There is a longstanding conception, although deformed and reformed many times throughout history, that woman is the completion of man, the fairer, gentler part, without which mankind would only be half of what it was made to be. John Milton’s Paradise Lost expounds on the biblical creation of humanity, underlining within the text that God…
Jealousy in Paradise Lost
It is widely known through biblical ideology that the cause of Lucifer’s fall was due to pride within his heart. Pride untamed can only give way to more vice, and that particularly in the form of jealousy. It was pride that led him to be envious of God’s great position, and this jealousy led him…
Thoughts on Nabokov’s “Transparent Things”
When understanding a novel becomes an impossible task, it then becomes the task to find the simplest meaning possible within the text. Vladimir Nabokov’s novel Transparent Things offers such a task to its readers. Not only is it very difficult to follow the plot through the abnormal narration, but it is also nearly impossible to…
Philip Larkin’s “Wants” through the Veil of “Aubade”
One can find from reading only a handful of Philip Larkin’s poetry that the man had a rather negative view of the world and distain for many aspects of life. It is a popular idea that artists sacrifice their joy and innocence to offer the world their thought-filled words and work. As they venture down…
Symbolic Darkness in Shakespeare’s Hamlet
Darkness–a natural element that absorbs, engulfs, and overwhelms. There is no escaping its reach; there is no retreat from its presence, for as soon as it is allowed a pinch of a hold, it overtakes the whole in one sweep. There is only one element capable of expelling darkness: light. Without the presence of light,…
Origins of Morality: John Stuart Mill versus Immanuel Kant
Throughout history, the question of the origin of morality has plagued the searching minds of every generation, and resultantly has proven itself an essential aspect of humanity. In the late eighteenth century, the philosopher Immanuel Kant defined morality as that which a person would only do while “at the same time, will that it should…
An Argument with Socrates
In book IV of The Republic, the character, Socrates, defines three facets of the human soul: appetite, reason, and spirit. He argues that spirit, while frequently found partnering with the other two components, is its own separate entity that causes emotional provocation. While he defends the independence of spirit in relation to appetite and reason,…
Voice and Temporal Morality in The Coquette
Hannah Webster Foster’s The Coquette was written during a time and cultural structure in which morality was largely based upon the foundations of Judeo-Christian ideology. These principles were brought to the American continent through the movement of Puritans seeking religious freedom from England. Puritan faith characterized the settlers’ morality for many years, later transforming during…
The Deceptive Imagination
A young and hesitant hand reaches for the doorknob, pauses, and reluctantly follows through with its original intent. The door creaks slowly open to a dim-lit room with the familiar noise ringing through hollow halls. The lighting in the home changes abruptly many times as the television scenes shift back and forth between darkness and…
Why does every poet have a story of woe?
Why does every poet have a story of woe?Why is the artist so familiar with darkness? Their minds seem to see fractals of hope;Their song, the tune of something broken. Brokenness their friend, loneliness their companion,Each one, it seems, has known abandonment, Loss, grief, or overwhelming darkness;Been targets of anger, abuse, or someone’s heartlessness —…