The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry
One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. And sixty cents of it was in pennies. Pennies saved one and two at a time by bulldozing the grocer and the vegetable man and the...
Category: Classics-Based Writing Resource
Poems, short stories, and excerpts that are particularly suitable for model-based writing. Many of these have been used as the basis for Classics-Based Writing Lessons taught at Schoolhouse Teachers.
The Man with the Muck Rake
“The Man with the Muck Rake” is a memorable speech given by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906. In it, he encourages journalists to pursue honest reporting and avoid sensationalism. Subheads have been added for...
![Major Andres Tree by Arthur Rackham (1867-1939) (from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow) (New York Public Library Digital Collections) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons](https://i0.wp.com/www.excellence-in-literature.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Major_Andres_Tree_Rackham-sm-1.jpg?resize=256%2C245&ssl=1)
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow A short story by Washington Irving Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is the story of the ill-fated 1790 courtship of Katrina Van Tassel, daughter of a wealthy...
March Poems
Poems about the month of March Each month has its share of poetic musings, and March is no exception. As children, we learn that “March comes in like a lion and goes out like...
A Resign by Bill Nye
This tongue-in-cheek letter of resignation was written by humorist Edgar Wilson “Bill” Nye, and appeared in Bill Nye’s Red Book in 1906. A RESIGN. |Postoffice Divan, Laramie City, W. T., Oct. 1, 1883. To the...
Hearts and Hands by O. Henry
Hearts and Hands A short story by O. Henry At Denver there was an influx of passengers into the coaches on the eastbound B & M express. In one coach there sat a very...
Casey at the Bat by Ernest Thayer
Casey at the Bat A Ballad of the Republic Sung in the Year 1888 by Ernest Thayer The outlook wasn’t brilliant for the Mudville Nine that day; the score stood four to two, with...
A Plea for Indoor Golf by P. G. Wodehouse
A PLEA FOR INDOOR GOLF Indoor golf is that which is played in the home. Whether you live in a palace or a hovel, an indoor golf-course, be it only of nine holes, is...
The Two Frogs
“The Two Frogs,” a tale from Japan Once upon a time in the country of Japan there lived two frogs, one of whom made his home in a ditch near the town of Osaka, on...
The White Ship by Dante Gabriel Rossetti
The White Ship, a ballad by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, tells the story of the sinking of the White Ship, and the death of William Adelin, the son and heir to King Henry I. The ship...
The Mice in Council: A Medieval Fable
Although “The Mice in Council” is sometimes attributed to Aesop, it dates from the Middle Ages, and has been retold in many ways by many different writers. The version below is written in the style of an...
To Winter by William Blake
To Winter by William Blake (1757 – 1827) O Winter! bar thine adamantine doors: The north is thine; there hast thou built thy dark Deep-founded habitation. Shake not thy roofs Nor bend thy pillars...
The Roman Sentinel by Ward M. Florence
“The Roman Sentinel” by Ward M. Florence was included in many elocution books of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In this pre-television era, families and friends entertained one another with performances of...
Shakespeare Resources
Why do William Shakespeare’s plays still touch us today? This Renaissance playwright, poet, and actor had a unique way with words and a timeless grasp of human nature. His works are considered to be...
The Seven Ages of Man
“All the World’s a Stage:” the Seven Ages of Man monologue from As You Like It by William Shakespeare All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They...
The Wind and the Moon by George MacDonald
There are poems especially suitable for memorization and recitation, and George MacDonald’s “The Wind and the Moon” is an excellent example. The rhythm and cadence of the language is delightful to young readers young...
The Fly by William Blake
“The Fly” as it originally appeared. The Fly by William Blake Little fly, Thy summer’s play My thoughtless hand Has brushed away. Am not I A fly like thee? Or art not thou A man like...
The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde
The Happy Prince is the title story in a collection of short stories by Oscar Wilde. The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde High above the city, on a tall column, stood the statue of...
The Ruins of Rome in the Fifteenth Century by Edward Gibbon
This brief excerpt from Edward Gibbon’s History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire is the first paragraph of the final chapter in the book. As you read it, be sure to observe how Gibbons uses a quote...
A Leak in the Dike by Phoebe Cary
A Leak in the Dike A Story of Holland by Phoebe Cary THE good dame looked from her cottage At the close of the pleasant day, And cheerily called to her little son Outside the...
The Village Blacksmith by Longfellow
THE VILLAGE BLACKSMITH by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Under a spreading chestnut-tree The village smithy stands; The smith, a mighty man is he, With large and sinewy hands; And the muscles of his brawny arms...
The Alarming Spread of Poetry by P. G. Wodehouse
P. G. Wodehouse, one of the funniest writers to ever appear in print, offers a tongue-in-cheek essay on the proliferation of poets. You’ll find additional information about Wodehouse and his writing below this short article....
Modernism, Faith, and Intellectuals
In a Modernist* culture hostile to Christianity, how did T. S. Eliot, C. S. Lewis, G. K. Chesterton, and many more join the faith — and how did other intellectuals like Virginia Woolf react?...
Advent Poems by Christina Georgina Rossetti
Christina Rossetti’s classic Christmas carol, “In the Bleak Midwinter,” offers a vivid poetic look at the Incarnation. In a similar way, her less-known Advent poems describe the season of waiting and watching. Advent (1851) ‘Come,’ Thou dost say...
The Wild Swans at Coole by William Butler Yeats
The Wild Swans at Coole by William Butler Yeats Written between 1916 and early 1917, “The Wild Swans at Coole” is a lyric poem by Irish poet William Butler Yeats. Literary scholar Daniel Tobin suggests...
Ian McKellen Analyzes a Shakespearean Soliloquy
How should a soliloquy be performed? It starts with reading thoughtfully and with understanding; then thinking about the text and what the audience will need to understand. In this clip from British television, c....
Whistles: A Letter from Benjamin Franklin
This letter from Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) to a friend, Madame Brillon, offers a glimpse of his clear, direct writing style, and demonstrates an apt use of metaphor. Passy, November 10, 1779 I received my dear friend’s two...
Bulfinch’s Mythology Tales
Bulfinch and Mythology Thomas Bulfinch was an American writer born on July 15, 1796 in Newton, Massachusetts. Bulfinch belonged to a well-educated merchant family, and he himself had an extensive classical education at such...
Daedalus and Icarus
The myth of Daedalus and Icarus tells the story of Dædalus, a master craftsman, who escaped exile on the island of Crete by making wings for himself and his son Icarus. Disaster happens, when Icarus...
Melani Study Guide On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer
On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer, by John Keats This Chapman’s Homer Study Guide is by Dr. Lilia Melani Classification of poem Type of poem: lyric poem Type of lyric poem: sonnet Type of...
