by Daniel J. Travanti | Nov 16, 1975 | Essay
English 576A Literary Criticism “Wakefield”: A Romantic Fable The American Heritage Dictionary defines a fable as “a concise narrative making an edifying or cautionary point.” Hawthorne’s story can be considered on several levels. It is a parable, an...
by Daniel J. Travanti | Oct 27, 1975 | Essay
English 623 Seminar in Medieval Literature October 27, 1975 Irony in “The Miller’s Tale” By comparison with some of Chaucer’s other stories, “The Miller’s Tale” ¹ is simple and straightforward. There are only four characters, the plot is contrived but...
by Daniel J. Travanti | Oct 18, 1975 | Essay
English 596 Literary Criticism A Formalistic Analysis of Sherwood Anderson’s “Hands” The narrator of “Hands” is a detached and omniscient observer. He has a simple, direct voice that suits his homey view. He describes in a forthright tone a specific rural...
by Daniel J. Travanti | Oct 15, 1975 | Essay
Daniel J. Travanti English 623 Seminar in Medieval Literature Fall, 1975 Katherine, by Anya Seton There are so many characters in Katherine who remind me of people in The Canterbury Tales: I found the Prioress, the Knight (Hugh), Alisoun (Katherine herself), and...
by Daniel J. Travanti | Oct 11, 1975 | Essay
Edmund Wilson states in the first sentence of Axel’s Castle: “It is my purpose in this book to trace the origins of certain tendencies in contemporary literature and to show their development in the work of six contemporary writers.” ¹ Wilson is concerned...
by Daniel J. Travanti | Jul 20, 1975 | Essay
“Ode to a Nightingale” An Explication and Commentary By Daniel J. Travanti English 540 Summer 1975 After a first reading, “Ode to a Nightingale” seems to be a depressing lament and a negative statement. But after studying it carefully, I’m convinced that the poem is a...
