Inferno: Questions for Analysis Cantos XII – XVII by Stacy Esch, with illustrations selected by EIL staff Professor Esch’s original materials have been edited by the Excellence in Literature staff for use on this...
Structure in the Inferno Analysis of Cantos V – XI by Stacy Esch [with illustrations selected by EIL staff] An alert reading of these early cantos helps us identify an underlying unity that turns...
Inferno: Questions for Analysis, Cantos I – V by Stacy Esch [with illustrations selected by EIL staff] What is the “dark wood”? How did Dante get there? [see Introducing Canto I] What’s the significance...
E5-Resources / Resources for Teaching
by EILeditor · Published October 24, 2013 · Last modified April 25, 2021
Many thanks to Stacy Esch for providing these resources for Dante’s Divine Comedy, as well as a Tolkien essay (below) and sharing them with Excellence in Literature. Stacy Esch teaches composition and literature at West...
by EILeditor · Published October 21, 2013 · Last modified April 25, 2021
I have not seen any of the many Don Quixote movies available, but I have heard that the 2000 Hallmark version with John Lithgow in the title role is a good choice—unfortunately, it is...
Approaching the Divine Comedy by Stacy Esch The Divine Comedy is an architectural masterpiece-the representative work of the middle ages, the masterpiece of medieval aesthetics, cosmology, politics, theology, psychology, philosophy, and even science, with...
by EILeditor · Published October 5, 2013 · Last modified April 21, 2021
How can Antigone be presented as a contemporary drama? Here’s one answer from the British National Theatre. This video clip offers a brief introduction to Aristotle’s theory of tragedy from Edith Hall, before introducing...
by EILeditor · Published October 5, 2013 · Last modified February 26, 2021
Many musical works are inspired by or based upon John Milton’s writing, including the three-act oratorio Samson by George Frederic Handel. Samson is a three-act oratorio by George Frideric Handel, considered one of his finest dramatic...
by EILeditor · Published October 4, 2013 · Last modified November 18, 2023
Thomas Tallis (c. 1505 – 1585) is an English Renaissance composer of choral music. He is considered one of England’s greatest composers, and served at court as a composer, organist, and performer for several monarchs...
When studying a play, you should always watch it rather than just reading the text. Better still, watch more than one version, then try acting out a few scenes with your family or class....
by EILeditor · Published October 2, 2013 · Last modified December 27, 2019
This King Lear stage clip includes the first 15 minutes of Trinity Theatre Company’s production of “King Lear”, directed by Francesca Gilpin and starring Michael Elliot in the title role. You can follow along...
by EILeditor · Published October 2, 2013 · Last modified February 19, 2021
Ernest Hemingway’s personal letters were quite different from his published writings. Cambridge University Press presents collections of Hemingway’s letters and interviews with his son Patrick Hemingway, as well as Hemingway scholars. Want to learn...
by EILeditor · Published September 30, 2013 · Last modified February 16, 2021
Learn more about The Mount, Edith Wharton’s home in Massachusetts. This home, which she designed herself was inspired by a 17th century home in England, with a few influences from Italian and French architecture. Now...
by EILeditor · Published September 30, 2013 · Last modified November 18, 2023
Louisiana Public Broadcasting presents this video about the Longfellow-Evangeline State Historic Site in St. Martinville–a place to learn about the Acadian/Creole way of life. This may help you to put Longfellow’s poem Evangeline in...
by EILeditor · Published September 30, 2013 · Last modified December 26, 2020
You may learn about Willa Cather’s letters in this video from the University of Nebraska. If you prefer to read the letters, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln has an online collection of over 1400 letters....
by EILeditor · Published September 30, 2013 · Last modified December 20, 2020
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,...
by EILeditor · Published September 30, 2013 · Last modified September 29, 2017
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...
by EILeditor · Published September 30, 2013 · Last modified January 21, 2021
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...
by EILeditor · Published September 30, 2013 · Last modified October 17, 2020
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...
Audio / Video / E1-Resources / E3-Resources
by EILeditor · Published September 27, 2013 · Last modified October 17, 2020
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...
by EILeditor · Published September 25, 2013 · Last modified April 25, 2021
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...
by EILeditor · Published September 19, 2013 · Last modified October 8, 2018
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...
by EILeditor · Published September 17, 2013 · Last modified February 19, 2021
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...
Audio / Video / E5-Resources / Poetry
by EILeditor · Published September 16, 2013 · Last modified April 25, 2021
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...
by EILeditor · Published September 14, 2013 · Last modified October 17, 2020
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...
by EILeditor · Published September 13, 2013 · Last modified October 9, 2020
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...
by EILeditor · Published September 12, 2013 · Last modified October 17, 2020
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 Memoir as Post Modern History by Paul Gregory Alms I have spent the last 4 or 5 weeks reading memoirs. I don’t know why I’ve done this. I started reading one and, being...
Study Guide: The Aeneid By Dr. William A. Johnson, Professor of Classical Studies, Duke University Capsule Summary Book 1: Aeneas encounters a storm and is cast ashore at Carthage. Book 2: The hero tells...
Introduction to Medieval Music Cynthia J. Cyrus Last modified on June 18, 2003 Introduction The medieval musical experience is impossible to recapture, for most of the music of daily life is lost to us....
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!
Resources
