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Confessions of an English Opium Eater Study Guide

by Thomas De Quincey

Confessions of an English Opium Eater study guide contains a biography of Thomas De Quincey, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

Confessions of an English Opium Eater is broken into two parts, each of which was published separately and each of which is broken further into sub-sections. Overall, it is a selective autobiography of its author, with most focus on experiences that help explain his use of, addiction to, and ultimate defeat of opium.

To the Reader

De Quincey introduces Confessions of an English Opium-Eater as an extract from a longer autobiography. He hopes that it will be “instructive” (1), which is why he is willing to go into such explicit details about his personal life. He tried his hardest to resist opium, but could not because it was such an effective pain-killer and he was suffering from numerous physical ailments. According to De Quincey, opium use…

Read the full Confessions of an English Opium Eater Summary

• Confessions of an English Opium Eater Summary
• About Confessions of an English Opium Eater
• Character List
• Glossary of Terms
• Major Themes
• Quotes and Analysis
• Summary and Analysis of To the Reader and Preliminary Confessions
• Summary and Analysis of Preliminary Confessions, Continued
• Summary and Analysis of Part II (Introduction)
• Summary and Analysis of The Pleasures of Opium
• Summary and Analysis of Introduction to the Pains of Opium
• Summary and Analysis of The Pains of Opium
• Summary and Analysis of The Pains of Opium, Continued
• Opium in Nineteenth-Century England
• Related Links on Confessions of an English Opium Eater
• Suggested Essay Questions
• Test Yourself! - Quiz 1
• Test Yourself! - Quiz 2
• Test Yourself! - Quiz 3
• Test Yourself! - Quiz 4
• Author of ClassicNote and Sources

• Confessions of an English Opium Eater: Major Themes
• Confessions of an English Opium Eater: Essays
• Confessions of an English Opium Eater: E-Text
• Confessions of an English Opium Eater: Questions
• Confessions of an English Opium Eater: Purchase the Novel and Related Material
• Thomas De Quincey: Biography