Austen may have innovated a way to blend satire with romance as a way to protect us from heartbreak.
Monthly Archives: November 2023
Austen’s Revolutionary Style
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Emma, Emma Bovary, free indirect style, Geoffrey Chaucer, Gustave Flaubert, Henry Fielding, Horace, ironic romance, Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility, Tom Jones Comments closed
Rom-Coms, Defense against Heartbreak
One way of seeing “Tom Jones” is as “valentine armor,” alternating between romance and light satire. As such, it saves us from broken hearts.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Comedy, Don Quixote, Henry Fielding, Miguel de Cervantes, Pamela, Romantic Comedy, Samuel Richardson, Shamela, Tom Jones Comments closed
Trump’s Lean and Hungry Plotters
There is a tide in the affairs of Trump supporters that, taken at the flood, will lead them to do anything to take power. “Julius Caesar” is warning us.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged coup attempts, crossing the Rubicon, Donald Trump, January 6 insurrection, Julius Caesar, Steve Bannon, William Shakespeare Comments closed
My Brilliant Friend, Cure for Loneliness?
The child perspective in Ferrante’s “My Brilliant Friend” creates a special bond with the reader.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Angus Fletcher, Charlotte Bronte, Childhood, Company We Keep, Elena Ferrante, Emily Bronte, first person point of view, Hamlet, Jane Eyre, John Knowles, My Brilliant Friend, opera, penny dreadfuls, Separate Peace, Wayne Booth, William Shakespeare, Wonderworks, Wuthering Heights Comments closed
Swift Understood Trumpian Fascism
Trump’s use of “vermin” to characterize his enemies is fascist talk. “Gulliver’s Travels” shows where such talk can lead.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged American fascism, dehumanization, Donald Trump, Fascism, Gulliver's Travels, Jonathan Swift Comments closed
Biden Is No Beowulf–And That’s Okay
Biden lacks Beowulf’s leadership charisma but has other gifts, ones recognized by Wiglaf.
A Vet Sees Himself in Odysseus
In Huey’s poem, a veteran who has seen combat frames his experience in terms of “The Odyssey.”
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "We Were All Odysseus in Those Days", Amorak Huey, Homer, Odyssey, Saving Private Ryan, Veterans, Veterans Day, war Comments closed
Dante’s Version of Heaven on Earth
In talking to Solomon in Paradiso, Dante gets a new vision of heaven on earth.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "World", Birches, Dante, Heaven on earth, Henry Vaughan, Inferno, Paradiso, Robert Frost Comments closed
