focuses on man’s state of isolation and disharmony with the natural world. What message does the Traveller leave before going in the poem The Listeners? What […]
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13 Min
What is out out about by Robert Frost?
“Out Out—” tells the story of a young boy who dies after his hand is severed by a “buzz-saw”. The poem focuses on people’s reactions to death, as well as the death itself, one of the main ideas being that life goes on. What is the main idea of Out, Out by Robert Frost? Major […]
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10 Min
Why did Alfred Lord Tennyson write Charge of the Light Brigade?
Tennyson wrote The Charge of the Light Brigade after reading a newspaper report about the Battle of Balaclava in 1854. At the time Britain and France were at war with Russia and fighting over control of Crimea (the same region that Russia recently controversially re-occupied) – hence the name ‘The Crimean War’. Why did Tennyson […]
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14 Min
What was the New England Courant known for?
The New England Courant is widely noted among historians as being the first newspaper to publish Benjamin’s writings. Who established the New England Courant? James Franklin The New-England Courant, No. 80, February 11, 1723, was the first publication issued under the imprint of Benjamin Franklin. The date line reads “From Monday February 4.to Monday February […]
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13 Min
What is a figurative language mean?
Figurative language makes meaning by asking the reader or listener to understand something by virtue of its relation to some other thing, action, or image. Figurative language can be contrasted with literal language, which describes something explicitly rather than by reference to something else. What is an example of figurative language? For example, if an […]
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11 Min