Why do we enjoy tragedies? Why is there something almost pleasant about an elegy. We watch King Lear, knowing that the moment will come when he carries Cordelia out. We watch Macbeth to hear “Out, out, brief candle!” I’ve noticed that I enjoy Old English poetry and the works of Thomas Hardy because they enter … More Why Do We Enjoy Suffering in Literature?
Last week, we looked at some summer reading for the Victorianist in all of us. I’m spending this summer preparing for exams with reading lists and will be sharing them over the next few weeks. Today I thought we would look a little more closely at two of the poets that I included on the … More Summer Reading: Hopkins and Hardy
Looking for some books to read over the summer? I know it can be a time for lighter reading–I’ve been reading Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn as a break for the last few days–but summer can also be this magical time when we discover what Mark Edmundson calls “alienated majesty” when we find our “own suppressed and rejected … More Summer Reading
