Literary Criticism
Ars Poetica
The Ars Poetica, by Horace, also known as Epistula ad Pisones, is a treatise on poetry written in the form of a letter, and published around…
Prejudices
Mencken sharpens his pen and in a collection of short essays delivers acerbic opinions on issues and persons of the time. Among his targets…
Characters of Shakespeare's Plays
This famous Shakespearean exploration illuminates its plays through the frame of character, while also weighing theme, mood, structure and p…
On the Sublime
This is a classical text on aesthetics and proper style in writing and rhetoric, including commentary on various ancient Greek works such as…
The Welsh And Their Literature
Originally an article in the US Edition of the London Quarterly Review, George Borrow offers a sweeping history of Welsh literature, beginni…
Greek Literature
"The Greeks were the most intellectual people of the old world. … The study of Greek literature is therefore a proper element in a libe…
Margaret of Angoulême, Queen of Navarre
Margaret of Angoulême, Queen of Navarre (Marguerite de Navarre), (1492-1549), was the sister of Francis I, King of France. She was hig…
The Novels of Jane Austen
An 1859 essay by the prominent philosopher and literary critic, G. H. Lewes, who was an enthusiastic promoter of the novels of Jane Austen a…
Essays on Paul Bourget
In this engaging collection, Mark Twain offers his sharp wit and keen observations on the works and ideas of French novelist and critic Paul…
The Secret of Charlotte Brontë
Twenty years ago, now, I attempted (but was not especially successful in the task) to establish upon the personal knowledge that my own resi…
The Spirit of American Literature
THE SPIRIT OF AMERICAN LITERATURE is a collection of essays reviewing contemporary authors on the literary scene at the turn of the century …
Joseph Conrad
This is a literary biography of Joseph Conrad (1857 – 1924) who is regarded as one of the greatest novelists in English. He was granted Brit…
English Literature
This book is not meant to be a History of English Literature, but an introduction for those who do not know much about it, or who may be thi…
The Age of Elizabeth
This short history by the eminent British historian, Mandell Creighton, places Elizabeth and her reign within the context of 16th century Eu…
An Essay on Criticism
The title, An Essay on Criticism hardly indicates all that is included in the poem. It would have been impossible to give a full and exact i…
Madame de Staël
Madame Germaine de Staël (1766-1817) was the daughter of the Swiss banker and statesman, Jacques Necker. Her mother hosted a popular Pa…
Six lectures on literature
C. H. Herford was Professor of English Literature at the Victoria University of Manchester in era when public lectures were published in pam…
Is Shakespeare Dead?
A short, semi-autobiographical work by American humorist Mark Twain. It explores the controversy over the authorship of the Shakespearean li…
Über die Iphigenie auf Tauris
Dieser dritte Band der Goethischen Werke … In griechischer Form, deren er sich ganz zu bemächtigen gewußt hat, die er bis zur h&o…
Lectures on the Harvard Classics
The Lecture Series on the contents of The Harvard Classics ought to do much to open that collection of literary materials to many ambitious …