Aphra Behn is a complicated figure within English theatrical history. As the first woman in England to classify herself as a professional writer and playwright, she wrote to support herself and to prove a point during a time when women were deemed subordinate to men. She was a commoner among royals, revolting against the societal norms of her time with her vulgar, yet ingeniously crafty works. Behn's influence extends far beyond being just a writer of her time period; rather, she left a mark as a pillar of English literature. She was an adventurist, an abolitionist, feminist, and civil r...

• Word Count: 2238
• Approx Pages: 9
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

As do proverbs, African American folktales have origins rooted in West African literary and cultural forms of expression. ... Africa has a long literary tradition, although very little of this literature was written down until the 20th century. ...

• Word Count: 2075
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

The novel, Robinson Crusoe, written by Daniel Defoe and first published in 1719, is an important literary piece of the Enlightenment period, as it expresses the Enlightenment themes of individualism, exploration and the rejection of authority. ...

• Word Count: 2166
• Approx Pages: 9
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Having been portrayed in literary criticism as a giant fish, a grotesque monster, an American Indian, an African slave, his incarnation changes from "a savage and a deformed slave" to the "quintessential colonial victim". ...

• Word Count: 2369
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: Undergraduate