The play 'The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus' by Christopher Marlowe demonstrates what knowledge can do to those who misunderstand or abuse it. ... In Doctor Faustus Marlowe has vividly drawn up the character of an intelligent, learned man tragically seduced by the lure of power greater than he was mortally meant to have. ... Abram's 'A Glossary of Literary Terms' defines Renaissance Humanism, stating that some of the key concepts of the philosophy centered around "the dignity and central position of human beings in the universe' as reasoning creatures, as wel...

• Word Count: 4242
• Approx Pages: 17

Many critics regard "King Lear" as the greatest, and most tragic, of William Shakespeare's plays; indeed, some claim that it is the most tragic play ever written. ... This characterization seems to preclude viewing Lear on the Aristotelian model of a tragic hero, as someone raised above the ordinary level of humanity, except in the most conventional sense of his social status. ... In concrete terms, critics generally do not view Lear as caught between genuinely conflicting loyalties, his political and his personal obligations; on the contrary, in their reading of the play, Lear would simp...

• Word Count: 8939
• Approx Pages: 36
• Grade Level: High School

Epic hero: "the greatness of his fall." ... Monster's tragic flaw is his anger. ... Krempe , the natural philosopher he meets at Ingolstadt, a model scientist: "an uncouth man, but deeply imbued in the secrets of his science." ... Walton serves as the final confessor for both, and their tragic relationship becomes immortalized in Walton's letters. ...

• Word Count: 5327
• Approx Pages: 21

The beginning chapter sets up the problems of the entire novel with great efficiency. It tells us what is going on at present with Obi's trial and backtracks to the past in order to reveal what kind of man Obi is: an educated man, a young man who is Nigerian but who has studied in England. Most sign...

• Word Count: 7844
• Approx Pages: 31
• Grade Level: High School

Evil Macbeth EVIL MACBETH Darkness in our society is indicative of evil. For instance, a black cat, a dark night, a dark place are all symbols of evil. There are only a few good people out there today. In Macbeth William Shakespeare proves to us that there is evil in all of us but in the end the...

• Word Count: 12917
• Approx Pages: 52
• Grade Level: High School

This led to the rapid expansion of a largely unsophisticated literary public, the rise of the popular press, and the mass production of 'popular' literature for a semi-literate 'lowbrow' readership. ... After the hostile reception of his tragic and bitter novel Jude the Obscure in 1895, he devoted himself largely to poetry and poetic drama until his death in 1928. ...

• Word Count: 10566
• Approx Pages: 42