What We Can Learn from Dickens’ Long-Windedness Ah, Charles Dickens—the undisputed king of never-ending sentences, elaborate descriptions, and characters with names that sound like inside jokes. Reading his novels can feel like running a marathon through a maze of words. But before you shake your fist at Bleak House and give up halfway through David…
Introduction Michel de Montaigne, the 16th-century French thinker, practically invented a new literary genre while asking life’s big (and small) questions. The essay—now synonymous with everything from high school assignments to viral opinion pieces—owes its origin to this introspective giant. Montaigne didn’t just write; he mused, pondered, and occasionally rambled. But in doing so, he…
Introduction Let’s talk about Romanticism, that glorious era in English literature when writers collectively decided that feelings deserved the spotlight, nature was more than just a backdrop, and existential crises were the height of sophistication. Was everyone in this period just crying into their cravats? Or was there more to it than moody poems and…
Rabelais’ Gargantua & Pantagruel: Giants, Satire, and Foodie Culture If French literature were a dinner party, François Rabelais would be the guest who shows up with a six-foot baguette, makes everyone laugh, and leaves with the center piece as a souvenir. His Gargantua et Pantagruel is one of the quirkiest, wittiest, and most stomach-rumbling texts…
Intellectual Shade, 18th-Century Style Move over, Twitter feuds and clapbacks. The Enlightenment era was home to some of the most razor-sharp pens ever to grace the literary stage. These writers didn’t just spill the tea—they brewed it, served it with a side of wit, and made sure their targets knew they’d been roasted. Let’s dive…
The Courtly Love Tradition: Love, Chivalry, and Intrigue in Troubadour Poetry Ah, courtly love: the art of pining after someone you can’t have while composing flowery poetry about their hair, their eyes, and their general unattainability. It’s like every rom-com, but with more lute playing and fewer happy endings. The courtly love tradition dominated French…
Why the Renaissance Was Like the First Literary Glow-Up When you hear “Renaissance,” you probably think of art, architecture, and people wearing poofy sleeves. But the Renaissance wasn’t just a visual feast; it was also a literary glow-up of epic proportions. Think of it as the moment English literature traded its medieval vibes for a…
Introduction When you think of French literature, your mind probably goes to existential philosophers, romantic poets, or 20th-century avant-garde authors. But let’s rewind to where it all began: medieval French epics. Specifically, La Chanson de Roland (or The Song of Roland), the granddaddy of French lit. This heroic tale is all about knights, loyalty, betrayal,…
Introduction Ah, chivalric romance. The OG of love triangles, heroic quests, and noble deeds. If you’ve ever wondered what inspired modern rom-coms and Marvel superheroes (yes, really), it all goes back to Medieval English literature. This is where knights were gallant, damsels were forever in distress, and dragons apparently couldn’t mind their own business. But…
