The Unknown Citizen: W.H. Auden - Summary and Critical Analysis The Unknown Citizen by W.H. Auden is a satiric poem. It describes an average citizen in a government-controlled state. In many big cities, there is a monument to the Unknown Soldier that stands for the thousands of unknown soldiers who die for their country. Wystan Hugh Auden The citizen to whom the monument has been built has been found to be without any fault. He had good health and although he went to the hospital once, he came out quite cured. The Unknown Citizen is a typical Auden’s poem in that it shows the poet’s profound concern for the modern world and its problems. In the phrase ‘The Unknown’ the word ‘unknown’ means ordinary, obscure. At the end of the poem the poet asks two questions.
Definition and Examples of Stream of Consciousness Definition: Stream of Consciousness is a literary technique which was pioneered by Dorthy Richardson, Virginia Woolf, and James Joyce. Stream of consciousness is characterized by a flow of thoughts and images, which may not always appear to have a coherent structure or cohesion. The plot line may weave in and out of time and place, carrying the reader through the life span of a character or further along a timeline to incorporate the lives (and thoughts) of characters from other time periods. Writers who create stream-of-consciousness works of literature focus on the emotional and psychological processes that are taking place in the minds of one or more characters. Important character traits are revealed through an exploration of what is going on in the mind. Also Known As: Interior Monologue Common Misspellings: stream of conscients, steam of consciousness
The Unknown Citizen Study Guide During the 1920s and 30s, many American writers left the states to become expatriates overseas, particularly in Europe. Ernest Hemingway, T. S. Eliot, and F. As a poet, Auden is a chameleon capable of writing in many different forms and styles. The poem is written in the voice of a fictional government bureaucrat – someone who sits at a desk and shuffles papers all day – whose decisions affect the lives of people he has never met. "The Unknown Citizen" is a great poem to read in an election year. Why? The person Auden calls "The Unknown Citizen" is a composite of information from every poll and survey that politicians use to figure out what the people called "swing voters" are really like. With his completely inoffensive background, we think the Unknown Citizen would do well running for office himself.
La focalisation (ou point de vue) Cette page présente, de manière synthétique, les différents « points de vue » (focalisation) que peut adopter le narrateur. La focalisation zéro Exemple :« Vers le milieu du mois d’octobre 1829, monsieur Simon Babylas Latournelle, un notaire, montait du Havre à Ingouville, bras dessus bras dessous avec son fils, et accompagné de sa femme, près de laquelle allait, comme un page, le premier clerc de l’Étude, un petit bossu nommé Jean Butscha. Quand ces quatre personnages, dont deux au moins faisaient ce chemin tous les soirs, arrivèrent au coude de la route qui tourne sur elle-même comme celles que les Italiens appellent des corniches, le notaire examina si personne ne pouvait l’écouter du haut d’une terrasse, en arrière ou en avant d’eux, et il prit le médium de sa voix par excès de précaution. » […]Balzac, incipit de Modeste Mignon, 1844. La focalisation externe C’est lorsque le narrateur ne rapporte que les apparences extérieures de l’histoire. La focalisation interne Conseils de lecture
Satire - Examples and Definition of Satire Satire Definition Satire is a technique employed by writers to expose and criticize foolishness and corruption of an individual or a society by using humor, irony, exaggeration or ridicule. It intends to improve humanity by criticizing its follies and foibles. A writer may point a satire toward a person, a country or even the entire world. Satire and Irony Satire and irony are interlinked. Examples of Satire in Everyday Life Most political cartoons which we witness every day in newspapers and magazines are examples of satire. Some shows on television are satire examples like The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, and The Larry Sanders Show. Let us see a sample of Stephen Colbert’s social satire: “If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn’t help the poor, either we have to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we’ve got to acknowledge that He commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition and then admit that we just don’t want to do it.” Example #1
Classics of British Literature British writers who have made a lasting impact on literature is remarkable. More importantly, Britain's writers have long challenged readers with new ways of understanding an ever-changing world. The 48 fascinating lectures in Classics of British Literature provide you with a rare opportunity to step beyond the surface of Britain's grand literary masterpieces and experience the times and conditions they came from and the diverse issues with which their writers grappled. British-born Professor John Sutherland, the Lord Northcliffe Professor Emeritus of Modern English at University College London and Visiting Professor of Literature at the California Institute of Technology, has spent a lifetime exploring these rich works. Explore the Soul of Great Britain Even though the term "English literature" is familiar to most of us, when we stop to think of what exactly we mean by it, the answer is anything but simple. Britain's Literary Mosaic A Valuable Record of Societal Change
The Migrant Experience A complex set of interacting forces both economic and ecological brought the migrant workers documented in this ethnographic collection to California. Following World War I, a recession led to a drop in the market price of farm crops and caused Great Plains farmers to increase their productivity through mechanization and the cultivation of more land. This increase in farming activity required an increase in spending that caused many farmers to become financially overextended. At the same time, the increase in farming activity placed greater strain on the land. Although the Dust Bowl included many Great Plains states, the migrants were generically known as "Okies," referring to the approximately 20 percent who were from Oklahoma. California was emphatically not the promised land of the migrants' dreams. Arrival in California did not put an end to the migrants' travels. Robin A. Voices from the Dust Bowl
figures Voici d'abord une liste de termes très courants sur lesquels il ne faut pas buter à l'oral. Ce sont des mots qui reviennent régulièrement dans les rapports du jury, avec souvent un constat de dépit concernant soit la méconnaissance soit la prononciation de ces mots par les candidats. Aussi vous en ai-je établi une liste avec la traduction en anglais et la transcription phonétique. Cette transcription est conforme au dictionnaire de prononciation de la langue anglaise de Daniel Jones et A. C. Gimpson (qui ajoute cependant un accent secondaire juste avant le s du mot atmosphere, ce qu'on ne trouve pas d'autres dictionnaires). A la suite de cette première liste que je vous conseille de connaître parfaitement, vous trouverez une liste plus longue de termes littéraires assez courants et parfois "transparents", c'est-à-dire similaires ou pratiquement similaires dans les deux langues.
More's Utopia (wiki) Utopia (in full: De optimo reip. statv, deque noua insula Vtopia, libellus uere aureus, nec minus salutaris quam festiuus ) is a work of fiction and political philosophy by Thomas More published in 1516. English translations of the title include A Truly Golden Little Book, No Less Beneficial Than Entertaining, of the Best State of a Republic, and of the New Island Utopia (literal) and A Fruitful and Pleasant Work of the Best State of a Public Weal , and of the New Isle Called Utopia (traditional). [ 1 ] (See " title " below.) The book, written in Latin , is a frame narrative primarily depicting a fictional island society and its religious , social and political customs. [ edit ] Title The title De optimo rei publicae statu deque nova insula Utopia literally translates, "Of a republic's best state and of the new island Utopia". One interpretation holds that this suggests that while Utopia might be some sort of perfected society, it is ultimately unreachable (see below). [ edit ] Plot
Arthur Miller, "Are You Now Or Were You Ever?" McCarthyism U.S. anti-Communist literature of the 1950s, specifically addressing the entertainment industry During the McCarthy era, thousands of Americans were accused of being communists or communist sympathizers and became the subject of aggressive investigations and questioning before government or private-industry panels, committees and agencies. The primary targets of such suspicions were government employees, those in the entertainment industry, educators and union activists. Suspicions were often given credence despite inconclusive or questionable evidence, and the level of threat posed by a person's real or supposed leftist associations or beliefs was often greatly exaggerated. Some conservatives regard the term as inappropriate and deprecate what they say are myths created about McCarthy.[6][7][8][9] Origins[edit] The historical period that came to be known as the McCarthy era began well before Joseph McCarthy's own involvement in it. Institutions[edit] Executive Branch[edit] J.
Decoding the Salem Witch trials, Part 1 | US History Scene The witch trials that took place in Salem, Massachusetts Bay Colony, in 1692 represent the most famous Puritan moment in American history; it is the one thing most people think of when they think of the New England Puritans. Usually, it is seen as a shocking and indisputable indictment of the Puritans’ intolerance and ignorance, and even sexism. To get at the truth of what happened in Salem and to understand why it happened, we have to get a little background on Puritan ideas about witchcraft. Then we’ll set the scene for events in Salem, taking into account the political and religious strife occurring in that venerable town in the late 1600s. Remember, Salem is actually an anomaly in the history of the New England Puritans. It generated remarkably little comment in New England at the time. Puritans and Witches In most scholarly and popular accounts, Puritans believed in witches, witchcraft, the devil, and the active presence of a spirit world in their daily life. Why Salem?
Charles Dickens Charles Dickens (1812-1870), English Victorian era author wrote numerous highly acclaimed novels including his most autobiographical David Copperfield (1848-1850); “Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show. To begin my life with the beginning of my life, I record that I was born (as I have been informed and believe) on a Friday, at twelve o'clock at night. It was remarked that the clock began to strike, and I began to cry, simultaneously.” As a prolific 19th Century author of short stories, plays, novellas, novels, fiction and non, during his lifetime Dickens became known the world over for his remarkable characters, his mastery of prose in the telling of their lives, and his depictions of the social classes, mores and values of his times. Some considered him the spokesman for the poor, for he definitely brought much awareness to their plight, the downtrodden and the have-nots.