Tag Archives: Matthew Arnold

Could “Dover Beach” Deter a Rape?

In McEwan’s “Saturday,” the poem “Dover Beach” prevents a rape and possibly a murder.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , | Comments closed

Reading Poetry as Religious Experience

There is a spiritual dimension to reading literature that is worth exploring.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , | Comments closed

Bibliotherapy Is Having a Moment

A new book indicates that bibliotherapy may be having a moment.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , , , | Comments closed

Shelley on Commemorating Freedom

Shelley’s “Hellas,” written in support of Greek independence, applies well to this year’s July 4th celebrations.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , , , | Comments closed

Teachers as Literature’s Missionaries

If literature teaches foundational social values, then teachers can be seen as missionaries.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , | Comments closed

2020: Wandering between Two Worlds

A witty riff on a T. S. Eliot line and an illusion to a Matthew Arnold poem neatly capture the 2020 election results.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , | Comments closed

Lit Interpretation Related to Bible Reading

Literary “close reading” can be traced back, in part, to Talmudic study of the Torah. That helps explain the significance I attach to literary interpretation.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , | Comments closed

Do Endings Reveal Meaning of Life?

Monday My wife Julia alerted me to an intriguing although somewhat frustrating article in Atlantic about the end of time. Drawing on Frank Kermode’s 1967 The Sense of an Ending: Studies in the Theory of Fiction, Megan Garber wrestles with an issue recently raised by The Washington Post: how do we live with constant reminders […]

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments closed

The Declining English Major

An English prof, sensing obsolescence, turns to “In Memoriam” (also Fowles, Wordsworth & Arnold).

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments closed