Literary Themes

John Milton's Paradise Lost is one of the greatest epic poems in the English language. It tells the story of the Fall of Man, a tale of immense drama and excitement, of rebellion and treachery, of innocence pitted against corruption, in which God and Satan fight a bitter battle for control of mankind's destiny.

You’re Not a Girl in a Movie is a new collection of powerful poems by Hala Alyan, winner of the Arab American Book Award in Poetry and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. In these nine extraordinary poems, Alyan wrestles with the intimate themes that have driven her acclaimed body of work to date: the aching loss of homeland, the image and worth of women, and the violence of love. In Beirut, Brooklyn, and roads in the American West, she unravels the effects of decades of war and displacement on love and human worth and identity.

Rising out of the Nevada canyons, Utopia is a theme park so technologically advanced as to be awe-inspiring. But serious mishaps are starting to cause concern, and things turn from bad to worse when a group of mercenaries infiltrates the park's computerized infrastructure, holding the entire park hostage. The engineer who designed the park now must find a way to save it.

In the tumult of our contemporary moment, poetry has emerged as an inviting, consoling outlet with a unique power to move and connect us, to inspire fury, tears, joy, laughter, and surprise. This generous anthology pairs fifty illuminating poems with poet and podcast host Pádraig Ó Tuama's appealing, unhurried reflections. With keen insight and warm personal anecdotes, Ó Tuama considers each poem's artistry and explores how its meaning can reach into our own lives.

“He who seeks revenge digs two graves.” —Confucius."A page turner from start to finish ... with multiple twists in the story that lead to a powerful confrontation, and dynamic unexpected ending."—Cecilia P. __________________________________________________________________________ The Story (inspired by a true event) Twelve-year-old Chuck Grayson lost his father to what the police called a tragic accident—a fall in jail after his arrest for public drunkenness. But he always believed there was more to the story. Now, decades later, Chuck is suffering from end-stage liver cancer ...

Inspired by a true story, The Bravest Among Us is Hillbilly Elegy meets Casablanca, the story of three unlikely heroes who come together in a tragic love triangle to bring The American Dream to reality for impoverished children. Aria, a grieving widow and once a teen mother, rises from humble beginnings to become a warrior for social justice. But which man will join her daring journey, the ambitious actor bent on capturing her heart or the wrongfully convicted ex-con sworn to protect her? One will risk everything to help her find hope, while the other will forsake his happiness for the ...

Dive into the captivating world of "Poetry Unleashed" and embark on a transformative journey through the mesmerizing power of words. This enchanting anthology invites readers to experience the raw emotions, evocative imagery, and profound insights found within the artistry of poetry. Within the pages of "Poetry Unleashed," you will discover a diverse collection of poems that explore the depth and breadth of the human experience. From the bittersweet melodies of love and heartbreak to the triumphant verses of resilience and self-discovery, each poem unveils a new facet of our shared humanity...

An English cleric with a classical education, Milton lost his eyesight in 1652, and thus the story was largely dictated by the blind poet, lending a certain quality of the ancient oral epics, which only serves to enhance the telling of the tale. Weaving classical mythology with a deep knowledge and reference to Scripture, Milton's genius for narrative unfolds what his biographer, Samuel Johnson, called his "peculiar power to astonish."

A novel of LGBTQ+ urban life, set in Chicago's Little Village, where 28-year-old Troy spends another summer cruising the streets - drawn to handsome, tattooed men who come and go without warning. After his recent year-long relationship with Humberto disappointingly vanished last winter, Troy isn't looking for love this time - just connection, maybe comfort. As he had before Humberto, he drives down the city’s traveled streets, crawls along dark side streets, examines dead-end streets, slips through tented underpasses, drifts down alleys, and walks through parks nearly every night. When he...

The story spans 1954 to 1966. During this time, Linda lives in a neighborhood of 100 houses in University City, known as the Gates of Opportunity. She knows the names of all the homeowners. Just about everyone is Jewish. It is easy to feel a connection to her neighbors. They share a common culture and history. Notorious for being the first vegetarian in her neighborhood at age five, Linda becomes a known individualist, quirky. She turns ideas into reality. Her religion taught her to question everything. She admires Louisa May Alcott and plans to be a writer herself despite her mother’s ...

Ware can’t wait to spend summer "off in his own world" dreaming of knights in the Middle Ages and generally being left alone. But then his parents sign him up for dreaded Rec camp, where he must endure Meaningful Social Interaction and whatever activities so-called "normal" kids do. On his first day, Ware meets Jolene, a tough, secretive girl planting a garden in the rubble of an abandoned church next to the camp. Soon, he starts skipping Rec, creating a castle-like space of his own in the church lot.

Over the past decade, our understanding of the cognition of literature has been transformed by scientific discoveries, such as the mirror neuron system and its role in empathy. Addressing questions such as why we care so deeply about fictional characters, what brain activities are sparked when we read literature, and how literary works and scholarship can inform the cognitive sciences, this book surveys the exciting recent developments in the field of cognitive literary studies.

One touch. One storm. One heatwave they never saw coming. On the sun-drenched island of Sainte-Margot, solitude was all Daniel Voss came for. A burned-out trauma nurse, he wants silence—not surf lessons, not sunshine, and definitely not the barefoot lifeguard who keeps showing up wherever he goes. But Thierry Batiste is impossible to ignore. Bright, fearless, infuriatingly warm, he crashes through Daniel’s emotional defenses like a wave—slow, relentless, and inevitable. What follows is a slow-burn M/M romance filled with: 🌊 A guarded hero trying to outrun his past 🔥 A bold local...

When shots ring out on the Grand Trunk Road, Nargis's life begins to crumble around her. Her husband, Massud - a fellow architect - is caught in the cross fire and dies before she can confess her greatest secret to him. Now under threat from a powerful military intelligence officer, who demands that she pardon her husband's American killer, Nargis fears that the truth about her past will soon be exposed.

The final chapter of the Early Tales of Dalberg Novella trilogy — a tender, luminous story of grief, reinvention, and the long journey home. Elin never expected more than a quiet life: mother, seamstress, survivor. But when a bundle of hand-sewn dresses finds its way from a small Minnesota town to a shop window in Chicago, a new path begins to open—one stitched not from necessity, but from choice. Set in the late 19th century and rich with the textures of immigrant life, Home follows Elin as she rebuilds her world after devastating loss. With a baby on her hip, a needle in her hand, and...

This annotated edition of the classic Gothic novel, Frankenstein, by Mary Shelly includes an historical introduction, an overview, study of the themes present in the book, and a list of famous quotes.

Robert Louis Stevenson, Scottish essayist, poet, and author of fiction and travel books, was born in 1850 in Edinburgh, Scotland, as an only son of a prosperous civil engineer. He entered the University of Edinburgh at the age of 17 and studied to be an engineer to follow his father in the family business; however, he soon realized that he was not cut out for that profession. His father agreed to let him study law instead and although Stevenson graduated from the law school, he never practiced law because, by then, he knew he wanted to be a writer.

Pervin Mann, age 67, is a retired lawyer who lives in a luxury waterfront condominium with his twin brother, Mervin who is a retired school principal. Both men are divorced and fanatically frugal. They compete over everything but especially about which one can spend less money in any given year. The prospect of romance unexpectedly enters each of their lives and provides them with one last chance at love. Will the thrifty old gentlemen finally learn that women abhor cheapskates? Or is it simply too late for them to change? Donald W. Desaulniers is a Canadian lawyer who retired in 2009. He ...

A literary fiction book set in the rugged town of Soren Junction during the early 20th century. In the sweeping landscape of Soren Junction, silence meets chaos as Max Declan, a weary man from New York City, searches for solace and a new beginning. This frontier town, with its vibrant culture and complex characters, draws Max into a web of connections that challenge his resolve and tug at his heart, revealing the depths of a man haunted by his past. As Max navigates the intricacies of small-town life, he encounters the charismatic hotel owner Jack Grayson and the spirited telegraph operator...

This remarkable poem, dedicated to Queen Elizabeth I, was Spenser's finest achievement: the first epic poem in modern English. The Faerie Queene combines dramatic narratives of chivalrous adventure with exquisite and picturesque episodes of pageantry. At the same time, Spenser is expounding a deeply-felt allegory of the eternal struggle between Truth and Error.