Dickens At 200: A Birthday You Can't 'Bah Humbug' hide captionBorn in 1812, English writer Charles Dickens was born 200 years ago on Feb. 7. Rischgitz/Getty Images Born in 1812, English writer Charles Dickens was born 200 years ago on Feb. 7. Tuesday marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Dickens — the great 19th century English novelist who gave us stories of pathos and comedy, and colorful portraits of the people of London, from the poor in the back streets, to the rich in the parks and avenues. Lots of Dickens' phrases — like "Bah humbug" and "God bless us, every one!" — have slipped into our minds and our memories. "After Shakespeare, Dickens is the great creator of characters, multiple characters," says Claire Tomalin, author of the new biography Charles Dickens: A Life. Dickens liked to walk, as he said, "far and fast," gathering his thoughts and his strength to pour into his novels. "He would write these quite rapidly," Tomalin explains. Hulton Archive/Getty Images Chris Ware/Keystone Features/Getty Images
A letter to Charles Dickens on his 200th birthday My dear Mr Dickens, Happy 200th birthday! You yourself were not much given to celebrating anniversaries, but you did go to Stratford-upon-Avon in April 1864, with Robert Browning, Wilkie Collins and John Forster, to celebrate Shakespeare's 300th, "in peace and quiet". And on 30 January 1849, you celebrated the bicentenary of the execution of Charles I with your friend Walter Savage Landor. In so doing, you gave a clear message of how greatly you honoured Shakespeare's writing – "was there ever such a fellow!" Just now, we are all reading and rereading your novels, your journalism, and your story A Christmas Carol, with its pointed message that a decent society depends on the rich learning to be generous and the poor being saved from ignorance and want. We are enjoying the way you bring London to life before our eyes: streets, river, bridges, shops, dust heaps, markets, prisons. Novels and letters give us a panoramic view of 19th-century England.
COMPLETE COLLECTION OF POEMS BY RUDYARD KIPLING Kipling gained renown throughout the world as a poet and storyteller. He was also known as a leading supporter of the British Empire. As apparent from his stories and poems, Kipling interested himself in the romance and adventure which he found in Great Britain's colonial expansion. Kipling was born on Dec.30, 1865, in Bombay, where his father directed an art school. In 1889, Kipling return to England. Kipling composed many of his poems while living for several years in the United States in the mid-1890s. In 1896, Kipling returned to England from the United States. In 1900, Kipling went to South Africa to report the Boer War for an English newspaper. Before World War I, Kipling became active in politics. he widely lectured and wrote for the British cause both before and during the war.
Poets.org - Poetry, Poems, Bios & More Hamlet, Tragedy and Multiple Views of Madness « blastedgoat William Shakespeare’s Hamlet reflects on the social and religious movements of the 16th and 17th centuries, a transitory time in England’s history. Society was slowly switching from a medieval mindset to a more modern one. Hamlet is a “Renaissance man,” the educated son of a medieval king. Interpretations of the play during Shakespeare’s day depended largely on the audience member’s affiliation with one of the following groups: Catholics, Protestants and Humanists. I will closely examine aspects of Hamlet that illustrate differences in interpretation between these three “modes of existence.” Leslie Croxford calls Hamlet “the most problematic play ever written” (Croxford 225) due to its various medieval and Renaissance sources, multiple printed versions of the play as well as “a host of unresolved thematic and psychological problems” (Croxford 225-6). Steven Kreis defines Humanism as a “social philosophy” that reached its height between 1400 to 1650. Written by blastedgoat for Dr.
Hamlet Hamlet is Shakespeare's longest play and among the most powerful and influential tragedies in English literature, with a story capable of "seemingly endless retelling and adaptation by others."[1] The play seems to have been one of Shakespeare's most popular works during his lifetime[2] and still ranks among his most-performed, topping the performance list of the Royal Shakespeare Company and its predecessors in Stratford-upon-Avon since 1879.[3] It has inspired writers from Goethe and Dickens to Joyce and Murdoch, and has been described as "the world's most filmed story after Cinderella".[4] Characters[edit] Plot[edit] The scene shifts to "room of state in the castle." When they leave, he soliloquises that he wishes flesh could melt, and that he was not prevented from "self-slaughter" by "his canon." Claudius and Gertrude send two student friends of his—Rosencrantz and Guildenstern—to discover the cause of Hamlet's mood and behavior. Sources[edit]
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare (/ˈʃeɪkspɪər/;[1] 26 April 1564 (baptised) – 23 April 1616)[nb 1] was an English poet, playwright, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist.[2] He is often called England's national poet, and the "Bard of Avon".[3][nb 2] His extant works, including collaborations, consist of approximately 38 plays,[nb 3] 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.[4] Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1589 and 1613.[6][nb 4] His early plays were primarily comedies and histories, which are regarded as some of the best work ever produced in these genres. Many of his plays were published in editions of varying quality and accuracy during his lifetime. Life Early life London and theatrical career Later years and death man Plays
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare (1564-1616), `The Bard of Avon', English poet and playwright wrote the famous 154 Sonnets and numerous highly successful oft quoted dramatic works including the tragedy of the Prince of Denmark, Hamlet; "Neither a borrower nor a lender be; For loan oft loses both itself and friend, And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry. This above all: to thine ownself be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man. Farewell: my blessing season this in thee!" --Lord Polonius, Hamlet Act I, Scene 3 While Shakespeare caused much controversy, he also earned lavish praise and has profoundly impacted the world over in areas of literature, culture, art, theatre, and film and is considered one of the best English language writers ever. "Thou art a Moniment, without a tombe And art alive still, while thy Booke doth live, And we have wits to read, and praise to give." Poetry Tragedies Histories Biography written by C.D.