English Net

** HELEN of Troy** In Greek mythology, Helen of Sparta was perhaps the most inspired character in all literature, ancient or modern. A whole war, one which lasted for ten years, was fought over her. Not only that, nearly all the myths of the heroic age were threaded together in such a way that this most idealized of all wars was the culmination of various exploits, including the Argonaut, the Theban wars, and the Calydonian boar hunt. It is as though this event was in the destiny of every dynasty formed from the beginning of things.   Helen, the face that launched a thousand ships, was a tantalizing enigma from the very first. She was flesh and blood certainly, but she was also immortal, since her father was none other than Zeus. Her mother was the beautiful Leda, queen of Sparta, and was a sister of Clytemnestra, Castor and Pollux. In Greek myths, she was considered the most beautiful woman in the world. By marriage she was Queen of Laconia, a province within Homeric Greece, ...

What is `Beowulf'? EPIC poem, 3,000 lines long, written in England between AD 700 and 1000 in Old English (Anglo-Saxon). The story tells of the Norse hero, Beowulf, set in a "once upon a time" mythic age. Only one manuscript copy survives, nearly destroyed in 1751 by fire. The original is now in the British Library and can be visited on the library's excellent web site. Beowulf, nobleman warrior and nephew of Hygelac, king of what would now be southern Sweden, is sent to the neighbouring kingdom of Denmark, where a blood-crazed swamp monster called Grendel has been terrorising the countryside for 20 years, butchering, then gorging on, all and sundry at the court of King Hrothgar. The bodies he can't manage to eat he keeps for later in a pouch made of dragon-skins. In gory close combat, Beowulf vanquishes his foe, tearing off his arm and shoulder. The Danes' celebrations are cut short when Grendel's equally monstrous mother comes seeking vengeance, ...

# *Literature*(warm up) 1. 'Renaissance' means -- the revival of learning. 2. Hamlet by Shakespeare is -- a tragedy. 3. Francis Bacon is a/an -- Essayist. 4. Shakespeare's 'Merchant of Venice' is a -- Comedy. 5. Author of 'Hamlet' -- William Shakespeare. 6. 'Silent Woman' written by -- Ben Jonson. 7. 'Elizabethan Tragedy' is centred on -- revenge. 8. Writer of 'Othello' is -- William Shakespeare. 9. The writer of 'Treasure island' is -- Stevenson. 10. 'The Merchant of Venice' plays is written by -- William Shakespeare. 11. Writer of 'Da Vinci Code' is -- Dan Brown. 12. O. Henry is famous for -- short story. 13. The poet of Beauty is English Literature -- John keats. 14. The drama 'A Mid summer Night's Dream ' is written by -- Shakespeare. 15. The writer of 'David Copperfield' is -- Charles Dickens. 16. 'Macbeth' is -- a play. 17. 'Paradise lost' was written...

Titles of well-known poets TITLE OF THE POETS. *Aeschylus --Father of Greek Tragedy *John Keats--Poet of Beauty/sensuousness. *Geoffrey --Father of English Poetry *Edmund Spenser --poet's poet *William Shakespeare -Bard of Avon. *Lord Byron - The Revel poet. *William Wordsworth -Poet of Nature *Henry Fielding --Father of Eng. Novel *Homer--- The Blind poet *Anne Bradstreet --The first American  poet.

Brief History of English Literature... History of English literature is divided into following period 1.Old or Anglo Saxon literature 2.Middle English literature 3.Elizabethan literature 4.The age of Milton 5.Restoration drama 6.Neoclassicism 7.Romanticism 8.The Victorian period 9.The twentieth century (modern) 10.Post modernism (present) 1. Old English literature: was written from about 600-1100, The greatest old English poem called 'Beowulf ' whose author is unknown. The old English authors, are known by name are Cadmon,the author of a short hymn,and Cynewulf' the author of four long poems  2.Middle English literature:(1100-1500) Poetry:  the most important poet of the time is Geoffrey Chaucer, his greatest work is Canterbury tales. Drama: The three main types of medieval  drama are mystery plays,about Bible stories,miracle plays about the lives of saints and the miracles the performed and morality plays,in which character s personify moral qu...

Must known Figures of speeches (7) : 1.Alliteration What is an alliteration? Alliteration is the repetition of initial sounds in neighboring words. Alliteration draws attention to the phrase and is often used for emphasis.The initial consonant sound is usually repeated in two neighboring words although sometimes the repetition occurs also in words that are not neighbors. Examples: sweet smell of success, a dime a dozen, bigger and better, jump for joy share a continent but not a country 2.What is irony? Irony is a figure of speech in which there is a contradiction of expectation between what is said what is really meant. It is characterized by an incongruity, a contrast, between reality and appearance. There are three types of irony: verbal, dramatic and situational. Types of irony Verbal irony: It is a contrast between what is said and what is meant Dramatic irony: It occurs when the audience or the reader knows more than the character about events. In other ...

Famous Quotations from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar  Shakespeare's Julius Caesar is a treasure trove of quotations that have become a part of present-day culture. Here are the ten most famous of them all. 1. Beware the ides of March. (1.2.23), Soothsayer 2. Et tu, Brute? Then fall, Caesar! (3.1.77), Cæsar 3. Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears; I come to bury Cæsar, not to praise him. The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones; So let it be with Caesar. (3.2.79-83), Antony 4. It was Greek to me. (1.2.289), Casca 5. Cowards die many times before their deaths; The valiant never taste of death but once. (2.2.34), Cæsar 6. This was the noblest Roman of them all. (5.5.75), Antony 7. Men at some time are masters of their fates: The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars But in ourselves, that we are underlings. (1.2.146-8), Cassius 8. This was the most unkindest cut of all. (3.2.193), Antony...

#Beautiful_Literary_Lines 💧Beauty is truth, truth is beauty – – – *John Keats * 💧A single step for man- a giant leap for mankind —- *Neil Armstrong* . 💧Cowards die many times before their death —- *William Shakespeare* . 💧Fame is the perfume of heroic deeds —- *Socrates* . 💧If winter comes, can spring be far behind? —- *Shelley* . 💧Knowledge is power —- *Hobbes* 💧No man can be wise on an empty stomach —- *George Eliot* . 💧One should eat to live, not live to eat —- *Franklin* . 💧Politics is the last refuge of scoundrels —- *Johnson* . 💧Self-preservation is the first law of nature —- *Samuel Butler* . 💧Success makes success, as money makes money —- *Chamfort* . 💧Speech is great but silence is greater —- *Thomas Carlyle* . 💧The child is the father of man —- *Wordsworth* . 💧Men are woman’s playthings, woman is the devils —- *Victor Hugo* . 💧Government of the people by the people for the people – – – *Abraham Lincoln* . 💧Eureka Eureka (I have f...

100 Stunning Facts of English Literature:  1. Chaucer lived during the reigns of – Edward III, Richard II and Henry IV  2. Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales was written in – 1385 onwards  3. Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales belongs to – 3rd Period of Chaucer’s literary career 4. Norman Conquest took place in – 1066 (11th Century)  5. Wyclif’s Bible was published in – 1380 6. William Langland’s The Vision of William concerning Piers the Plowman was written in – 1362-90  7. The Travels of Sir John Maundeville was published in - 1400  8. The Hundred Years’ War was begun in – 1338 (14th Century)  9. The Hundred Years’ War was fought between – England and France  10. Wat Tyler’s Rebellion took place in - 1381  11. The War of Roses was fought between – The House of York and the House of Lancaster  12. The War of Roses was fought during the period – 1455-86  13. Thomas Malory’s Morte De Arthur was written in – 1470 (published in 1485) 14. Caxton’s P...

50 objective type questions on American and Other Non-British Literatures ANAND MUNDRA Advertisements:  1. Who wrote the famous American play The Iceman Cometh?  (a) John Osborne  (b) Eugene O'Neill  (c) Earnest Hemingway  (d) Walt Whitman  2. Bob Smith is the central figure in which of the following plays of O'Neill?  (a) The Iceman Cometh  (b) The Farewell to Arms  (c) The Hairy Ape  (d) None of the above  3. How does Yank, the central character in The Hairy Ape differs from Aristotelean tragic he­roes? (a) He doesn't meet a sad end despite his flaws (b) He meets a sad end without having any tragic flaw  (c) There is a sudden reversal of fate at the end which is different from Aristotelean tragedy.  (d) None of the above  4. Who wrote the Leaves of Grass, one of the classics of world poetry?  (a) Walt Whitman  (b) Robert Frost  (c) T.S. Eliot  (d) Emily Dickinson ...