English Literature - Read Mode
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‘Maiden speech’ refers to the first speech delivered by a person, especially a new member of parliament. It is a common idiom signifying a first public attempt, fitting the context of pleasing an audience.
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‘Animal Farm’ is a satirical allegorical novella by George Orwell. It uses the setting of a farm rebellion to critique the corruption of socialist ideals in the Soviet Union.
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G.B. Shaw (George Bernard Shaw) was a famous playwright and critic, not primarily a poet. Shakespeare, Keats, and Milton are all renowned for their poetry.
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A sonnet is a fixed verse form of Italian origin consisting of fourteen lines that are typically five-foot iambics rhyming according to a prescribed scheme.
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The poem ‘I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud’ is famously about a host of golden daffodils. Wordsworth describes the joy and memory of seeing them dancing in the breeze beside a lake.
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This line is from Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem ‘To a Skylark’. It encapsulates the Romantic idea that true art and beauty often arise from suffering and melancholy.
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Correctly quoted as ‘A good face is the best letter of recommendation’, this saying is attributed to Queen Elizabeth I. It implies that a pleasant and honest appearance is the best introduction one can have.
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‘Long Walk to Freedom’ is the autobiographical work of Nelson Mandela. Published in 1994, it details his early life, coming of age, education, and 27 years in prison before becoming President of South Africa.
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This is the famous opening line of John Keats's poem ‘Endymion’ (1818). It asserts that beautiful things provide eternal joy and their loveliness increases with time, never fading into nothingness.
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William Wordsworth is famously known as the ‘Poet of Nature’. His poetry celebrates the spiritual connection between humanity and the natural world, emphasizing nature's ability to comfort and teach.