Alexander’s Feast by John Dryden
ALEXANDER’S FEAST; OR, THE POWER OF MUSIC. AN ODE, IN HONOUR OF ST CECILIA’S DAY by John Dryden 1 ‘Twas at the royal feast, for Persia won By Philip’s warlike son: Aloft in awful...
Category: Excellence in Literature: The Curriculum
Veni Creator Spiritus by John Dryden
VENI CREATOR SPIRITUS, PARAPHRASED by John Dryden CREATOR SPIRIT, by whose aid The world’s foundations first were laid, Come, visit every pious mind; Come, pour thy joys on human kind; From sin and sorrow...
To Jennie by Mark Twain
To Jennie by Mark Twain EIL Editor’s note: Written upon the death of his niece, Jennie Clemens, To Jennie is Twain at his most somber. The only child of his brother Orion, Jennie was...
Genius by Mark Twain
Genius by Mark Twain EIL Editor’s note: Twain at his most satirical, Genius is a biting mockery of not only the eccentric poetic stereotype but the tendency of critics to evaluate work based on...
Ode to Stephen Dowling Bots by Mark Twain
Ode To Stephen Dowling Bots, Dec’d by Mark Twain EIL Editior’s note: Originally appearing in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as a work by Emmaline Grangerford (a caricature of Twain’s contemporary Julia A. Moore),...
Those Annual Bills by Mark Twain
THOSE ANNUAL BILLS BY MARK TWAIN EIL Editor’s note: Never one to shy away from social commentary or criticism, Twain’s Those Annual Bills is a semi-comical lament of the financial necessities of existence which is...
The Aged Pilot Man by Mark Twain
THE AGED PILOT MAN by Mark Twain EIL Editor’s note: Being serious for once, Twain penned The Aged Pilot Man as an ode to the steamboat captains with whom he lived and worked. Taking place...
A Sweltering Day in Australia by Mark Twain
A SWELTERING DAY IN AUSTRALIA by Mark Twain EIL Editor’s note: A whimsical exploration of Australian geography and nomenclature, Twain’s A Sweltering Day in Australia is poking fun at both linguistic differences and at...
Out of Africa soundtrack music
The soundtrack for the film Out of Africa has beautiful and evocative music. Get it from your library or bookstore and listen to it as you study. You can listen to an excerpt in...
Faust Silent Movie 1926
The entire 1926 movie of Goethe’s Faust is available with English subtitles on YouTube. This is a silent film, with music composed and conducted by Timothy Brock and performed by the Olympia Chamber Orchestra....
Faust Opera Performance Video Excerpt
This is an old black and white film clip of Faust, a melodramatic performance of Faust – A German Folktale. The images and characters may be disturbing, so these clips are totally optional. You...
Schumann Faust Overture Music
Scenes from Goethe’s Faust (Szenen aus Goethes Faust), a musical-theatrical work by composer Robert Schumann, is considered one of Schumann’s most moving works. This three-part composition suggests the struggle between good and evil at...
The Damnation of Faust by Berlioz
French Romantic composer and conductor Hector Berlioz was inspired by Goethe’s Faust to compose “The Damnation of Faust,” a free-form oratorio or opera (Berlioz ultimately called it a “légende dramatique”). It is most often heard in...
Richard Wagner Faust Overture
Listen to Richard Wagner’s Faust Overture: Other World Literature (E5) videos
Liszt’s Faust Symphony
Franz Liszt wrote a beautiful Faust Symphony with three movements. The first is “Faust,” the second is “Gretchen,” and the third is “Méphistofélès.” Be sure to note the way each character’s theme reflects his...
Goethe’s Faust Read Aloud Video Excerpt
Listen to a bit of Goethe’s Faust in the original German. It’s always useful to know the sound and cadence of other languages. This video shows a few vintage illustrations. Other World Literature (E5)...
Video of Leo Tolstoy
This brief video clip features footage from the life of Count Leo Tolstoy, author of War and Peace, Anna Karenina, and more. The narration starts off with a brief mention of Vincent Van Gogh,...
A Brief Look at Russian History
Russia is a country with a storied history, in part due to its unique geography; it is a large, diverse nation composed of over 180 different ethnic groups (many of which have their own...
Band version of La Marseillaise with lyrics
Here is a band version of the French national anthem La Marseillaise, with the words for the first verse and chorus repeated three times. Other World Literature (E5) videos
La Marseillaise sung by Placido Domingo
Listen to the French national anthem, La Marseillaise, sung by Placido Domingo in this video below. Other World Literature (E5) videos
Recitation of Dante’s Inferno by Roberto Benigni
Watch a brief video of Roberto Benigni reciting the fifth canto of Dante’s Inferno in the original Italian. It will allow you to appreciate the beauty of the language and rhythm of the poem....
Ancient Greek Music Macedonia
The Music of Ancient Greece Music is a significant aspect of Hellenic culture, both within Greece and in the diaspora, and the music of Greece is as diverse and celebrated as its history. Greek...
Mark Twain Images
With his luxuriant mustache and insouciant air, Mark Twain looked just like what he was—a satirically humorous creative author. These images, mostly from the Library of Congress, offer a glimpse of Twain and his...
Lord Byron Poetry
George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788-1824) was a Romantic writer who lead a dramatic life filled with passion, poetry, praise, and pitfalls. He traveled widely, wrote with intense emotion, and became famous after the publication...
Darkness by George Gordon Lord Byron
Darkness (1816) by George Gordon Lord Byron The year [1816] that the poem was written was known as the Year Without a Summer– this is because Mount Tambora had erupted in the Dutch East...
She Walks in Beauty by George Gordon, Lord Byron
She Walks in Beauty by George Gordon, Lord Byron I She walks in beauty—like the night Of cloudless climes and starry skies, And all that’s best of dark and bright Meet in her aspect...
Prometheus by George Gordon Lord Byron
Prometheus by George Gordon, Lord Byron Titan! to whose immortal eyes The sufferings of mortality, Seen in their sad reality, Were not as things that gods despise; What was thy pity’s recompense? A silent...
William Blake Poetry
William Blake Poetry William Blake (1757-1827) was a British Romantic poet and painter. He is most well known for his Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience; his own engravings illustrated these and many...
The Ecchoing Green by William Blake
“The Ecchoing Green” was first published in 1789 as part of William Blake’s Songs of Innocence. This happy poem depicts children playing in the green space of a town, evoking happy memories for the older...
A Divine Image by William Blake
A Divine Image by William Blake Cruelty has a human heart, And Jealousy a human face; Terror the human form divine, And Secresy the human dress. The human dress is forged iron, The human...
