general, the appeal of prose is primarily to the intellect; that of poetry, to the emotion and
the imagination.
Poetry may or may not use rhyme, as ordinarily it does not in blank and free verse.
Prose does not make use of rhyme at all. Prose possesses rhythm, but it is not as marked
and regular as in poetry. Both prose and poetry can stir the emotion as well as the intellect.
Both can convey information as well as pleasure.
II. DIVISION OF PROSE. Prose is usually divided into fiction and non-fiction.
A. FICTION. Fiction has been defined as a series of imagined facts which illustrates
truths about human life. It is misleading to oppose fiction to truth and to call it false or
untrue. Rather, fiction is opposed to the actual and to the historically true. It is not
contrary to truth at all. Incidents that have happened in real life, characters that may not
actually have existed, could be created by fiction to illustrate what may and can happen, as
long as the laws of probability and necessity are not violated. Fiction does not deal with
what has happened, but with what could happen within the scope of the possible and the
probable. In this way, fiction extends our view and awareness of the different phases of life,
of the various types and manifestations of human character and personality, of the complex
motives and impulses behind human behavior.
The principal types of fiction are the short story and the novel.
1. The Short Story. The short story is a brief, artistic form of prose fiction which is
centered on a single main incident and intended to produce a single dominant impression.
Such an impression may be one of sadness, surprise, sympathy, terror, or other reactions.
Economy, compression and emphasis characterize the short story. Thus, it has a definite
time and place setting. The development of the story occurs within a day or two or even
hours, usually at one place. Only the essentials of the action are narrated and are so
compressed as to allow a swift movement. By the strict selection of details, only the
meaningful and indispensable are included in the narration. Emphases, therefore, is
conspicuously placed on the essential details. All contribute to the salient qualities of the
short story; thus, it has a definite time and place setting for characters and a rapidly
developed central action, leading to a definite outcome except in the case of the
problematic ending as in The Lady or the Tiger. An apt illustration is Later by Michael
Foster, which has only two important characters, a definite background and a limited time
for its setting. The narrative flows smoothly from the brief exposition to the development of
action and the dramatic ending.
The short story may emphasize plot as in the stories of O. Henry and Guy de
Maupassant. The chief source of interest is the unfolding of the plot, the development of
action through a complication which leads to the resolution.
On the other hand, a short story may portray a character whose personality and
temperament dominate and even determine the course of the narrative. The treatment of
the story is psychological, focusing attention on the inner life of the individual, the workings
of his mind. Markheim by R.L. Stevenson illustrates this type. The narrative is centered in
the indecision and hesitation of Markheim, the turmoil in his mind which leads to a dramatic
denouement. The main purpose behind this use of emphasis is the analysis and revelation
of character, since the scope of the short story does not afford the opportunity for
developing character.
Aside from the emphasis on action and character, a third factor is the emphasis on
setting. This factor may consist of the use of local color, a device which gives prominence
to the picturesque, the exotic or the colorful in the background. Examples may be found in
the stories of Bret Harte and Rudyard Kipling. Local color usually includes superficial
elements of setting, dialect customs, not as a basic element of the story but as decoration.
2
The fourth element that a short story may emphasize is the theme, which has
been aptly describe as a significant truth about life and human nature which is illustrated in
the actions, preoccupations, and decisions of fictitious characters. It is this use of theme,
which lends meaning and significance to the writers interpretation of life.
The short story has long remained a favorite type or form of literature in modern
times, especially with people affected by the accelerated tempo of living. These facts
accounts for the tendency of writers to further shorten and compress this short form of
narrative into the short story and even the minute-short story.
2. The Novel. The novel is an extensive prose narrative. The modern type of novel is a
type of fiction which is rather elastic in form. Its length ranges from the barely one hundred
pages of a stream-of consciousness novel to the epic novel. Far from the sticking to the
original aim of narrating a lengthy story, the novel has extended its scope to include a
variety of types and objectives. Of the latter, these are the aims to recapture the past
historical novel, to discuss ideas, to propose theories, etc.
The length of a novel permits a greater variety of characters, a more complicated plot, a
more elaborate use of setting, a greater complexity of theme than the short story. The
novel has the opportunity for character development which the limited scope of the short
story cannot afford. The novel is capable of revealing both a broader and deeper view of
human nature and human experience.
The breath of the novel requires a skillful organization of its materials into an artistic
unity. An organic plot in which incidents are casually related (that is, by cause and effect), a
central character on whom the action is centered, a single predominant theme or a definite
setting in which the most significant actions take place are devices for unifying the diverse
elements in a novel.
The novel admits of many bases for classifications:
a. The novelists vision of life. This involves his attitude towards experiences which
may be realistic, romantic, naturalistic, etc.
1.
Romantic fiction. The romantic view chooses the remote in time and place, the
adventurous and daring inaction, the heroic and dashing in the case of characters. The
interpretation of life is optimistic and usually idealistic. The preference is for a happy
ending.
2.
Realistic fiction. Realistic fiction prefers the familiar and commonplace in setting,
characters who are ordinary men and women like those whom we meet daily, though
according to theme and other features, they may rise to the level of heroism. The
action itself is limited to facts of daily experience which are observed thoroughly and
recorded faithfully as in Sinclair Lewis, Main Street.
3.
Naturalistic fiction. The naturalistic trend in the novel is exaggerated and extreme
realism dominated by materialism, pessimism, and determinism. Characters are
portrayed as having or no free will, the environment is totally hostile; mens efforts are
doomed to failure and sometimes, death. Observation and recording of the dismal and
cruel aspects of life are carried out with more accuracy and persistence.
b. The writers choice of materials. This may be historical, social, psychological, etc.
1. The historical novel. The historical novel chooses an age or era in the past. It
recaptures the spirit and of that period and chooses historical events and characters to
give authenticity to the narration. But the novelist usually creates characters and
situations of his own devising to fulfill his particular objectives.
2. The psychological novel. The psychological novel transfers its setting from the
outside world to the mind and the interior life of the individual. It focuses its insights on
the motives behind the yearnings and impulses of the characters. Internal action is
3
considered only for its impact on the characters and their subsequent reactions. The
stream of consciousness is the term applied to the method of externalizing the thoughts,
sensations, memories, impressions that rush through the mind without order or
coherence.
3. The social novel. The social novel deals with the mores and customs of distinct
social group and the problems faced by those in this society, be these problems political,
economic, racial, etc. often without presenting a solution. When the novelist favors or
advocates a theory or doctrine, he writes a novel of propaganda. When he deals
sympathetically with the problems of the working classes, his novel is a proletarian
novel.
c. The structure of the novel. According to structure, the novel may be panoramic or
dramatic.
1. The panoramic novel. The panoramic novel follows a linear development of a loosely
constructed plot and portrays a broad section of life. It gives relatively little importance
to character and action as motivating forces; hence, they do not greatly influence the
leisurely development of the narrative. The chronicle novel is of this type.
2. The dramatic novel. The dramatic novel emphasizes the interaction of character and
action. This type employs the principle of causality in the unfolding of plot, in the
relationship of character and action, in the influence of environment and heredity both
in the growth of character and its relation to action. Some of the worlds greatest
novels belong to this category.
A.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
E.
THEME is the central idea or statement about life that unifies and controls the total
work. It is the authors way of sharing and communicating ideas, perceptions, and
feeling with his readers or, as in so often the case, of probing and exploring with them
the puzzling questions of human existence, most of which do not yield neat, tidy and
universally acceptable answers.
distinctive personality. The main interest of this essay is in the imaginative. The primary
purpose of the familiar essay is to entertain and amuse; therefore, its tone is light, friendly,
often humorous like that of a person talking among friends, sure of their interest and
affection.
The essay may have other forms. The critical essay seeks to analyze and evaluate a
literary work or any other work of art. The biographical essay deals with a persons life and
achievement. This essay ranges from a mere character sketch to a lengthy detailed
account of a persons experiences: his growth from youth to maturity. It includes the forces
which have shaped his character and personality, his impact on his fellowmen. An essay of
travel forms as well as entertains by its personal treatment of various experiences in a
given place and time.
2. The Oration. Often contrasted to the essay by its structure and purpose, the oration
represents another form of prose. Its language is carefully chosen to convey ideas clearly
and forcefully. It is usually inspired by a significant event or an important issue. Its
language is meticulously chosen to produce the desired impact on the audience. The style
of the oration and its delivery must therefore be eloquent, forceful, even fiery in tone. Its
purpose is to convince and persuade. It is meant to be expressed orally, not to be merely
read.
3. The Biography. A biography is a record of human life, an account, written by someone
else, of an individuals significant experiences, their effects on him, and his personal
reactions and response to them.
4. The Autobiography, Memoirs, Letters, and Epistles, Diaries and Journals.
a.
An autobiography is an account of a persons life written by the person himself.
Because of the nature of the authorship, the autobiography is usually more revealing of
the persons interior self.
b.
Memoirs are a form of autobiography but more specifically take into account the
significant events in which the author was witness or participant, and other noted
personages involved.
c.
Letters in Literature consist of private and personal correspondence between notable
figures and convey the ideas and feelings of the writer. Epistles are also letters but are
more formally written and are generally addressed to and meant to be read by a group.
d.
Diaries and Journals are daily records of events and experiences in the authors life.
They tend to reflect the private personality of the writer, the diary more intimately than
the journal. They may or may not be written for publication.
DRAMA
DRAMA (from the Greek dran - to do) is described as an art form dealing with
beauty particularly as it is found in the imitation of human action from nature. It is also
defined as a story presented on the stage by actors impersonating characters in a given
situation. This story, written in the form of dialogue, is called the play. Unlike other literary
works, the drama involves three other elements aside from the playwright and his play,
namely: a theater, actors (and director), and an audience.
The term drama may also refer to the whole body of works written for the theater.
Drama is either written in prose or in poetry, or sometimes in a combination of both.
Most of the dram from the ancient times to the nineteenth century is generally in poetic
form: modern and contemporary drama is usually in prose, although some of todays
playwrights have chosen to write plays in verse.
In the same way that the full beauty of poetry is achieved when it is read aloud, the
artistic and authentic values of drama are fully realized when it is acted before an audience.
I. TYPES OF DRAMA The general and traditional classification of the drama is into
tragedy and comedy, but there are other types that fall under each, the more popular of
which will be taken here:
A. TRAGEDY. The classical definition of tragedy as elucidated in Aristotles Poetics is the
imitation of an action which is serious, complete and with a certain magnitude: in language
embellished by every artistic ornament--- in the form of action, not narrative, through pity
and fear effecting the purgation of such emotions.
The tragic hero is a man of high estate, and the action usually culminates unhappily in
his death, or in some catastrophe or disaster; but somehow the struggle of the protagonist
or hero against the conflict (which rises from nature, from other persons, or from himself) is
such that it affirms his capacity for greatness. In modern tragedies, however, the tragic
hero is not necessarily high-born, but he maintains a nobility of character in the midst of
the conflict and in its usually unhappy conclusion.
The hero of the tragic flaw or weaknesses which may manifest itself as pride, rashness
of judgment, indecision, or some such similar imperfection; or he make a wrong choice
which will play a large part in his downfall.
1. Serious Drama. This refers to drama which may have tragic overtones or details, and
a general tone of seriousness, but which may not end in catastrophe for the protagonist.
The conclusion may even be hopeful. The protagonists are ordinary men and women, as
contrasted with the tragic heroes of classical (pure, true) tragedy. Serious drama, usually
written in prose, is a fitting description for many modern non-comic plays written in the
realistic style.
2. Tragicomedy. This has similar characteristic to serious drama and was prevalent
sometime in the 17th and the 19th century, especially in the theater of England.
Tragicomedy, as the name implies, was a combination of the tragic and the comic, and was
described then as a play lacking deaths but bringing some near it (death), which was
enough not to make it a comedy. At present, this term is sometimes used for plays
belonging to the category of serious drama.
3. Melodrama. This type is serious in tone but characterized by a sensational and the
theatrical. Characters and situations are somewhat exaggerated to produce an excessive
appeal to emotions of the audience. Characterization is usually superficial: the heroes are
very good and the villains, very bad. There is a predominance of physical movement, and it
generally ends in a contrived triumph over unlikely circumstances.
Melodrama is a popular form in cinema and television drama. It also includes scripts
with supernatural, horror, murder, mystery and action plots.
B. COMEDY. Comedy is drama which portrays the lighter and brighter aspect of life and is
meant to evoke laughter. It deals with human folly and foibles which are neither painful nor
destructive. The conflict involve is fortunately solved to give the play a happy ending. The
plot is generally sustained and credible, its dialogue witty, its characters realistic, and
physical action generally subdued.
The comic interest may originate from the specific traits of a character (comedy of
humors or comedy of characters): from the manners, customs and lifestyle of a particular
class of society or community (comedy of manners). These same formulae may be used in
the farce but with the use of exaggeration.
Farce is to comedy what melodrama is to tragedy. Highly exaggerated character types
are placed in ridiculous and improbable situations intended to produce broad and boisterous
laughter.
The dialogue is not subtle and may be coarse or contrived; there is a
predominance of physical action, sometimes called slapstick. Farce has the same sources
of comic interest as the comedy; the difference lies in its presentation.
II. STYLES OF DRAMA. The basic styles used by the playwright is his approach to the
presentation of the subject matter of his plays are the realistic and the non-realistic.
A. THE REALISTIC or ILLUSIONISTIC or REPRESENATIONAL STYLE.
This style
presents the play happening as close to reality as possible. In the manner of actual life;
as though the characters in the play were acting within four walls (the fourth wall being
the imaginary wall between the actors and the audience) and being watched through a
peep hole. The setting, characters, plot, and language are those that one might
encounter in real life. There is an attempt to give an illusion or representation of reality.
A realistic play does not always have an explicit, clear ending. The curtain may fall, but
the life depicted in the play may go on, for better or for worse. Most modern plays,
especially those written from the time of the playwright Henrik Ibsen (mid-19 th century) are
realistic.
B. THE NON-REALISTIC or NON-ILLUSIONISTIC or PRESENTATIONAL STYLE. This
style is theatrical. The play is directly presented to the audience by the playwright as a
play; there is no attempt to portray the situations as though they were actually
happening in real life with the audience (or reader) merely eavesdropping.
Thus there may be a chorus or a narrator, characters delivering their dialogue in verse
or directly addressing the audience, and dancing and singing interspersed with dialogue.
Mime may also be used, the dramatic conventions such as soliloquies and asides, or a stage
set and lightning that do not give a perspective of real life.
Non-realistic plays include Oriental plays, classical Greek and Roman plays,
Shakespearean plays, and other types of drama from the ancient times to the time of Ibsen.
At present, however, a growing number of playwrights are writing in the non-realistic style
because it challenges their imagination and their creative skills.
POETRY
Poetry may be described as rhythmic imaginative language expressing the invention,
thought, imagination, taste, passion and insight of the human soul. Its purpose is
enthrallment. William Wordsworth described it as the spontaneous overflow of powerful
feelings taking its origin from emption recollected in tranquility. For Edgar Allan Poe,
poetry is the rhythmical creation of beauty.
I. CHARACTERISTICS OF POETRY
A. RHYTHM
It is the regular recurrence of stressed and unstressed, long and short, or highpitched ands low-pitched syllables creating in the line of a poem. This gives the poem a
melodious quality and makes it grand, solemn and majestic; sonorous and full; slow and
mournful; rapid and light; airy and whimsical; or crystalline.
Meter and Rhyme have often been regarded as essentials of rhythm.
1. Meter (Organized Rhythm) is the measured pattern or the grouping of syllables,
called metric foot, according to accent and length. A group of metric feet forms a poetic
line or verse. A group pf poetic lines or verses is called a stanza.
According to the placement of accent, there is a variety of patterns or feet of
which the four basics are:
a. The Iamb (Iambic foot), which consists of, an unaccented syllable followed by
an accented syllable. (x / )
x
/ x
/
x
/ x / x
/
The curfew tolls the knell of parting day. - Gray Elegy in a Country
Churchyard
11
number of narrative poems that may not be readily classified under the conventional types,
unless they are included in a widened scope of the metrical tale. Some anthologists simply
classify them as modern narrative poems.
1. The Ballad. It is a short simple narrative poem composed to be sung, and
altered as it was originally transmitted from generation to generation until it was written
down much later. This kind of ballad, specifically called the folk or primitive or popular
ballad was anonymous. The most popular examples of this type are the old English and
Scottish traditional songs which circulated widely among the common folks and have
shifting texts for which a reason a poem would sometimes have variations such as the old
English ballad Two Sisters, which had twenty-seven.
The other kind of ballad is the literary or the art ballad which has a known author,
and although an imitation of the folk ballad, is written with more artistry, craftsmanship,
and sophistication. Also, most of the literary ballads are not meant to be sung.
Among the favorite subjects of the ballad are hapless love, domestic tragedy, a cruel
family, a humorous incident, a tale of the sea, a historical event, a legendary character,
revenge, death, and the supernatural. Sometimes, a series of ballads may deal with just
characters and his adventures. Such a collection is called a ballad cycle.
2. The Metrical Tale. This narrative poem relates real or imaginary events in
simple straightforward language. It can choose from a wide range of subjects, characters,
life experiences, emotional situations, and may project a mood that is serious or light. It is
similar to the ballad, although usually longer, has a well-developed plot and uses
characterization and setting to a fuller extent. While the ballads story develops in a
spirited way, the metrical tale unfolds evenly and is usually concerned with ordinary events.
3. The Metrical Romance. This is a long rambling love story in verse revolving
around the adventures of knights and lords and their highborn ladies during the age of
chivalry. Heavily flavored with romance, fantastic events, supernatural occurrences, magic,
and the ideals of the medieval period such as honor, truth, courage, justice, and reverence
for woman, the story is often rich in allegory and permits a great play of fancy and the
conflict between the forces of good and of evil.
4. The Epic. The epic is along majestic narrative poem which tells of the exploits of
the traditional hero and the development of a nation. It may either be traditional or folk,
without certain authorship, or literary, with a known author.
Both the folk and the literary epic have certain general characteristics:
1. The epic story is broad in scope and theme; its subject matter is often a mixture of
legend, history, myth, religion, and tradition.
2. The action is grand and on a huge scale, the supernatural element is highly pronounced,
the characters are larger-than-life (gods, demi-gods, and highborn mortals).
3. The source of conflict involves elemental passions. The events center on a prodigious
struggle or effort to achieve a great purpose or carry out a great task against powerful
forces.
4. The plot consists of numerous episodes and sub-plots peopled by numerous characters,
each with his own adventures and story; but all these are held together by a unifying
theme.
5. The plot often begins in media res (in the middle or near the end of the action) and the
story is completed by a series of flashbacks. This plot as recounted 8in the epic poem is
often just a portion of a much larger story which is found in the mythology of the nation.
6. Finally, the style is solemn and majestic in keeping with the grandeur of the subject
matter.
In the epic is found all that has been give to a civilization at that particular
stage of development.
13
C. DRAMATIC POETRY has elements that closely relate it drama, either because it is
written in some kind of dramatic form, or uses a dramatic technique. It may also suggest a
story; but there is more emphasis on character rather on the narrative.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
or the absence of any specific formal element or any specific content. This is often referred
to as new criticism.
This relation between content and form of a literary work to interpret its meaning
gives rise to two opposing theories in objective criticism. Coherence theory versus
correspondence theory. Critical theorists interested in poetic content at the expense of
form (content dictates form) assume correspondence theory of truth, whereas theorists
stressing formal structure to govern meaning (form dictates content) assume a coherence
theory.
This theory rests on the belief that literature is an organic unity. It is independent of
its author on the time when it was written or the historical context when or why it was
written. In analyzing poetry, the following textual elements are examined in order to
interpret meaning.
1. persona the speaker
2. addressee the one spoken to
3. vision what the persona says
4. situation when and where
5. objective correlative a set of objects or a set of objects related to a particular
emotion
6. central metaphor vehicle and tenor
7. multiple meanings of words figurative language connotations
IV. AFFECTIVE THEORY
In the affective theory, the poem or literary work is seen in its relation to the reader.
This looks into what the result the poem/literary work should be in the reader, hence this is
also known as reader-response criticism. Reader-response could be moral betterment,
scientific or other learning, hedonistic pleasure, psychic, therapy, catharsis of unpleasant
emotions, sublime transport, creation of the aesthetic emotion or detached contemplation.
The modern concept of reader-response or affective criticism is based on the idea
that each reader has a freedom to assess the coherence of the writers work and interpret it
in the light of his/her own experience and attitudes to the world. It also holds that the
individual reading determines the meaning of a literary work and that there is no elusive
right interpretation of a text.
The Periods of the English Literature
1. The Old English or The Anglo-Saxon Era (449 BC- 1066 AD ) ( Beowolf )
2. The Middle English period (1066 1485 ) (Sir Gawaine and the Green Knight The
Pearl Poet; The Popular Ballads; Canterbury Tales Chaucer; Le Morte Darthur
Thomas Malory )
3. The Sixteenth Century ( Christopher Marlowe, Sir Walter Raleigh, Robert Greene,
William Shakespeare, Edmund Spencer, John Lyly etc.)
4. The Seventeenth Century ( Francis Bacon, John Donne, George Herbert, Benn
Johnson, Robert Herrick, John Milton,)
5. The Age of Classicism ( Joseph Addison, Alexander Pope, Samuel Johnson, James
Roswell)
6. Age of Romaticism ( Thomas Gray, William Blake, William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor
Coleridge, Percy Bysshe Shelley, John Keats)
7. The Victorian Era ( Alfred Lord Tennyson, Robert browning, Elizabeth Barrett
Browning, Mathew Arnold, Christina Georgina Rossetti, Rudyard Kipling)
8. Twentieth Century ( Katherine Mansfield, Alfred Edward hausman, john Masefield,
Joseph Conrad, D. H. Lawrence, Stephen Spender)
The Periods in the American Literature
16
22.O mistress mine where are you roaming? O, stay and hear; your true loves coming,
That can sing both high and low. From Twelfth Night by W. Shakespeare
23. Full fathom five thy father lies; Of his bones are coral made; Those are pearls that
were his eyes; Nothing of him that doth fade. From The Tempest by W. Shakespeare
24.Come, live with me and be my love, and we will all the pleasures prove, That
valleys, groves, hills and fields, Woods, or steepy mountain yields. The Passionate
Shepherd to His Love by C. Marlowe
25.But could youth last and love still breed, Had joys no date nor age nor need, Then
these delights my mind might move, To live with thee and be thy love.- The Nymphs
Reply to the Shepherd by W. Raleigh
26.Faer ye weel, my mother dear! Fareweel to barn and byre! And fare ye weel, the
bonny lass That kindles my mothers fire! The Wife of Ushers Well by G. Chaucer
27.Lo, lady! This is the band of the blame that I bear in my neck, this is the harm and
the loss I have suffered, the cowardice and the covetousness in which I was caught,
the token of my covenant in which I was taken. And I must needs wear it so long as I
live, for none may hide his harm, but undone it may not be, for if it hath clung to thee
once, it may never be severed. -From Sir Gawaine and the Green Knight; author:
unknown
28.Brave was the band he had gathered about him, Fourteen stalwarts seasoned and
bold, Seeking the shore where the ship lay waiting, A sea-skilled mariner sighting the
landmarks. From Beowulf (earliest surviving piece of English literature) author;
unknown
29. I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and sky, and all I ask is a tall
ship and a star to steer her by. Sea Fever by J. Masefield
30.Give crowns and pounds and guineas, But not your heart away. Whe I Was Oneand Twenty by AE Houseman
31.I love thee with all the breath, Smiles, tears, of all m y life!- and if God choose, I
shall but love thee better after death. Sonnets From the Portuguese by EB Browning
32.Come, fill the cup, and in the fire of Spring, Your Winter-garment of repentance fling:
The Bird of Time has but a little way, To flutter- and the Bird is on the Wing. 7th
stanza of Rubaiyat by Omar Khayyam
33.Thats my last duchess on the wall, looking as if she were alive. I call, That piece a
wonder, now: Fra Pandolfs hands Worked busily a day, and here she stands. My
Last Duchess by R. Browning
34.For though from out our bourne of Time and Place, The flood may bear me fa4r, I
hope to see my pilot face to face, When I have crost the bar. -Crossing the Bar by A.
Lord Tennyson
35.Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will, To strive, to seek, to find, and not to
yield.- Ulysses by A. Lord Tennyson
36.Thou still unravished bride of quietness, Thou foster-child of Silence and slow Time,
Sylvan historian, who canst thus express, a flowery tale more sweetly that our
rhyme. Ode On A Grecian Urn by J. Keats
37.Of the wide world I stand alone and think,Till love and fame to nothingness do sink
When I Have Fears That I May Cease To Be by J Keats
38.My heart aches and a drowsy numbness pains, My sense, as though of hemlock I
had drunk.- Ode To A Nightingale by J. Keats
39.The trumpet of prophecy! O, Wind, If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind? Ode
To The West Wind by PB Shelley
40.Teach me half the gladness, That my brain would know, Such harmonious madness
from my lips would flow, The world should listen then, as I am listening now. -To A
Skylark by PB Shelley
18
41.He went like one that hath been stunned, And is of sense forlorn: A sadder and a
wiser man, He rose the morrow morn.- The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by ST
Coleridge
42.For oft, when on my couch I lie, In vacant or in pensive mood, They flash upon that
inward eye, Which is the bliss of solitude; and then my heart with pleasure fills and
dances with the daffodils. I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud by W. Wordsworth
43.The curfew tolls the knell of parting day, The lowing herd wind slowly oer the sea,
The plowman homeward plods his weary way, And leaves the world to darkness to
me.- Elegy Written In A Country Churchyard
44.Of mans first disobedience, and the fruit Of that forbidden tree whose mortal taste
Brought death into the world, and all our woe, With loss of Eden, till one greater Man
Restore us, and regain the blissful seat. paradise Lost by J. Milton
45.Drink to me with only thine eyes, an I will pledge with mine; Or leave a kiss but in
the cup and Ill not look for wine. -Song to Celia by B. Jonson
46.Go catch a falling star, Get with child a mandrake root,Tell me where all times past
are, Or who cleft the Devils foot. Song by J. Donne
47.And I made a rural pen, And I stained the water clear, And I wrote my happy songs
every child may joy to hear. -Piping Down the Valleys Wild by W. Blake
48.What guile is this, that those her golden tresses She doth attire under a net of gold,
And with sly skill so cunningly them dresses That which is gold or hair may scarce be
told? From the Amoretti by E. Spencer
49.Life has loveliness to sell-All beautiful and splendid things, Blue waves whitened on
a cliff, Climbing fire that sways and sings, And childrens face looking up Holding
wonder like a cup. Barter by S. Teasdale
50.So on we worked and waited for the light, and went without the meat and cursed the
bread, and Richard Cory one calm summer night, Went home and put a bullet
through his head. Richard Cory by EA Robinson
51.Bowed by the weight of centuries he leans, Upon his hoe and gazes on the ground,
The emptiness of ages in his face,And on his back the burden of the world. The
Man With The Hoe by E. Markham
52.Let us then be up and doing, With a heart for any fate; Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait. A Psalm of Life by HW Longfellow
53.To Him who in love of Nature holds, Communion with her visible forms, she speaks, A
various language: for his gayer hours. Thanatopsis by WC Bryant
54.Should you ask me, whence these stories? Whence these legends and traditions/
With the odors of the forest, With the dew and damp of meadows, With the curling
smoke of wigwams With the rushing of great rivers, With their frequent repetitions, as
of thunder in the mountains? From the Song of Hiawatha by HW Longfellow
55.I have known the silence of the stars and of the sea, And the silence of the city
when it pauses, And the silence of a man and a maid, And the silence for which music
finds the word, and the silence of the woods before the winds of spring begins, And
the silence of the sick, when their eyes roam about the room. And I ask: For the
depths, Of what use is language? Silence by EL Masters
56.The woods are lovely dark and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go
before I sleep, And Miles to go before I sleep. Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy
Evening by R. Frost
57.I took the one less traveled, And that has made all the difference. The Road Not
Taken by R. Frost
58.And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing yellow rover, And quiet sleep and a
sweet dream when the long trips over.- Sea Fever by J. Masefield
59.Let them smile as I do now, At the old forsaken bough where I cling. The Last Leaf
by OW Holmes
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60.Under the windings of the sea, They lying long shall not die windily.- Death Shall
Have No Dominion by D. Thomas
61.Parting is all we need of heaven, And all we need of hell.- My Life Closed Twice
before Its Close by E. Dickinson
62.The soul is dead that slumbers, And things are not what they seem. Psalm of Life
by HW Longfellow
63.This is for all ill-fated fellows, Unborn and unbegot, For them to read when theyre in
trouble, And I am not. Epigraph To More Poems by AE Houseman
64. Then be not coy, but use your time, And while ye may, go marry; For having lost
but once your prime, You may forever tarry. To The Virgins To make Much Of Time by
R. Herrick
65.Poems are made by fools like me, But only God can make a tree. Trees by Joyce
Kilmer
M O R E FA M O U S L I N E S F R O M L I T ER A RY W O R K S
O F FA M O U S AU T H O R S
1 . I C E , I C E B A W H A A AT ?
Opener: Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buenda was to
remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.
Book: One Hundred Years of Solitude
Author: Gabriel Garca Mrquez
2 . A R E A L PA G E - B U R N E R
Opener: It was a pleasure to burn.
Book: Fahrenheit 451
3 . A P R I L C O W ER S
Opener: It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.
Book: 1984
Author: George Orwell
4 . P O S T- PA RT U M P O SS E SS I O N
Opener: 124 was spiteful. Full of a babys venom.
Book: Beloved
Author: Toni Morrison
5 . F. M . L .
Opener: As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself
transformed in his bed into a monstrous vermin.
Book: Metamorphosis
Author: Franz Kafka
6. VE BELIEVE IN NAH-SING, LEBOWSKI!
Opener: Mama died today. Or yesterday maybe, I dont know.
Book: The Stranger
Author: Albert Camus
7 . H O L E -Y M I D D L E - E A RT H, B AT M A N !
Opener: In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled
with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it
to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.
Book: The Hobbit
Author: J.R.R. Tolkien
8 . G R AY- P ER -V I E W
Opener: The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel.
Book: Neuromancer
Author: William Gibson
20
9. OUT THERE
Opener: Theyre out there. Black boys in white suits up before me to commit sex acts in
the hall and get it mopped up before I can catch them.
Book: One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest
Author: Ken Kesey
1 0 . F R A G I L E : DO NO T S TA C K
Opener: When I was three and Bailey four, we had arrived in the musty little town,
wearing tags on our wrists which instructed To Whom It May Concern that we were
Marguerite and Bailey Johnson Jr., from Long Beach, California, en route to Stamps,
Arkansas, c/o Mrs. Annie Henderson.
Book: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Author: Maya Angelou
1 1 . H I , M Y N A M E I S ( W H AT ? ! )
Opener: Call me Ishmael.
Book: Moby-Dick
Author: Herman Melville
12. GOES TO-GETHER LIKE A HORSE AND CAR-RIAGE!
Opener: All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.
Book: Anna Karenina
Author: Leo Tolstoy
1 3 . T H E R E C KO N I N
Opener: You dont know about me without you have read a book by the name of The
Adventures of Tom Sawyer, but that aint no matter. That book was made by Mr. Mark Twain,
and he told the truth, mainly.
Book: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Author: Mark Twain
14. UNIVERSAL SPOOF
Opener: It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good
fortune must be in want of a wife.
Book: Pride and Prejudice
Author: Jane Austen
1 5 . W H AT E V E R , N E V E R M I N D
Opener: If you really want to hear about it, the first thing youll probably want to know is
where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were
occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I dont
feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.
Book: The Catcher in the Rye
Author: J.D. Salinger
1 6 . G R E AT B A L L S O F F IR E
Opener: Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul.
Book: Lolita
Author: Vladimir Nabokov
1 7 . B O M B S OV E R B A G - L A DY
Opener: It was the day my grandmother exploded.
Book: The Crow Road
Author: Iain Banks
18. OLD MAN LIVER
Opener: I am a sick man I am a spiteful man. I am an unattractive man. I think my liver
is diseased.
Book: Notes from the Underground
Author: Fyodor Dostoevsky
1 9 . P R O S E I N D I F F E R E N T AR E A C O D E S
21
Opener: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it
was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was
the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the
winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going
direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other wayin short, the period was so far like
the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for
good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.
Book: A Tale of Two Cities
Author: Charles Dickens
2 0 . T H AT P E AC E F U L , Q U E A S Y F E E L I N G
Opener: My mother is standing in front of the bathroom mirror smelling polished and
ready; like Jean Nat, Dippity Do and the waxy sweetness of lipstick. Her white, handgunshaped blow-dryer is lying on top of the wicker clothes hamper, ticking as it cools. She
stands back and smoothes her hands down the front of her swirling, psychedelic Pucci
dress, biting the inside of her cheek. Damn it, she says, something isnt right.
Book: Running with Scissors
Author: Augusten Burroughs
2 1 . NO W H E R E M A N
Opener: Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the Western
Spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun. Orbiting this at a distance of
roughly ninety-eight million miles is an utterly insignificant little blue-green planet whose
ape-descended life forms are so amazingly primitive that they still think digital watches are
a pretty neat idea.
Book: The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
Author: Douglas Adams
22. A NICENS LITTLE TITLE
Opener: Once upon a time and a very good time it was there was a moocow coming down
along the road and this moocow that was coming down along the road met a nicens little
boy named baby tuckoo.
Book: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Author: James Joyce
2 3 . R OA D TR I P P I N
Opener: We were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs
began to take hold.
Book: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Author: Hunter S. Thompson
2 4 . S H A R K B AI T HO O - H A- H A !
Opener: He was an old man who fished alone in a skiff in the Gulf Stream and he had
gone eighty-four days now without taking a fish.
Book: The Old Man and the Sea
Author: Ernest Hemingway
25. SCOTTISH ROGUE
Opener: The sweat wis lashing oafay Sick Boy; he wis trembling.
Book: Trainspotting
Author: Irvine Welsh
STRIKING LINES IN WORLD LITERARY PIECES
1. The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway
Best pessimistic diagnosis of a resigned and wistful generation: Yes, I said. Isnt it pretty
to think so?
22
2. A Good Man Is Hard To Find, Flannery OConnor (From The Complete Stories)
Most delicate ending to a delicate, harrowing story about the different kinds of humanity
and grace: Shut up, Bobby Lee, The Misfit said. Its no real pleasure in life.
3. Alices Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
Best reason to go adventuring in Wonderland: Lastly, she pictured to herself how this same
little sister of hers would, in the after-time, be herself a grown woman; and how she would
keep, through all her riper years, the simple and loving heart of her childhood; and how she
would gather about her other little children, and make their eyes bright and eager with
many a strange tale, perhaps even with the dream of Wonderland of long ago; and how she
would feel with all their simple sorrows, and find a pleasure in all their simple joys,
remembering her own child-life, and the happy summer days.
4. The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger
Most dearly held last line for moody and secretive teenagers everywhere: Dont ever tell
anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody.
5. The Broom of the System, David Foster Wallace
Best way to end a novel in the middle of a sentence/best phantom use of a word when we
all know what it is but maybe we dont because its DFW so wed better not make any
assumptions: You can trust me, R.V. said, watching her hand.
6. If On a Winters Night a Traveler, Italo Calvino
Best post-modern, self-referential ending to a post-modern, self-referential book about
reading and writing: And you say, Just a moment, Ive almost finished.
7. The Stranger, Albert Camus
Most last minute revelation for a previously utterly stubborn, unchanging character, finally
accepting the facts of the universe in the face of his execution: As if that blind rage had
washed me clean, rid me of hope; for the first time, in that night alive with signs and stars, I
opened myself to the benign indifference of the world. Finding it so much like myselfso
like a brother, reallyI felt that I had been happy and that I was happy again. For
everything to be consummated, for me to feel less alone, I had only to wish that there be a
large crowd of spectators the day of my execution and that they greet me with cries of
hate.
8. Naked Lunch, William S. Burroughs
Best wonderfully mangled last line from a wonderfully mangled novel: No got Clom
Fliday
9. 1984, George Orwell
Most chilling return to the status quo: He loved Big Brother.
10. C, Tom McCarthy
Prettiest description of oblivion and both the interconnectedness and meaninglessness of
worldly phenomena that also sounds something like a dehumanized version of the last line
of The Great Gatsby:
The wake itself remains, etched out across the waters surface; then it fades as well,
although no one is there to see it go.
11. A Perfect Day for Bananafish, J.D. Salinger (From Nine Stories)
23
Most widely debated and surprising-yet-inevitable suicide-based ending ever: Then he went
over and sat down on the unoccupied twin bed, looked at the girl, aimed the pistol, and
fired a bullet through his right temple.
12. The Falls, George Saunders (From Pastoralia) Best description weve ever read
of rationalizing one decision over and over as you make the other decision with your body:
They were frantic, calling out to him, but they were dead, as dead as the ancient dead, and
he was alive, he was needed at home, it was a no-brainer, no one could possibly blame him
for this one, and making a low sound of despair in his throat he kicked off his loafers and
threw his long ugly body out across the water.
13. The Hundred Brothers, Donald Antrim
Best calm after the storm: It is true that there is nothing like a blaze in the hearth to soothe
the nerves and restore order to a house.
14. Speak, Memory, Vladimir Nabokov
Though were of the opinion that you could take any of Nabokovs sentences at random and
put them on any best-of list with no problems, this may be the best ending to an
impressionistic memoir about perception, memory and the haziness of reality: There, in
front of us, where a broken row of houses stood between us and the harbor, and where the
eye encountered all sorts of stratagems, such as pale-blue and pink underwear cakewalking
on a clothesline, or a ladys bicycle and a striped cat oddly sharing a rudimentary balcony
of cast iron, it was most satisfying to make out among the jumbled angles of roofs and
walls, a splendid ships finnel, showing from behind the clothesline as something in a
scrambled picture Find What the Sailor Has Hidden that the finder cannot unsee once it
has been seen.
15. The Unnamable, Samuel Beckett
Most Beckettian closing to a Beckett novel: Perhaps its done already, perhaps they have
said me already, perhaps they have carried me to the threshold of my story, before the
door that opens on my story, that would surprise me, if it opens, it will be I, it will be the
silence, where I am, I dont know, Ill never know, in the silence you dont know, you must
go on, I cant go on, Ill go on.
16. Out, Ronald Sukenick
Most visually representative ending to a novel: this way this way this way this way this way
this way this way out this way out O
17. A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens.
Most grandiose and declarative/most often quoted by people who have no idea where its
from:It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest
that I go to than I have ever known.
18. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling
Make fun all you want, but after everything that Harry went through, this may be the most
well-deserved last line weve ever read: The scar had not pained Harry for nineteen years.
All was well.
19. The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
Best beautiful sum-up of the novel you just read, both in tone and in meaning, and possibly
the most well-loved last line of all time: So we beat on, boats against the current, borne
back ceaselessly into the past.
24
'Adam Bede'. Adam Bede is a tragic example of what happens when love and passion
goes wrong, and the position in which women have sometimes found themselves. Discover
what happens in the life of Adam Bede, follow the path of Hetty Sorrel, and discover what
happiness can be found.
'Age of Iron' - J.M. Coetzee. The Age of Iron is a 1990 novel by Novel-prize-winning writer
J.M. Coetzee.
'Alice in Wonderland'. Alice in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll, was first written for Alice
Pleasance Liddell. The book was first published in 1865. This book and its sequel, Through
the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, are still popular and widely translated.
'All Quiet On The Western Front'. All Quiet On The Western Front is a novel by Erich
Maria Remarque. The book was published in 1929, and it was the author's way of coming to
terms with the war. Parts of the book are autobiographical. All Quiet On The Western
Front also has a history with censorship, as the book was banned in Germany.
'An American Tragedy'. An American Tragedy is a famous novel by Theodore Dreiser. The
book was recognized as one of the best English-language novels of the 20th century
by TIME and the Modern Library.
'And Then There Were None'. And Then There Were None, by Agatha Christie, was
originally published in 1939. The work is one of the greatest murder mysteries ever written
by the mistress of mystery herself. Originally published as Ten Little Indians, the point of
view in this novel moves back and forth between the ten characters.
'Animal Farm'. Animal Farm is a famous novel by George Orwell. In this novel, the animals
all begin to follow the precepts of Animalism, rise up against the humans, take over the
farm, and rename the place: Animal Farm.
'Anne of Green Gables'. Anne of Green Gables is a novel by Lucy Maud Montgomery. The
story centers around Anne Shirley, a red-headed orphan, with a wild imagination and a
talent for getting into trouble.
'As I Lay Dying'. As I Lay Dying is the fictional chronicle of Addie Bundren's death. The
family undertakes a journey to bury her body. The novel is narrated with the shifting
viewpoints of 15 characters--made all the more vivid with Faulkner's use of the vernacular
and stream-of-consciousness style.
'Atlas Shrugged'. Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand, is a philosophical novel. The theme
(according to Rand) is: "the role of man's mind in existence". Published in 1957, it's a
dystopian novel, centering around Dagny Taggart.
'Babbit'. Babbit is a novel by Sinclair Lewis. The book is about George F. Babbit, a real
estate broker.
'Beloved'. Beloved is a novel by Toni Morrison, who uses flashbacks and other devices to
draw us through the tragic series of events in Seth's life. A moment of insanity shaped the
rest of her existence; and, she (and those around her) would never be the same.
26
'Billy Budd'. Billy Budd is a novella by Herman Melville. The work was left unpublished
upon Melville's death, and was first published in 1924. Melville is usually remembered
for Moby Dick, but this novella is an important fictional work as well.
'Black Beauty'. Black Beauty is a famous book by Anna Sewell. Her aim was "to induce
kindness, sympathy and an understanding treatment of horses."
Black Boy, by Richard Wright, was first published in 1945. This autobiographical novel was
a bestseller, and it is an important 20th-century work of literature.
'Bless Me, Ultima'. Bless Me, Ultima is the best-selling Chicano novel to date. Rudolfo
Anaya's book explores the clashes between religion, culture and community--in the overarching context of a world war.
'Brave New World'. Brave New World is a novel by Aldous Huxley. This famous (and
controversial) work deals with issues of technological advancements, sexuality, and
individuality--in a dehumanizing society.
'Breakfast at Tiffany's'. Breakfast at Tiffany's is a novella by Truman Capote, who tells
about a one-year relationship/friendship between Holly Golightly, and an unnamed narrator.
'Candide'. Voltaire offers his satirical view of society and nobility in Candide. The novel
was published in 1759, and it is often considered the author's most important work-representative of The Enlightenment.
'Cannery Row'. Cannery Row, by John Steinbeck, is a book about a place--the cannery
district of Monterey, California.
'Charlotte's Web'. Charlotte's Web is a book by E.B. White, acclaimed American writer.
The book is about a pig named Wilbur and his adventures on a farm. A spider named
Charlotte saves Wilbur from being butchered.
'Crime and Punishment'. What happens when a poor man has murderous thoughts? But,
then, what happens when Raskolnikov feels guilty?
'Crime and Punishment'. Crime and Punishment is a novel by the Russian author Fyodor
Dostoevsky. The novel was published in installments during 1866. Rodion Romanovich
Raskolnikov, a poor ex-student in St. Petersburg, who is the main protagonist.
'Cry, The Beloved Country'. Cry, The Beloved Country is the famous African novel by
Alan Paton. The story follows the journey a minister, who travels to the big city in search of
his prodigal son.
'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'. Robert Louis Stevenson made literary history with his story
about Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. This story of the dual personality being personified during a
medical experiment has been told and re-told in adaptations since it was first published.
'Dracula'. Bram Stoker's Dracula is a classic vampire tale. First published in 1897, the
novel drew from vampire myth to create a literary legacy.
'Ethan Frome'. Ethan Frome is a novel by Edith Wharton. First published in 1911, the
novel involves obligatory misery, unacceptable romance, and guilt over the years.
27
'Fahrenheit 451'. Fahrenheit 451 is a novel by Ray Bradbury. The work is one of the most
beloved works by Bradbury, but it's also controversial. What would you do if you couldn't
read?
'Fantastic Mr Fox'. Fantastic Mr Fox is a trickster-adventure story by Roald Dahl, British
writer. Mr Fox is (of course) fantastic--he faces seemingly impossible odds to survive.
'For Whom the Bell Tolls. For Whom the Bell Tolls is a famous novel by Ernest
Hemingway.
'Gone with the Wind'. Gone With the Wind is a bestselling novel by Margaret Mitchell.
The novel has also been controversial (and banned).
'Grapes of Wrath. Grapes of Wrath is a novel by John Steinbeck, Nobel-Prize winner for
literature. Published in 1939, the novel centers around the Joads, a family of sharecroppers,
who journey to California to find a new life--amidst the Dust Bowl devastation of the Great
Depression.
'Great Expectations'. We can learn a bit more about the life and experiences of Charles
Dickens by reading his autobiographical novel, Great Expectations. Discover the life and
misadventures of Pip, the orphaned protagonist with Great Expectations.
'Heart of Darkness'. Heart of Darkness is a famous work by Joseph Conrad. The author's
experiences in Africa gave him plenty of material for this work. Heart of Darkness is the tale
of a man who gives into the enticements of power.
'Howards End'. Howards End is a novel by E.M. Forster. Written 1910, the book is
sometimes considered Forster's greatest work.
'I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings'. I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings is a famous book
by Maya Angelou. This work is told from a first-person perspective, and it is the first in a
series of her autobiographical books. The book has been popular since it was first published
in 1969. Here are a few quotes from I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings.
'Invisible Man'. Invisible Man was the only novel that Ralph Ellison published during his
lifetime. It was met with rave reviews, but it has also been controversial (even banned). The
novel explores identity, racism, and ideology.
'James and the Giant Peach'. James and the Giant Peach is about a young, abused boy
who escapes from his aunts in a magic peach (which sprouts from magic beans). He
experiences adventures with a Grasshopper, a Ladybug, a Spider, and a Centipede.
'Jane Eyre'. Charlotte Bronte's novel, Jane Eyre (1847), is the famous tale of an orphan,
who must overcome seemingly overwhelming odds to survive.
'Jude the Obscure'. Jude the Obscure is one of the most famous (and controversial) works
by Thomas Hardy. The pursuit of education was Jude's primary goal, but tragedy and
misadventure continues to thwart his every step.
'Kidnapped'. Kidnapped is a historical novel and adventure tale about David Balfour. The
novel also relates to the Jacobite rebellion in Scotland. The story was first published in
1886. Henry James, Jorge Luis Borges and Seamus Heaney have all praised the novel.
28
'Lolita'. Lolita is the controversial novel by Vladimir Nabokov, Russian author. The work
centers around Humbert Humbert, a pedophile (which, of course, is part of why the book is
so controversial).
'Lord of the Flies'. The Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, was first published in 1954.
This tale of schoolboys stranded on a desert island is the best-known work by Golding.
'Madame Bovary'. Madame Bovary is a famous (and controversial) French novel by
Gustave Flaubert. But, why has it been banned? Can we get some insight into the female
imagination--through this novel?
'Martin Chuzzlewit'. Martin Chuzzlewit was serialized between 1843 and 1844.
'Metamorphosis'. Metamorphosis is a famous novella by Franz Kafka. The work centers
around a traveling salesman, Gregor Samsa. What happens when he turns into a bug one
day?
'Mrs. Dalloway'. Mrs. Dalloway is a famous novel by Virginia Woolf.
'My Antonia'. My Antonia is a famous novel by Willa Cather, American writer. The work
portrays the struggles of immigrant families, but it's also a coming-of-age story.
'Night' - Elie Wiesel. Night, by Elie Wiesel, is a fictional work of Holocaust literature,
although it has a decidedly autobiographical slant. Wiesel based the book--at least in part-on his own experiences during World War II. The book has received considerable acclaim,
and the author received the Nobel Prize in 1986.
'Of Mice and Men'. Of Mice and Men is a novel by John Steinbeck. This tragedy was first
published in 1937. The story is told from the third-person omniscient point-of-view. Of Mice
and Men follows the misadventures of Lennie and George, two ranch hands in California.
'Oliver Twist'. Oliver Twist was the second novel by Charles Dickens. It's a coming-of-age
story about an orphan. It's one of the most famous works by Dickens, known for its
portrayal of criminals.
'Our Mutual Friends'. Our Mutual Friend is one of the most famous novels by Charles
Dickens.
'Pilgrim's Progress'. Pilgrim's Progress is an allegorical novel by John Bunyan. The work is
about Christian, an everyman.
'Rappaccini's Daughter'. "Rappaccini's Daughter" is a short story by Nathaniel
Hawthorne. The work centers around a young man, and a beautiful young woman (and her
brilliant father).
'Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry'. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry is an award-winning novel
by Mildred Taylor. Set in Depression-era Mississippi, centering around the Logan family and
their land.
'Siddhartha'. Siddhartha is a novel by Hermann Hesse, Swiss-German poet and novelist.
The book centers on a spiritual journey during the time of Buddha.
29
'Sons and Lovers'. D.H. Lawrence drew from events in his own past when he penned Sons
and Lovers. (He is also known for Lady Chatterley's Lover).
'Tess of the d'Urberville'. Tess of the d'Urberville is a tragedy. The novel details the loss
of innocence and the ultimate destruction of a young girl. The novel was one of the last
novels by Thomas Hardy, who is also famous for Jude the Obscure.
'The Adventure of Tom Sawyer'. The Adventure of Tom Sawyer is a novel by Mark Twain
(Samuel Clemens). The book is a Bildungsroman, following the development of a young
boy, as he experiences one adventure after another. Mark Twain's work is told in the third
person, looking back with a sense of nostalgia.
'The Caine Mutiny'. The Caine Mutiny is a award-winning novel, by Herman Wouk. Based
in part on the author's autobiographical background on minesweepers, the book received
the Pulitzer Prize in 1951.
'The Color Purple'. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker, is a novel about an African American
woman in the 1930's.
'The Gift of the Magi'. The Gift of the Magi is a holiday favorite. The cherished moments
in this work have become a Christmas tradition--in the original and many iterations. Do you
remember the quotes? Perhaps you've read or heard the lines without even realizing it.
'The Giver'. The Giver is a novel by Lois Lowry. It's about Jonas, who becomes the Receiver
of Memories, and then begins to understand the deepest secrets of the society.
'The Great Gatsby'. The Great Gatsby (1925) is one of the greatest American classics.
The novel was written in Paris by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and it has come to be seen as a
representation of the Jazz Age.The Great Gatsby relates the story of Jay Gatsby--as told by
Nick Carraway.
'The Hobbit'. The Hobbit is a book by J.R.R. Tolkien, a famous Oxford professor, essayist
and writer. The story centers around Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit who is caught up in a grand
adventure.
'The Hunchback of Notre-Dame'. A famous French novel by Victor Hugo.
'The Jungle'. The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair, is full of graphic descriptions of the meatpacking industry.
'The Last of the Mohicans'. The Last of the Mohicans is a famous novel by James
Fenimore Cooper, an American writer.
'The Pearl'. The Pearl is a novel by John Steinbeck. What happens when a young diver
finds a pearl of extraordinary beauty (and value)--particularly when he lives in such an
impoverished state? Be careful what you wish for--the old saying certainly applies here. In
the end, what does the pearl bring him besides heartache and sorrow?
'The Picture of Dorian Gray'. The Picture of Dorian Gray is Oscar Wilde's only known
novel. The work was considered scandalous and immoral when it first appeared, but it was
really a way for Wilde to write about his philosophy of art.
30
'The Plague' The Plague is a famous allegorical novel by Albert Camus, who's known for
his existential works. The book was published in 1947, and is considered one of the most
important works by Camus.
The Red Badge of Courage. This is a novel about the Civil War, and fictional portrait of a
young soldier, Henry Fleming.
'The Scarlet Pimpernel'. The Scarlet Pimpernel is a famous adventure tale, set during the
French Revolution. The mysterious hero saves French aristocracy from certain death, but
who is this dashing fellow?
'The Sound and the Fury'. The Sound and the Fury is a complex and controversial novel.
The work is set in the Deep South, and is written by William Faulkner--who is often
recognized as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. This important
novel is required reading for many high school and college students, but it's also an
interesting study of...
'The Storm'. What do you think about when you hear the storm come in? The Storm by
Kate Chopin is a famous work in American literature--one of her most well-known short
stories.
'The Sun Also Rises'. A famous book by Ernest Hemingway.
'The Tin Drum'. The Tin Drum is a novel about a German child who decides to stop
growing. It's usually recognized at the most famous (and most important) work by Gunter
Grass, a Nobel-prize winning poet, novelist, and playwright.
'The Waves'. This is written by Virginia Woolf.
'The Wind in the Willows'. The Wind in the Willows is a favorite tale by Kenneth
Grahame.
'Their Eyes Were Watching God'. Their Eyes Were Watching God is a novel by Zora Neale
Hurston. It's the story of Janie Crawford, who returns home and tells the story of the last 20
years.
'Things Fall Apart'. Things Fall Apart is an important African novel by Chinua Achebe--one
of the most greatest classics of its time. The book involves the clash of cultures and belief
systems...
'To Kill a Mockingbird'. To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel by Harper Lee. The book depicts
the experiences of a young girl, Scout, and her family in a Southern town. This controversial
work deals with aspects of racism, and involves other aspects of violence and alienation.
'Venus in Fur'. Venus in Fur is a semi-autobiographical work by Leopold von SacherMasoch, published in 1870.
'Watership Down'. Watership Down is a novel by Richard Adams. The work is an allegory:
a fantasy about a group of rabbits in search of a warren.
'Where the Red Fern Grows'. Where the Red Fern Grows is a famous work by Wilson
Rawls. The novel is a coming of age story, involving Billy Colman and his dogs.
31
'White Fang'. White Fang is one of the most well-known works by Jack London, an
American author. He's famous for his works set in the wild--where Nature plays a prominent
role in the never-ending struggle for survival. White Fang The story takes place in Yukon
Territory, Canada, during the Klondike Gold Rush at the end of the 19th-century.
'Wuthering Heights'. Wuthering Heights is a tale of all-consuming romantic passion.
LITERARY WORKS and AUTHORS
1.
28.
The
Ambitious Guest
49.
The Rhodora Ralph Waldo
Emerson
50.
A Psalm of Life Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow
51.
The Height of the Ridiculous- Oliver
Wendell Holmes
52.
The Race of Life Olover Wendell
Holmes
53.
O Captain! My Captain!
54.
The Fools Prayer- Edward Rowland
Sill
32
55.
56.
93.
125.
The Darkling Thrush Thomas
Hardy
126. The Lake Isle of Innisfree - William
Butler Yeats
127. The Wild Swans at Coole - William
Butler Yeats
128.
Sailing to Byzantium - William
Butler Yeats
129.
Among the School Children William Butler Yeats
130. Sun and Moon- Katherine Masefield
131. Loveliest of Trees Alfred Edward
Houseman
134.
When I Was One-and-Twenty
Alfred Edward Houseman
135. Be Still, My Soul, Be Still Alfred
Edward Houseman
136.
Eight Oclock Alfred Edward
Houseman
137. Sea Fever- John Masefield
138. Cargoes John Masefield
139. The Blind Man D. H. Lawrence
140. Petition - W. H. Auden
141. Look, Stranger, On This Island Now W. H. Auden
142. As I Walked Out One Evening - W. H.
Auden
143. The Funeral Stephen Spencer
144. The Express Stephen Spencer
145. Not Palaces Stephen Spencer
146. A Little Cloud- James Joyce
147. The Force That Through the Green
Fuse Drives Dylan Thomas
148. The Hand That Signed the Paper
Dylan Thomas
149. And Death Shall Have No Dominion
Dylan Thomas
150. The Lagoon Joseph Conrad
151. The Ox H. E. Bates
152. The Apples L. P. Hartley
153. The Schoolmaster Roger Ascham
154. Euphues- John Lyly
156. Description of Spring Wherein Each
Thing Renews Henry Howard, Earl of
Surrey
157.
Save Only the Lover Henry
Howard, Earl of Surrey
158.
Vow to Love Faithfully Henry
Howard, Earl of Surrey
159.
Howsoever He Be Rewarded
Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey
160.
Prisoned in Windsor Henry
Howard, Earl of Surrey
161. He Recounteth His Pleasure There
Passed Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey
162. A Boys Plan for Self- ImprovementBenjamin Franklin
164. These are the Times That Try Mens
Souls Thomas Paine
165. The Blue Jay Alexander Wilson
166. A Bold Bid for Freedom James
Fenimore Cooper
167. Little Giffen- Francis Orray Ticknor
168. A Little While I Fain Would Linger
Yet Paul Hamilton Hayne
169. The Second Inaugural Address
Abraham Lincoln
170. The Vision of Sir Launfal James
Russell Lowell
171.
O captain! My Captain! Walt
Whitman
172. A Creole Mystery Lafcadio Hearn
173. From A Letter to His Son, Philip
Stanhope Earl of Chesterfield
174. On Receipt of My Mothers Picture
William Cowper
175.
The Deserted Village Oliver
Goldsmith
176.
On His Seventy-fifth BirthdayWalter Savage Landor
177. Lord Ullin's Daughter Thomas
Campbell
178. Jenny Kissed Me Leigh Hunt
179. Air Castles- Juan F. Salazar
180. The Sea Natividad Marquez
181. 1896 Aurelio Alvero
182. To a Lost One Angela Manalang
Gloria
183.
Prayer of a Student Angela
Manalang Gloria
184. Dead Stars Paz Marquez Benitez
185. The Mats - Francisco Arcellana
186. Wedding Dance Amador Daguio
187. Sonia Francisco Icasiano
188. The Making of A Writer Salvador P.
Lopez
189. A Little Child Salvador P. Lopez
190. Shadow and Solitude Claro M.
Recto
191. Knitting Straw Estrella Alfon
192. The March of Death Beinvinido
Santos
193. To My Native Land- Tarros Subido
34
267.
May lalim Ang Batis Lazaro
Francisco
268. Bartolina Amado V. Hernandez
269. Magkasangang Agos Amado V.
Hernandez
270. Ako Ang Daigdig Alejandro G.
Abadilla
271. Sanaysay sa Tula Alejandro G.
Abadilla
272. Awit sa Sarili Alejandro G. Abadilla
273. Bangkang Papel Genoveva EdrozaMatute
274. Pagdalaw sa Karukhaan Constante
Casabar
275. Sounds of Sunday Kerima PolotanTuvera
276. Ang Paglilitis ni Mang Serapio Paul
A. Dumol
277. Family Reunion Carlos Angeles
278. Landscape II Carlos A. Angeles
279. Walking Home Emmanuel Torres
280. Another Invitation to Visit Tondo
Emmanuel Torres
281. Summer Solstice Nick Joaquin
282. may Day Eve Nick Joaquin
283. In Sipolog NVM Gonzalez
284.
Cadena de Amor Wilfrido D.
Nolledo
285. Mirindal Rolando S. Tinio
286. Uniigting ang Mga Kuko (Sa Mga
Kuko Ng Liwanag) Edgardo M. Reyes
287. Ang Kamatayan ni Tiyo Samuel
Efren R. Abueg
289. Sa Sinumang Pintor sa Still Life- Rio
Alma
290. Ambahan ni Ka Bestreng Kutsero
Rio Alma
291. Kailanagang Marinig Na Ang Tinig Ng
Anak Pawis- Rio Alma
,
292.
Ang Dapat Paniwalaan Jose F.
Lacaba
293. Santong Paspasan Jose F. Lacaba
294. Gabi Ng Isang Piyon Lamberto E.
Antonio
295. Sa Pagkamatay ng Isang Newsboy
Lamberto E. Antonio
296. Mareng Mensiya- Fanny A. Garcia
297. Ang Sermon Bonifacio Ilagan
298. Utos ng Hari Pedro Cruz Reyes, jr.
299. Except the Truth (My Brother, My
Executioner) Francisco Sionil Jose
300. Ang Pinakahuling Kwento ni Huli
Lilia Quindoza Santiago
301. The Execution- Charlson Ong
302. A Comrades Death (Killing Time in a
Warm Place) Jose Y. Dalisay, Jr.
303.
Kabilang Sa Mga Nawawala
Ricardo Lee
304. Engkwentro- Zelda Soraino
305. Geyluv Honorio de Dios
306. The Way We Live Danton Remoto
307. Voice Tape Wilfredo Pa. Virtusio
308.
Caravan of the Water BearersMarjorie Evasco
309. Maria de las Flores Marjorie Evasco
310. Regla Sa Buwan Ng Hunyo Elynia
Ruth S. Mabanglo
311. Liham ni Pinay Mula Sa Brunei
Elynia Ruth S. Mabanglo
312. Gahasa- Joi Barrios
313. Pagpaslang Joi Barrios
314. Sa babaye nga Naghubo Didto sa
Baybayon sa Obong Rene Estella Amper
315. Sa Diyos Nga Gilansang Rene
Estella Amper
316.
Ang Historyador na Manlilikha
Rene O. Villanueva
(317. The Da Vinci Code Dan Brown)
36