Essay on The Bloomsbury Group

Because her father was a studious man, Bradstreet was able to receive a good education and was well read. She enjoyed serious and religious writings and admired many of the great poets of the time, among these Sir Philip Sidney, Edmund Spenser and John Donne. In fact she admired them so much

As one of the most renowned and well-known literary critics in the world of composition, Harold Bloom has self-importantly granted himself the privilege of specifying the reasons as to why we read. From human connection to self-actualization to the acquirement of knowledge, he adheres passionately and unquestionably that “the strongest, most authentic motive for deep reading…is the search for a difficult pleasure.” Bloom, as an experienced critic, fully recognizes the task of judging a book for its merit.

The short story The Flowers by Alice Walker is written from the perspective of a curious ten year old girl named Myop. The story opens in late august, the innocent young girl cannot hide her excitement for harvesting the “corn ,cotton, peanuts and squash”. For any ordinary farm girl this is what you typically harvest this time of year but for young Myop , harvesting makes “each day a golden surprise that caused excited little tremors to run up her jaws. ”The author uses hyperbole to exaggerate how days transform into “golden surprise” on harvesting days and imagery is used to portray a picture of a young girl bursting with excitement .The use of hyperbole and imagery characterizes Myop as a cheery young girl who loves the farm life.

Hence, these two 17th century poets share similarities, but not in their style of writing. Both poets share their beliefs of Puritanism, but Anne Bradstreet also, gives readers a glimpse of herself. Moreover, they share similarities of their Puritan backgrounds, but there is not much similarity in the style of

“These scholars note that Victorians often bowed to conformity, concealing their true natures and tastes and pretending to adhere to social norms. Some Victorians passed themselves off as more pious or moral than they really were. But in reality, pornographic literature and prostitution were common phenomena during the late nineteenth century, showing that some Victorians only pretended to lead chaste lives.”(Joyce Moss)

Secondly, promiscuity has obliviously changed the outlook of relationships. Every relationship in the book has been some form of interactions that would be considered immoral in our world. When talking about Henry, Linda surprisingly said to Lenina, “’Only 4 months!’... Fanny went on, pointing an accusing finger” (Huxley 29) explaining to the reader how absurd it is to have any kind of intimate relationship. We now know that any type of long-lasting relationship is not only absurd but unheard of. Continuing the lifestyle of the new world, elementary sex was being taught to children of London as an aspect to strive for. The activity gives kids in school time to play around with other girls and boys naked in a courtyard to become more familiar with bodies of the opposite sex. Tying together all these changes their world had made, family had been changed as well. “… families, no conditioning, monstrous…” (Huxley 69). Given the last aspect that not only love, but family, as well, faded away from this society as well.

The flow of the novel starts as Woolf finds the opening line of her new novel: "Mrs. Dalloway decided she would buy the flowers herself." The flowers would proof an important metaphor in the book. This thought of buying the flowers herself would link Woolf and Clarissa. Clarissa states the same words to her lover in preparing for Richard's party. And yet the flowers would reappear in Laura Browns life as her husband buys flowers for his own birthday. Flowers that normally represent life and color ironically represent sadness and loneliness in this novel.

The Victorian Era was known for its propriety, and for its social standards that could be as strict as the caste system in India. Citizens in England of low social regard faced many prejudices and limitations that could be almost insurmountable to overcome. Much like the caste system, people considered to be the dregs of society were often alienated and had little room for opportunity. In Charlotte Bronte’s novel Jane Eyre, the main character, Jane, suffers social prejudice because she is a simple governess, revealing much about the social stigmas about the working class during the Victorian Era. Jane’s social status limits her not only from being with the one she loves, but also hinders her endeavor to achieve true autonomy.

Wilde’s novel is an obvious evidence of the pervasiveness of main values of Victorian society. According to Wilde, “Aesthetic tendencies have to be taken with prudence and have reasonable limits that imply moral responsibility.” According to the critic Alex Ross, “ Wilde’s aestheticism, his fanatical cult of beauty, was the deepest and most lasting of his passions, and it is now the most radical about him” (Ross 2011).

Steinbeck and Woolf both have different ways of illustrating symbolism. Steinbeck’s symbolism throughout the story, “The Chrysanthemums”, doesn’t conform to the symbolism that is shown at the beginning of the story at the end. It is important to know that the two stories are of the same caliber; they both pertain to a conflict of cultural

Through this, she accuses the King and Queen of the guilt she wants them to feel, and using flowers in this indirect way is safer than directly stating her opinions. The people of those days found it difficult to express and communicate directly. This is based from fear and lack of polite and

Primarily, The Victorian era, during which the novella was published, valued appearance and reputation. The era encouraged and strived for propriety, mainly on the surface. It rejected anything that went against society’s rigid, restraining values. It resisted anything that appeared immoral and corrupt. The era was

C.S. Lewis, best known for his book series The Chronicles of Narnia, and J.R.R. Tolkien, best known for The Lord of the Rings, were two prominent authors in the mid 1900s. Together they formed a literary club, The Inklings, which is a source of envy for authors who have come after them. To be in a meeting with the Inklings, to hear them read their latest literary endeavors, how exciting that would be! The members of the Inklings not only listened to one other's latest writings, they also assisted one another in their composition endeavors to much success.

expressed his “dearest pleasure [was] . . . his enjoyment of his flowers” (66), and goes on to say that he couldn’t remember a time of such bliss. He loved all forms of creative expression and was intrigued by, “whole flower gardens blooming behind glass

Victorian era poets continue to propound the importance of superficial beauty. During this era, there was a continual belief in lust and sexual desires, evident in the rampant disloyalty that husbands showed their wives (Hughes). Wilfrid Scawen Blunt depicts this continual fascination of lust and beauty in his poem, “I See You Juliet”. The