E3-Resources / Resources for Teaching
by Rebecca · Published June 30, 2012 · Last modified February 9, 2021
The Romantic Period, 1820-1860: Fiction Outline of American Literature: Chapter 4 Protagonists of the American Romance are haunted, alienated individuals. By Kathryn VanSpanckeren The American Novelist The Romance: Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Edgar Allan Poe...
E3-Resources / Resources for Teaching
by Rebecca · Published June 30, 2012 · Last modified July 17, 2020
Outline of American Literature Chapter 2 Democratic Origins and Revolutionary Writers, 1776-1820 By Kathryn VanSpanckeren Introduction and Overview The American Enlightenment: Benjamin Franklin, Hector St. John de Crèvecoeur The Political Pamphlet: Thomas Paine Neoclassicism:...
Emily Jane Brontë 1818-1848 A Biographical Sketch by Sara Selby Emily Jane Brontë’s life, though short and tragic, had an overwhelming influence on her work. Marked by violent emotional upheavals, her childhood on the...
E1-Resources / E4-Resources / Poetry
by Rebecca · Published June 27, 2012 · Last modified August 19, 2023
In Shakespeare’s time, the fields of art and science were blossoming. Here are a few poems by Shakespeare contemporaries, including Sidney and Marlowe.
LETTER TO SIR WALTER RALEIGH (an introduction to The Faerie Queene) A LETTER of the Authors expounding his whole intention in the course of this worke;(1) which, for that it giveth great light to...
King Lear by William Shakespeare Adapted by Charles and Mary Lamb in Tales From Shakespeare Other works by Charles Lamb [Note: I offer this rather Victorian-style retelling of King Lear by the Lambs to...
The 16th Century that shaped Shakespeare’s writing wasn’t all poetry, art, and music. It was also an era that saw the execution of many for their faith. This brief excerpt from John Foxe’s Book...
E4-Resources / Resources for Teaching
by Rebecca · Published May 25, 2012 · Last modified June 19, 2024
Why Read Beowulf? By Robert F. Yeager Beowulf, the rousing Old English poem of man and monster, has been a classroom classic for generations. Its own survival as a text is nearly as epic...
E3-Resources / Resources for Teaching
by Janice Campbell · Published May 4, 2012 · Last modified September 9, 2020
Here is a free American history text book that is available online or for download as a PDF from the United States Department of State.
William Cowper’s beautiful hymn, Light Shining Out of Darkness, is best known for the lines “God moves in a mysterious way, his wonders to perform.” Listen to it here.
A poem by John Newton (1725-1807), a British sailor and slave trader who experienced conversion and became a writer, Anglican minister, and activist for the abolition of slavery.
by Janice Campbell · Published May 3, 2012 · Last modified June 23, 2020
Gilbert Keith Chesterton’s A Short History of England is an inviting introduction to British history through the end of the nineteenth century. You may listen to it in the audio player below, or read it...
Massachusetts Bay Colony Governor John Winthrop outlines his ideas for keeping Puritan society spiritually strong in their new land.
Puritan minister Cotton Mather offers a great deal of wisdom in Satisfaction in God, a surprisingly short sermon.
Charles Lamb and his sister Mary Lamb wrote shorter versions of many classic tales, many of which appear in their work Tales from Shakespeare, some of which are referenced as introductions to the full-length...
This famous satirical essay by Jonathan Swift, the author of Gulliver’s Travels, was intended to mock harsh attitudes towards the poor and to critique British policies relating to the Irish. It was originally published as...
by Janice Campbell · Published October 1, 2011 · Last modified March 1, 2021
The 1946 British film version of Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations has been ranked among the top 100 British films, and has been considered one of the finest adaptations of Dickens’ work. Watch it and notice what’s different from the novel.
Fortunate Misfortunes: An Analysis of Verses on the Death of Dr. Swift by Janice Campbell (a poetry analysis from my college days).
by Janice Campbell · Published September 20, 2011 · Last modified September 19, 2020
Verses on the Death of Dr. Swift, D.S.P.D.
BY JONATHAN SWIFT
The Lake Gun By James Fenimore Cooper “The Lake Gun” is one of James Fenimore Cooper’s very few short stories, and was written in the last year of his life. It was commissioned by...
Religion in Robinson Crusoe by Dr. Lilia Melani Religious Considerations For many, perhaps most readers, Crusoe’s many references to God, to Providence, to sin are extraneous to the real interest of the novel and...
George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) led a long and fascinating literary life. Here is a brief biography by Cary Mazer of the University of Pennsylvania.
Stevenson (from Twelve Types [a Collection of Biographies]) A brief biography of Robert Louis Stevenson. By G. K. Chesterton A recent incident has finally convinced us that Stevenson was, as we suspected, a great...
Audio / Video / E1-Resources / Short Stories
by Rebecca · Published July 15, 2011 · Last modified September 14, 2020
“The Gold-Bug” is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe. Hero William Legrand is bitten by a gold bug which leads to an adventure and buried treasure.
Scholars have long recognized the importance of structural aspects of Mozart’s music on George Bernard Shaw’s dramas. Here is the text of a talk given by Gareth Cox, a leading authority on Shaw.
Jane Eyre’s Three Paintings: Biblical Warnings & Greek Legends By Peter Bolt, English Department, North East Worchester College [England] Charlotte Brontë’s ability to use her encyclopaedic knowledge of the Bible first appears in her...
by Rebecca · Published June 30, 2011 · Last modified September 14, 2020
In the Year 2889 By Jules Verne Edited by Blake Linton Editor’s Notes by Blake Linton In 1885, James Gordon Bennett, Jr., owner of the New York Herald (the same man who sent Stanley...
Jules Verne at Home: His Own Account of His Life and Work Reported by R. H. Sherard in McClure’s Magazine, January 1894 Edited to HTML by Zvi Har’El “The great regret of my life is...
by Rebecca · Published June 25, 2011 · Last modified September 14, 2020
The Purloined Letter by Edgar Allan Poe NOTE: If you would like to view a dramatized version of the story, a 1952 video version of “The Purloined Letter” can be found here, courtesy of...
The Ransom of Red Chief by O. Henry remains one of the funniest short stories I’ve read. You will study it in Introduction to Literature, Module 1.
Here’s the Everyday Educator — our annual newsletter handout. It has book lists and helpful articles about homeschooling topics. We’d rather be sharing it in person, but for now, you can download the Everyday Educator here. I hope you enjoy it!
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