In this brief article, scholar, editor, and translator Luis Sundkvist explores the life of noted Russian author Ivan Turgenev and considers ways in which his life and work intersected with the Russian composer, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Biography...
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...
Louisa May Alcott, best known for her novel Little Women, admired her Transcendentalist neighbors, Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson. During Louisa’s elementary school years, Thoreau was her teacher, and in Moods, one...
by Janice Campbell · Published December 31, 2020 · Last modified January 15, 2024
How better to mark the close of an old year and the coming of a new than with poetry or song? Here are a few favorite classic New Year’s Eve poems to help you...
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...
In the Bleak Midwinter by Christina Georgina Rossetti In the bleak midwinter Frosty wind made moan, Earth stood hard as iron, Water like a stone; Snow had fallen, snow on snow, Snow on snow,...
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...
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...
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...
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,...
Ancient Greek resources currently available on our site include: “Why Study the Pagans?” by Cheryl Lowe “Why We Read the Odyssey” by Deborah Stokol Introduction to Greek Tragedy Introduction to Classical Greek Literature by...
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...
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...
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...
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....
American Literature Updates Due to the ever-changing nature of the Internet, online resources often move unexpectedly to new addresses. Here are the updates for Level 3: American Literature that have happened since the most...
by EILeditor · Published April 26, 2013 · Last modified November 18, 2023
Videos referenced in World Literature (E5) Study Guide: World Literature (Excellence in Literature, English 5) Module 1 Ancient Greek Music – Macedonia Module 2 Antigone on stage Module 3 Roman Water Wheel, London Museum Roman Weapons...
by EILeditor · Published April 22, 2013 · Last modified November 18, 2023
Each module has a page with links from the British Literature study guide, and those pages will have the most complete listings of all the helpful resources you’ll use for that module. However, I...
by Rebecca · Published November 10, 2012 · Last modified April 25, 2021
The soundtrack for the film Out of Africa has beautiful and evocative music. Get it from your library or bookstore and listen to it as you study. You can listen to an excerpt in...
Scenes from Goethe’s Faust (Szenen aus Goethes Faust), a musical-theatrical work by composer Robert Schumann, is considered one of Schumann’s most moving works. This three-part composition suggests the struggle between good and evil at...
French Romantic composer and conductor Hector Berlioz was inspired by Goethe’s Faust to compose “The Damnation of Faust,” a free-form oratorio or opera (Berlioz ultimately called it a “légende dramatique”). It is most often heard in...
The Music of Ancient Greece Music is a significant aspect of Hellenic culture, both within Greece and in the diaspora, and the music of Greece is as diverse and celebrated as its history. Greek...
The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe was a French-German children’s television drama series made by Franco London Films (a.k.a. FLF Television Paris). The series was based on the first of Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe novels, but...
by Rebecca · Published August 31, 2012 · Last modified February 6, 2021
Offenbach’s Opera Version of Robinson Crusoe Daniel Defoe’s early novel, Robinson Crusoe, has inspired artists and musicians for generations. Jacques Offenbach (1890–1880) wrote an opéra comique called Robinson Crusoé which was first performed at...
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.
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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