Category: Audio / Video

Statue of Julius Caeser in Rome, Italy

Julius Caesar Video Resources

Shakespeare was, of course, a master of the written word.It’s precisely because of this, though, that people forget that much of his work was originally meant to be performed, not merely read. Sometimes it...

The Odessa Opera and Ballet Theater

Heart of Darkness Opera

Heart of Darkness Opera Composer Tarik O’Regan has written a chamber opera based on Joseph Conrad’s novella, Heart of Darkness. Here is a video interview in which the composer discusses the process of creating...

White Heron

“A White Heron” Audio

Listen to “A White Heron” “A White Heron,” an 1886 short story by American author Sarah Orne Jewett, features Sylvia, a young girl who comes from a big city to live in the country...

Edgar Allen Poe

The Purloined Letter Dramatized

Although suspenseful music accompanies this 1952 dramatization, “The Purloined Letter” by American author Edgar Allan Poe lacks the element of horror found in most of Poe’s other short stories. Instead, this is one of...

Bust of Guy de Maupassant

“The Diamond Necklace” Audio

“The Diamond Necklace” (La Parure) is a short story by French author Guy de Maupassant, considered a master of the form.  A 19th-century Naturalist author, de Maupassant was a protégé of Gustave Flaubert and...

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Biography

Family and boyhood Early career and travels A Harvard professor Evangeline Other important works Struck by tragedy Writing until the end Description of the man Longfellow’s poetry His character Sources Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Biography...

Madrigal music was popular in the Renaissance.

The Nightingale English Madrigal

The madrigal, a polyphonic musical composition usually sung a capella, was a type of secular Renaissance music that would have been familiar to writers such as Edmund Spenser. Madrigals usually feature the words of...

1995 Pride and Prejudice Fan Trailer

I recommend the 1995 BBC/A&E version of Pride and Prejudice, with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle. It incorporates much of Austen’s incomparable dialogue and remains generally faithful to the novel. Below, this brief “trailer”...

DiCaprio Discusses The Great Gatsby

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio, who plays Jay Gatsby in a recent film adaptation, reflects on the movie and the novel The Great Gatsby in the short clip below. Other American Literature (E3) videos

Don Quixote 2000 film clip

I have not seen any of the many Don Quixote movies available, but I have heard that the 2000 Hallmark version with John Lithgow in the title role is a good choice—unfortunately, it is...

Antigone Video Introduction

How can Antigone be presented as a contemporary drama? Here’s one answer from the British National Theatre. This video clip offers a brief introduction to Aristotle’s theory of tragedy from Edith Hall, before introducing...

Thomas Tallis Medieval Music

Thomas Tallis (c. 1505 – 1585) is an English Renaissance composer of choral music. He is considered one of England’s greatest composers, and served at court as a composer, organist, and performer for several monarchs...

King Lear video excerpt

When studying a play, you should always watch it rather than just reading the text. Better still, watch more than one version, then try acting out a few scenes with your family or class....

King Lear Video of Stage Performance

This King Lear stage clip includes the first 15 minutes of Trinity Theatre Company’s production of “King Lear”, directed by Francesca Gilpin and starring Michael Elliot in the title role. You can follow along...

Hemingway Letters Video

Ernest Hemingway’s personal letters were quite different from his published writings. Cambridge University Press presents collections of Hemingway’s letters and interviews with his son Patrick Hemingway, as well as Hemingway scholars. Want to learn...

The Mount: Home of Edith Wharton

Learn more about The Mount, Edith Wharton’s home in Massachusetts. This home, which she designed herself was inspired by a 17th century home in England, with a few influences from Italian and French architecture. Now...

Willa Cather Letters

You may learn about Willa Cather’s letters in this video from the University of Nebraska. If you prefer to read the letters, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln has an online collection of over 1400 letters....

Shadowlands trailer

The story of C. S. Lewis and Joy Davidman Gresham is told in Shadowlands, a 1993 movie with Anthony Hopkins as Lewis. You may read a brief review on the Decent Films Guide website,...