In the latest installment of “A Life Lived in Literature,” I recount the origins of “Better Living through Beowulf.”
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Tag Archives: Rape of the Lock
“Better Living” Emerged from a Midnight Epiphany
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Alexander Pope, Benjamin Franklin, blogging, Daniel Defoe, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Geoffrey Chaucer, Great Gatsby, Jane Austen, Poor Richard’s Almanack, Pride and Prejudice, Robinson Crusoe, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Wife of Bath Comments closed
The Gender Battle in Pope’s Card Game
In which I share a talk I am giving on the card game played in “Rape of the Lock.”
Pope Anticipated the Ansari Affair
Celebrity culture contributed to the Aziz Ansari scandal and the commotion it has caused. Alexander Pope sets forth the dynamics in “Rape of the Lock.”
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Alexander Pope, Aziz Ansari, Celebrity culture, sexual harassment Comments closed
From Wycherley to Crazy, Stupid, Love
In my “Restoration and 18th Century Couples Comedy” class, my students paired old rom-coms with contemporary films, including “Ten Things I Hate about You,” “How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days, “Friends with Benefits,” and others.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged 10 Things I Hate about You, Alexander Pope, Aphra Behn Country Wife, Austenland, Belle's Stratagem, Brave, Crazy Stupid Love, Don Jon, Friends with Benefits, Hannah Cowley, He’s Just Not That into You, How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Jane Austen, Mean Girls, Oliver Goldsmith, Richard Sheridan, Rivals, Rover, Say Anything, Sense and Sensibility, She Stoops to Conquer, William Wycherley Comments closed
Mood Swings: Inside Out, Rape of the Lock
“Inside Out” has a lot in common with Pope’s “Rape of the Lock.” Both show us the interior drama of their heroines. In both works, the heroines lose touch with their upbeat helpers.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged adolescent mind, Alexander Pope, brain science, Inside Out, neuropsychology, sexual harassment Comments closed
Sports Autographs & Locks of Hair
Fans’ obsession with autographs are like the Baron’s obsession with Belinda’s locks in “Rape of the Lock.”
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Alexander Pope, college football, Football, John Milton, Johnny Manziel, NCAA, Paradise Lost, Sports, sports autographs, Todd Gurley Comments closed
10 Famous Fetish Objects in Lit
Literature is filled with fetish objects that take on outsized significance to various characters.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Alexander Pope, Charles Dickens, Edgar Allan Poe, Emma, Great Expectations, Henry Fielding, Jane Austen, Marcel Proust, Prophet's Hair, Salman Rushie, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Tell-Tale Heart, Tom Jones Comments closed
Justice’s Alimentary Imperative
Alexander Pope understood that justice is best served on a full stomach.