Category: Literary Criticism

Introduction Jennifer Price’s essay, ‘The Plastic Pink Flamingo: A Natural History,’ explores the rise and symbolism of the plastic pink flamingo in American culture. Published in 1999, Price employs rhetorical strategies to examine the social and cultural significance of this iconic lawn ornament. Through the use of vivid language, irony, and persuasive techniques, Price offers…

Introduction: Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar explores the downfall of a great leader, highlighting the consequences of pride and unchecked ambition. Julius Caesar, the titular character, possesses a tragic flaw that ultimately leads to his demise. This essay critically examines Caesar’s tragic flaw, its manifestation throughout the play, and its significance in shaping the tragic events…

Students are more likely to retain knowledge if they obtain it through something they enjoy. Reading an interesting book, for example, is a more effective way of learning than simply sitting in a classroom and taking notes about concepts and events from decades ago. I believe that it is for this reason that many teachers…

In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, the author demonstrates how she uses literary techniques to convey the theme to the readers. The story is about a young girl named Scout living during the Great Depression and the Jim Crow era with her brother and father. The town is a society sharply…

Much ado about nothing’ is a play written by William Shakespeare in 1598 over 400 years ago. The play explores the message and the theme of love and how it can be complicated, which is still true today. There are three types of love in this play, Claudio and Hero show an example of romantic…

The transition between childhood and adulthood is a time of growing independence along with constant questioning, especially when being exposed to the cultural norms of society, some of which are divisive and not always driven by pure motivation. When becoming adults, our personal world is shaped around what we have been taught and through our…

According to Aristotle, “ a tragedy should arouse in the spectators the feeling piety and fear – ‘pity’ mainly for the hero’s tragic fate and ‘fear’ at the sight of the dreadful suffering that occurs the characters, particularly the hero. By arousing these feelings of pity and fear, a tragedy aims at the catharsis or…

The Greek philosopher, Aristotle, defines a tragic hero as a character having valiant traits that earn the audience’s sympathy but also have human flaws that ultimately lead to their own downfall. Aristotle states a tragic hero’s fortune should be not from bad to good but from good to bad caused by their own doing. A…

Thank you, Your Honor. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, thank you for your time as all the evidence was carefully presented. So, all the facts and evidence have been presented to you today and with that, I’d like to say the fate of Oedipus’ life now is within your hands. Oedipus has been convicted…

Aristotle in his famous book ‘Poetics’ describes the traits needed to complete the tragedy. As in accordance to Aristotle, any tragedy is a perfect tragedy when the action has soberness, expansive, and ideal in it. Some of the important factors of a perfect tragedy are Peripeteia, Anagnorisis, and catharsis. King Oedipus of Greek mythology owns…