In “I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General” from The Pirates of Penzance, Gilbert and Sullivan’s character introduces himself by presenting an absurdly detailed résumé in the musical form of a “patter...
Jonathan Swift (1667 – 1745) was an Anglo-Irish satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer, poet and Anglican cleric best remembered in the literary world for his satirical novel, Gulliver’s Travels. As a writer, he developed close,...
Children's Literature / Poetry
by Janice Campbell · Published August 23, 2017 · Last modified October 21, 2023
In Hilaire Belloc’s humorous book of More Beasts (for Worse Children), a companion volume to The Bad Child’s Book of Beasts, you will find poetic descriptions of real and imaginary beasts. Many like “The...
Resources for Teaching / Writer's Handbook
by Janice Campbell · Published January 17, 2017 · Last modified May 11, 2017
Literary devices that create humor As you read, you will encounter many types of humor, and you will find some types funnier than others. If you want to learn to use humor in writing, it helps...
Classics-Based Writing Resource
by Janice Campbell · Published January 12, 2017 · Last modified May 11, 2017
This tongue-in-cheek letter of resignation was written by humorist Edgar Wilson “Bill” Nye, and appeared in Bill Nye’s Red Book in 1906. A RESIGN. |Postoffice Divan, Laramie City, W. T., Oct. 1, 1883. To the...
Classics-Based Writing Resource
by Janice Campbell · Published June 30, 2016 · Last modified May 11, 2017
A PLEA FOR INDOOR GOLF Indoor golf is that which is played in the home. Whether you live in a palace or a hovel, an indoor golf-course, be it only of nine holes, is...
P. G. Wodehouse Biography Sir Pelham Grenville (P. G.) Wodehouse (1881 – 1975) was a British humorist whose life spanned nearly a century. Best known for his novels featuring Bertie and Jeeves, Wodehouse (pronounced Woodhouse) also wrote short stories,...
Audio / Video / Classics-Based Writing Resource
by Janice Campbell · Published January 5, 2015 · Last modified November 25, 2023
P. G. Wodehouse, one of the funniest writers to ever appear in print, offers a tongue-in-cheek essay on the proliferation of poets. You’ll find additional information about Wodehouse and his writing below this short article....
Resources for Mark Twain (1835-1910) Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835 – 1910), better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. His best-known novels include The Adventures...
Classics-Based Writing Resource
by Janice Campbell · Published May 1, 2014 · Last modified January 16, 2021
This 1899 essay by Elbert Hubbard is one of my favorites. Hubbard’s keen sense of humor and skillful use of hyperbole and metaphor help him make a sharp point about the value of individual initiative...
This reading list was born out of our search for books boys like, but chances are your girls will love these too. The list starts with picture books and ends with high-school level books, although the...
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...
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...
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...
Chesterton, that “Colossal Genius” Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874 – 1936), popularly known as G. K. Chesterton, was a prolific British writer, lay theologian, poet, dramatist, journalist, orator, literary and art critic, biographer, and Christian apologist. His published writings also include...
by Rebecca · Published February 8, 2013 · Last modified November 18, 2023
Videos referenced in Introduction to Literature (EIL1 Videos) This list encompasses all currently referenced videos for Excellence in Literature Unit 1 (Introduction to Literature), separated by module. Please check back periodically, as EIL is...
Poetry by Hilaire Belloc In Hilaire Belloc’s Bad Child’s Book of Beasts, Belloc states, “The Moral of this priceless work (If rightly understood) Will make you—from a little Turk— Unnaturally good.” Although many of his...
This humorous/serious poetic admonition reminds children to take care of their book and “do not throw this book about”! Hilaire Belloc doesn’t stop with just telling the children what not to do — he...
George Bernard Shaw and G.K. Chesterton were intellectual titans of their age, and they had a very interesting relationship. The photograph at left shows Shaw, Hilaire Belloc, and Chesterton. You can get a sense...
THE DEACON’S MASTERPIECE: OR THE WONDERFUL “ONE-HOSS SHAY.” A LOGICAL STORY by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. Have you heard of the wonderful one-hoss shay, That was built in such a logical way It ran...
Ask a humorist to write his autobiography, and you just might end up with a short story such as Mark Twain’s Burlesque Autobiography. This short story is entirely fictional, and is not intended to...
It is likely that the literary offenses of James Fenimore Cooper are no more dire than the offenses of at least half the authors represented in a modern bookstore, but Mark Twain certainly enjoyed humorously critiquing...
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...
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!
Resources
