The Grasshopper and the Ants: A Fable
The Ant and the Grasshopper From Aesop’s Fables In a field one summer’s day a Grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing to its heart’s content. An Ant passed by, bearing along with great...
Category: Audio / Video
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,...
Count of Monte Cristo Trailer and Music
Here is the trailer for the 2002 film of The Count of Monte Cristo. I haven’t seen this film but here is a link to a very positive review about it, and a link...
Treasure Island Adaptations
Treasure Island, the beloved adventure novel by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, was originally serialized in the children’s magazine Young Folks in 1881 – 1882 under the title Treasure Island, or the mutiny of...
Jane Eyre Trailers
Jane Eyre Adaptations Jane Eyre, the classic 1847 novel by English writer Charlotte Brontë, has been a beloved favorite of generations of readers. It is no surprise, then, that it has been adapted a...
Mark Twain House Video
Where did Mark Twain live? The Mark Twain House and Museum in Hartford, Connecticut, was the home of Samuel Langhorne Clemens (Mark Twain) and his family from 1874 to 1891. Designed by Edward Tuckerman...
Opera Eugene Onegin Scene sung by Netrebko at Metropolitan Opera
The opera Eugene Onegin is based on Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin’s famous novel in verse, with a musical score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. You may watch the Russian soprano Anna Netrebko perform a scene from...
To Ireland Sea Shanty sung by Bounding Main
The musical re-enactment group Bounding Main sings the sea shanty, “To Ireland.” A sea shanty, also spelled chantey, or chanty, is a type of rhythmic work song. These songs were once sung to synchronize...
Cooper and Berlioz Overture “Le Corsaire Rouge”
Berlioz commemorates the death of James Fenimore Cooper Composer Hector Berlioz was a great admirer of James Fenimore Cooper and commemorated Cooper’s death by renaming one of his overtures Le corsaire rouge, translated from...
Victor Hugo Poem Read Aloud
Listen to one of Victor Hugo’s poems in French (Demain dès l’aube), read aloud by Lorenzo Diprossimo. If you want to read the English translation, it scrolls along the bottom–this is easiest to view...
Videos Referenced in Excellence in Literature
Here are lists of the videos referenced in the EIL curriculum, organized by level. Introduction to Literature videos Literature and Composition videos American Literature videos British Literature videos World Literature videos
Tchaikovsky’s Tempest Overture
Tchaikovsky and Shakespeare One of the most influential composers of the 19th century and the first Russian composer to achieve lasting international fame, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky is best known today for his ballets Swan...
My Fair Lady (1964) Movie Trailer
My Fair Lady is a musical based on George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion, with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story presents Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl...
Trailer for Around the World in 80 Days (1956)
A proflic and beloved writer of adventure stories and science-fiction (he features prominently in our article on Books Boys Like), it’s no surprise that Jules Verne’s work has been adapted for various mediums. One...
The Hollow Men and Four Quartets Read by T S Eliot
Listen as English poet T. S. Eliot reads his own poem, “The Hollow Men.” His poignant, dramatic recitation will help you understand the poem in a way that isn’t possible through simply reading it silently....
Roman Weapons Video
Conquest played a significant role in the creation of the Roman Empire. This was possible partly because the Roman military was a highly-disciplined and trained force, and their equipment was carefully planned and chosen....
Roman Water Wheel London Museum
The Romans made and used many helpful devices, some of which are similar to those still in use. In the video below, you can see a Roman water wheel constructed by The Museum of London...
House of Mirth Music by Haydn, Borodin, and Mozart
House of Mirth Film Music These pieces of music (though not these performers) are featured on the soundtrack of the 2000 movie House of Mirth. Joseph Haydn’s “String Quartet in D Major, op. 64,...
Robinson Crusoe 1927 Silent Film
Robinson Crusoe is a British silent film from 1927. The movie is based on the 1719 novel, Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe, and features a shipwrecked man who lived for 28 years on a seemingly...
Wuthering Heights 1939 movie trailer
The Academy-award nominated 1939 movie of Wuthering Heights, starring Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon, is a well-done black-and-white classic (despite the color photo on the cover of the DVD). The film includes characters and events...
The Sword in the Stone Disney movie trailer
The Sword in the Stone is Disney’s version of the King Arthur tale.Based on T. H. White’s Once and Future King, this retelling begins with Arthur’s childhood, his efforts to help his brother Kay...
Knights of the Round Table 1953 movie trailer
Knights of the Round Table is a 1953 British-American Technicolor film made by MGM in England and Ireland. It begins when Arthur pulls the sword from an anvil and ends with Arthur’s death and a...
Beowulf Battle Scene performed by Benjamin Bagby
Benjamin Bagby’s Beowulf recitation uses voice, gestures, and Anglo-saxon harp to bring the ancient epic poem to life. This short clip of the Beowulf battle scene from the DVD of Bagby’s performance features high...
Virginia Woolf Radio Recording
Listen to this delightful 1937 BBC recording of English author Virginia Woolf talking about words. Her love for words clearly comes through — be sure to notice her use of personification and metaphor. Just...
World Literature Videos
Videos referenced in World Literature (E5) Study Guide: World Literature (Excellence in Literature, English 5) Module 1 Ancient Greek Music – Macedonia Module 2 Antigone on stage Module 3 Roman Water Wheel, London Museum Roman Weapons...
British Literature Videos
Each module has a page with links from the British Literature study guide, and those pages will have the most complete listings of all the helpful resources you’ll use for that module. However, I...
Daffodils by William Wordsworth
I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud By William Wordsworth I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o’er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of...
The Last of the Mohicans 1920 film
This 1920 American film adaption of The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper’s novel of the same name is the story of two English sisters who encounter danger and heroism on the...
American Literature Videos
Videos referenced in American Literature (E3): Module 1 William Zeitler plays the glass armonica (an instrument invented by Benjamin Franklin) Module 2 Poe’s poem “The Raven” read aloud by Christopher Walken, combined with Gustave...
Literature and Composition Videos
Videos referenced in Literature and Composition (E2) Module 1 1927 silent film of Robinson Crusoe Theme Music from the 1970s TV show The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe Robinson Crusoe Opera Excerpt Module 2 Walden...
