The Writer's Thesaurus
By Dr Oliver Tearle
Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) is one of the most influential writers of the nineteenth century. He had a hand in the development of the detective story and science fiction, both genres which were in their infancy during his lifetime. And he also, of course, made an indelible mark on Gothic horror literature, as well as pioneering the new form of the short story. Continue reading “19 of the Most Curious and Interesting Facts about Edgar Allan Poe”
By Dr Oliver Tearle
The English writer Hector Hugh Munro (1870-1916), who is better known under his pen name Saki, was a master of the short comic story and, in some ways, a missing link between Oscar Wilde and P. G. Wodehouse. What’s more, Saki was that rare writer who could write humorously, for an adult audience, about children without being twee or sentimental. Continue reading “‘The Story-Teller’ by Saki: Summary and Analysis”
By Dr Oliver Tearle
‘They flash upon that inward eye / Which is the bliss of solitude’: this quotation is from one of the most famous poems of the Romantic movement. The lines appear in the final stanza of ‘I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud’, an 1807 poem by Wordsworth. Continue reading “The Curious Meaning of Wordsworth’s ‘They Flash Upon That Inward Eye’”