Newest Study Guides
Each study guide includes essays, an in-depth chapter-by-chapter summary and analysis, character list, theme list, historical context, author biography and quiz. Study guides are available in PDF format.
Each study guide includes essays, an in-depth chapter-by-chapter summary and analysis, character list, theme list, historical context, author biography and quiz. Study guides are available in PDF format.
Born Hilda Doolittle in Pennsylvania in 1886, the course of her future as a published poet was set both literally and figuratively by a close and intense relationship with one of the most famous and influential literary figures of the 20th...
"Poor Liza" was written in 1792 by Nikolay Mikhaylovich Karamzin, a Russian historian, poet and journalist who was also the key figure in the sentimentalist school of Russian literature. "Poor Liza" was well-received as soon as it was published...
Les Murray is a talented Australian poet born during 1938. Murray didn't have an easy start in life as he was raised in poverty while living on his grandparents' farm in Bunyah, New South Wales. Yet this period of his life significantly shaped the...
Adaptation was written by Charlie Kaufman and based upon The Orchid Thief, a book by Susan Orlean. Kaufman's journey of battling writer's block in adapting the book become the film that Spike Jonze directed. It was released in 2002 with a budget...
Fargo is a 1996 film from the Coen Brothers which is universally regarded as one of their best and considered their peak cinematic achievement thus far by a substantial number of fans and critics. Frances McDormand received her first Academy Award...
Released on Christmas Day of 2017, Phantom Thread is a drama film directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Encompassing the ideas of influence and greed, the movie seems to bring to life ever-relevant themes. Set in 1954, the film has received over a...
Inherent Vice was written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Released in 2014, it is a film that blends comedy and crime, and which follows Joaquin Phoenix as Larry "Doc" Sportello, a private investigator in 1970. The film has an ensemble cast...
Punch-Drunk Love was released in 2002. Written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, it is a dark comedy that takes an unexpected perspective on modern romance. It had an estimated budget of $25 million and grossed $25 million worldwide with a...
Boogie Nights was released in 1997. Written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, it went on to be nominated for three Oscars: Best Original Screenplay, Best Supporting Actress and Best Supporting Actor. The film chronicles the story of Eddie...
Magnolia was released in 1999. Written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Produced by Anderson along with JoAnne Sellar. The film would earn Tom Cruise a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the Academy Awards, and a win for Best Supporting...
Paul Thomas Anderson wrote and directed The Master which was released in 2012 starring Joaquin Phoenis, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams. It was made for an estimated budget of $32 million, and garnered three Academy Award nominations for Best...
Standing Again at Sinai is a scholarly account of feminism and Judaism. It was written by Judith Plaskow and was published on February 1, 1991. Plaskow is an American author, feminist and Jewish woman. She is a Professor of Religious Studies at...
The Coming of Lilith is a collection of essays regarding feminism, judaism, and sexual ethics written by author Judith Plaskow. There are several collections of essays contained in the book that try to cover what she is trying to explain, and the...
Released in early 1962, Jules and Jim is one of the landmark films that defines the French New Wave of the late 50’s/early 60’s directed by perhaps its most iconic figure, Francois Truffaut. The title characters are the Austrian and French men who...
Babette's Feast and Other Short Stories is a fiction collection written by Danish author Karen Blixen. It was published on June 1, 1993. Karen Blixen also has the pseudonym Isak Dinesen, which is often used by her in her books. Blixen is known for...
Franz Kafka's "In the Penal Colony" ("In der Strafkolonie" in the original German) is a cornerstone of existentialist writing which centers on themes of religion, colonialism, and torture. It is notable for its flat, unaffected tone, with a...
One of the most chilling moments in modern cinema comes when Dr Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), genius psychiatrist, player of mind games, serial killer and cannibal tells Clarice Starling that he enjoyed eating the liver of one of his last...
Storyteller is a unique book in that it is not a straight novel or a collection of the same kind of 'shorts'. Instead, this book written by Leslie Marmon Silko and published in 1981 by Arcade Publishing is a collection of poems, short stories, and...
Simon Ortiz is an Acoma Pueblo Indian who was born (1941) and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He is a renowned poet, short fiction writer, non-fiction writer, and orator. His admiration for language started at a young age when he was introduced...
Pump Six and Other Stories is Paolo Bacigalupi's debut collection of science-fiction short stories. Published in 2010 by Skyhorse Publishing, it includes eleven original short stories.
The eleven stories in Pump Six and Other Stories are...
The Great Santini is Pat Conroy’s third book and his first novel, a follow-up to his well-received memoir of teaching poor black children on Yamacraw Island. Adapted into critically acclaimed retitled Conrack after the way the kids pronounced his...
First appearing in The Graphic magazine, She: A History of Adventure is a novel by H. Rider Haggard, an English author also notable for his adventure stories (including King Solomon's Mines). The story centers around a duo and their encounters...
The American political tradition has a long history, and it can be traced back to the colonial era. The colonial period was the time when America was first established as a colony of Great Britain. It is also where British law, culture, and...
Weeds and Wild Flowers is a collection of poems written by Alice Oswald and Jessica Greenman. It was published in 2009. The poems are written by Oswald and illustrated by Greenman. Oswald is an English poet whose work is very famous and is known...