How about a journey in English literature and arts?
In this theme, I posted several research papers and essays that I wrote as assignments during my university curriculum. Even though I did not always choose their subjects, I liked searching for information, digging into literature criticism when needed, and learning so many things during the process. I also very much enjoyed using my imagination to write two pieces of flash fiction and translating a poem in free verse.
I do hope you’ll enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them. Feel free to download and/or use parts of these essays for your own research work but beware of plagiarism: do not forget to indicate your references as soon as you quote, reformulate, or cite any part or idea written in these essays.
Keats, a Regency poet
When one thinks about Regency England, a writer comes immediately to one’s mind: Jane Austen, whose novels describe the life of country gentlefolk during that period. And yet, the growing,… Continue reading Keats, a Regency poet
My own Shakespeare
…or rather, a modest introduction to Shakespeare’s world! More than four centuries after they were created, why haven’t Shakespeare’s plays lost their magic on us? According to Harold Bloom and… Continue reading My own Shakespeare
Essay on ‘To Autumn’
Composed after a walk in the countryside, Keats’s ode ‘To Autumn’ is regarded as “one of the most nearly perfect poems in English”. How did John Keats reach such a… Continue reading Essay on ‘To Autumn’
Mediaeval literature in today’s world
To what extent is a knowledge of mediaeval literature relevant to “modern” literature (from the 19th century onwards) or else to our “modern” civilisation? The revival of interest in mediaeval… Continue reading Mediaeval literature in today’s world
Gulliver & The Man in the Moone
Real or imagined? The non-fictional and the fictional in Francis Godwin’s The Man in the Moone (1638) and Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels (1726). In these works of fiction, the characters… Continue reading Gulliver & The Man in the Moone
Jane Eyre: from feminism to translation…
I read this great classic of British literature, which belongs to the World Literature canon, from a feminist perspective. Interestingly, three of its translations in French, published at various periods,… Continue reading Jane Eyre: from feminism to translation…
Poetry: lost in translation?
Is the translation of a poem from English to French like ‘Mission Impossible’? When I studied the English language at university, several classes were devoted to translating texts from English… Continue reading Poetry: lost in translation?
What’s the link between…
… Claude Monet’s painting The Thames at Westminster, William Wordsworth’s poem ‘Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802’, and Charles Dickens’ novel Oliver Twist, “The expedition” chapter 21? For this… Continue reading What’s the link between…
A wealth of lectures…
How about watching a wealth of choice — and free! —lectures and programmes on the internet about the following subjects: Nature, British Romantic poets, Pre-Raphaelite painters, and Shakespeare’s influence on… Continue reading A wealth of lectures…
Two pieces of creative writing
First, as a mandatory assignment—to assess our writing skill in English during the last year of Bachelor (“Licence” in French universities)—our teacher asked us to compose a story (flash fiction)… Continue reading Two pieces of creative writing
Illustration on top of this page: John Everett Millais, Ophelia (1851–52), Tate Britain, London. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ophelia_(painting)#/media/File:John_Everett_Millais_-_Ophelia_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg