Composer Aaron Copeland’s Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson provides a creative musical approach to Emily Dickinson that may help you hear her poems anew. This composition by Aaron Copeland was performed for the recital “For...
Shakespeare was, of course, a master of the written word. It’s precisely because of this, though, that people forget that much of his work was originally meant to be performed, not merely read. Sometimes...
by EILeditor · Published April 8, 2014 · Last modified December 13, 2020
Among the composers mentioned in Willa Cather’s Death Comes for the Archbishop are Giuseppe Verdi, Johann Sebastian Bach, and Stephen Foster. Here are a few works of theirs to enjoy; your library may have other...
by Janice Campbell · Published April 7, 2014 · Last modified December 12, 2020
Heart of Darkness Opera Composer Tarik O’Regan has written a chamber opera based on Joseph Conrad’s novella, Heart of Darkness. Here is a video interview in which the composer discusses the process of creating...
The Brontë sisters read widely, wrote passionately, and created enduring works drawn from their surroundings and imagination. Explore their writings and their world through the resources below. Charlotte Brontë Emily Brontë Brontë Sisters Context...
by Janice Campbell · Published April 3, 2014 · Last modified December 9, 2020
Music in the Brontë Sisters’ World Music and musical appreciation were, in the time of the Brontë sisters, considered to be part of the general set of “feminine accomplishments”. As the daughters of an Anglican...
by Janice Campbell · Published April 3, 2014 · Last modified December 9, 2020
Listen to “A White Heron” “A White Heron,” an 1886 short story by American author Sarah Orne Jewett, features Sylvia, a young girl who comes from a big city to live in the country...
by Janice Campbell · Published April 3, 2014 · Last modified December 9, 2020
“The Ransom of Red Chief” Dramatized O. Henry is the pseudonym of American author William Sydney Porter, who is best known for his funny, warm, short stories with surprise endings. In the video below, Shep O’Neal...
by Janice Campbell · Published April 3, 2014 · Last modified August 1, 2023
Although suspenseful music accompanies this 1952 dramatization, “The Purloined Letter” by American author Edgar Allan Poe lacks the element of horror found in most of Poe’s other short stories. Instead, this is one of...
by Janice Campbell · Published April 3, 2014 · Last modified December 9, 2020
“The Diamond Necklace” (La Parure) is a short story by French author Guy de Maupassant, considered a master of the form. A 19th-century Naturalist author, de Maupassant was a protégé of Gustave Flaubert and...
Audio / Video / Classics-Based Writing Resource / E4-Resources / Poetry
by Janice Campbell · Published March 31, 2014 · Last modified February 26, 2021
Sonnet VII: How soon hath Time, the Subtle Thief of Youth ON HIS BEING ARRIVED AT THE AGE OF 23. by John Milton How soon hath Time, the subtle thief of youth, Stol’n on...
Biography / E2-Resources / Poetry
by EILeditor · Published March 24, 2014 · Last modified August 28, 2020
Edward Lear Resources John Cousin tells us that Edward Lear (1812-1888) was an “artist and miscellaneous author [who was born] in London and settled in Rome as a landscape painter. He was an indefatigable...
One of the first poems I recite when trying to soothe a fussy infant is “The Owl and the Pussy-Cat,” a poem I memorized through endless readings when I was a child. Its rollicking...
E1-Resources / Resources for Teaching
by EILeditor · Published March 22, 2014 · Last modified November 28, 2020
Jonathan Swift Resources Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) wrote some of the most brilliant prose in the English language and is often regarded as its foremost satirist. While best known for his masterpiece Gulliver’s Travels and,...
This Swift biography paints a vivid portrait of the life and works of Jonathan Swift, an early British novelist. Introduction to Literature, Module 1.9.
George Bernard Shaw Resources George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) was a prolific writer who worked as an art, music, and theater critic. Irish-born and largely self-educated, he found his calling writing popular plays, including Pygmalion...
American author Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens) is best known for his humorous stories, many taking place on or near the great Mississippi River.
Washington Irving Biography Irving’s family Boyhood European travels Rising fame Love and poverty Tragedy, memorialized Literature as a profession Home at Sunnyside Minister to Spain Personal appearance and character End of life Sources Other...
Overview of Byron’s life Parents and birth Raised by his mother First love Pigots and poetry Out on his own Criticism and triumph House of Lords Travels across Europe Return to England “Childe Harold”...
Audio / Video / Biography / E3-Resources
by EILeditor · Published March 10, 2014 · Last modified December 14, 2023
Family and boyhood Early career and travels A Harvard professor Evangeline Other important works Struck by tragedy Writing until the end Description of the man Longfellow’s poetry His character Sources Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Biography...
John Dryden Biography Family and education Early adult life Prolific playwright Poet Laureate Poetry and politics Religious matters Reversal of fortunes Life overview Sources Family and education Poet, dramatist, and satirist John...
Classics-Based Writing Resource / E1-Resources
by Janice Campbell · Published March 3, 2014 · Last modified January 16, 2021
Situational irony is a form of humor that focuses on a contrast between expectation and reality. In these excerpts from Around the World in Eighty Days, you will see how Jules Verne has used...
The Life of Charlotte Brontë by Elizabeth Gaskell “Hand in hand they used to make their way to the glorious moors, which in after days they loved so passionately.” The Children Who Never Played...
Why Study the Pagans? by Cheryl Lowe A classical education involves two things primarily: the study of the classical languages, Latin and/or Greek, and the study of the classical civilization of Greece and Rome....
by EILeditor · Published February 24, 2014 · Last modified February 2, 2021
Victor Hugo Biography Man is neither master of his life nor of his fate. He can but offer to his fellowmen his efforts to diminish human suffering; he can but offer to God his...
Benjamin Franklin Biography Family history and education Writing and printing career Helping his fellow man Fight against the Stamp Act Continental Congress Colonial diplomacy in France Making peace Franklin in person Life philosophy Printing...
Biography / E3-Resources / Poetry
by EILeditor · Published February 18, 2014 · Last modified October 11, 2023
Family history and childhood Early work and romance Literature, reform, and family life The Biglow Papers Family tragedies Teaching and traveling The Atlantic Monthly Work abroad End of life Overview of writings and influence...
Biography / E4-Resources / Poetry
by EILeditor · Published February 12, 2014 · Last modified July 25, 2023
Family history and upbringing Meeting other poets Health troubles Praise and correspondence Browning’s courtship A secret wedding Published poetry Politics and posterity “God took her” Overview of married life and poetry Sources Family history...
Biography / E4-Resources / Poetry
by EILeditor · Published February 10, 2014 · Last modified August 26, 2020
Robert Browning Biography Family background Early career & personality First major poems (Paracelsus and Sordello) Dramatic works Expanding poetic repertoire Marriage Browning’s masterpiece: The Ring and the Book Growing fame Later writings Beliefs (religious...
Gustave Doré did a series of famous illustrations for Dante’s Divine Comedy, which we study in World Literature, Module 4. Here are a few examples of these highly detailed etchings. Click on an image...
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
