Robert Louis Stevenson Poetry
Robert Louis Stevenson, in addition to his famous prose works, also wrote poetry ranging from children’s nursery rhymes to poems of travel and adventure. Here are a few samples for your enjoyment. From A...
Category: Excellence in Literature: The Curriculum
William Wordsworth Biography
William Wordsworth William Wordsworth (1770-1850), an English poet, was born at Cockermouth, on the Derwent, in Cumberland, on the 7th of April 1770. Wordsworth’s family and childhood He was the son of John Wordsworth...
Why Read The Odyssey?
A Letter to Students Why We Read The Odyssey Tuesday, March 9, 2010 By Deborah Stokol I’ve been full-time substitute teaching English at Harvard-Westlake, my Alma mater, for six weeks now, lecturing on The...
Sarah Orne Jewett Biography
Sarah Orne Jewett (1849-1909) was an American regional author best known for short stories and color sketches that reflected her roots in Maine. EIL 1.1.
Washington Irving Timeline
Washington Irving’s place in history This timeline documents major events and influences on Washington Irving’s life and work. It begins by outlining the events and publications in Irving’s life, then looks at American literature, visual...
![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...
Common Sense by Thomas Paine
COMMON SENSE addressed to the INHABITANTS of AMERICA, On the following interesting SUBJECTS —Of the Origin and Design of Government in general, with concise Remarks on the English Constitution. —Of Monarchy and Hereditary Succession...
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...
Understanding Emma’s World by Pamela Whalan
Understanding Emma’s World by Pamela Whalan Difficulties for modern readers Timeless Human Nature Good Breeding: A Marriage Consideration Wealth through Marriage: Dowries Work for Single Women Marriage as a Business Deal Men Earning Money:...
Emma: A Play by Pamela Whalan
Emma: A Play by Pamela Whalan Sometimes, acting out a section of the novel can help you understand the text. We’re delighted that Pamela Whalan has given us a sneak peek at Emma: A...
Pride and Prejudice: A Play by Pamela Whalan
Pride and Prejudice: A Play by Pamela Whalan Enjoy an excerpt from Pride and Prejudice: A Play, by Pamela Whalan, who has adaptated Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice for the stage. Sometimes acting out...
Social Background of Pride and Prejudice by Pamela Whalan
The Social Background of Pride and Prejudice by Pamela Whalan Matrimony and Finances: Women’s Options, Marriage Settlements, and Family Obligations Cost of Living: Travel and Clothing Earning Money: Property, Military, Law, and Church Work...
Of Education by John Milton
Of Education by John Milton Of Education was published anonymously as a tract in 1644. It represents John Milton’s views “concerning the best and noblest way of education.” Milton believed that education was to “fit a man to...
Hermitage Video Tour
Gary Bembridge offers a short video tour of the beautiful Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia. The State Hermitage Museum is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. One of the largest and oldest museums in the world,...
Jane Austen Biography
This brief Jane Austen biography by David Cody is likely to whet your appetite for learning more about Jane Austen and her works.
Robert Frost Resources
Robert Frost Resources Robert Lee Frost (1874 – 1963) was a highly-regarded American poet known for realistic depictions of New England rural life as well as his use of American colloquial speech. His work used homespun...
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?...
F. Scott Fitzgerald Resources
F. Scott Fitzgerald Resources Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (1896-1940) led a life as colorful as one of his Jazz Age novels. Although he wrote only four complete novels and short stories, he is widely...
Fitzgerald Audio Recordings
F. Scott Fitzgerald Audio Recordings Listen to these 1940s recordings of F. Scott Fitzgerald reading and reciting famous literature — he has a magnificent, magical voice that seems to give insight into his works...
Fitzgerald Collection at USC
The F. Scott Fitzgerald Collection at the University of South Carolina A fascinating F. Scott Fitzgerald Collection of documents has been made available online. According to the library’s description, “This F. Scott Fitzgerald Centenary website was launched...
Goethe Biography (1911)
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832), German poet, dramatist and philosopher, is known for Faust and Letters to a Young Poet, among other things.
William Butler Yeats Poetry
William Butler Yeats (1865 – 1939) was an Irish Symbolist poet, as well as a two-term Irish Senator. He was a master of traditional poetry forms, and is widely considered one of the most...
The Courtship of Miles Standish by Longfellow
The Courtship of Miles Standish by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow This narrative poem written in 1858 by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow tells a charming tale of a courtship during the early days of Plymouth...
Part 9: The Courtship of Miles Standish
The Courtship of Miles Standish—Part 9 by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow IX. THE WEDDING-DAY Forth from the curtain of clouds, from the tent of purple and scarlet, Issued the sun, the great High-Priest,[54] in his...
Part 8: The Courtship of Miles Standish
The Courtship of Miles Standish—Part 8 by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow VIII. THE SPINNING WHEEL Month after month passed away, and in, autumn the ships of the merchants 825 Game with kindred and friends, with...
Part 7: The Courtship of Miles Standish
The Courtship of Miles Standish—Part 7 by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow VII. THE MARCH OF MILES STANDISH.[44] Meanwhile the stalwart Miles Standish was marching steadily northward, 725 Winding through forest and swamp, and...
James Fenimore Cooper Resources
James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851) Cooper is considered the first fully American novelist – someone who achieved literary success writing about American issues, characters, and settings. He was influenced in his writing by the adventure novels...
Nathaniel Hawthorne Biography
Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) was an American author, best known for The Scarlet Letter and The House of the Seven Gables. Hawthorne resources for EIL 3.4.
Silence by Edgar Allan Poe
Silence by Edgar Allan Poe There are some qualities — some incorporate things, That have a double life, which thus is made A type of that twin entity which springs From matter and light,...
Part 6: The Courtship of Miles Standish
The Courtship of Miles Standish—Part 6 by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow VI. PRISCILLA Thus for a while he stood, and mused by the shore of the ocean, Thinking of many things, and most of all...
